Timeline: The Disappearance of Jacob David Le
A record of what Canada knew and when it chose silence.
November 28 2023 — The Order That Opened the Door
Justice Shore authorized the father to travel with Jacob to Vietnam from February 6 to February 15, 2024, despite prior findings of risk, the father’s history of non-compliance, and repeated warnings from the mother.
“The Respondent Father may travel with the child, Jacob David Le, born September 14, 2020, to Vietnam on February 6, 2024, returning February 15, 2024… The Applicant Mother shall pay the Respondent costs of $1,500.”
— Order of Justice Shore, November 28, 2023
This was granted as an emergency motion, even though no emergency existed.
It imposed a financial penalty on the mother for opposing the trip — punishing the act of protection.
Less than three months later, that same trip became the vehicle of Jacob’s disappearance.
January 31 2024 — The Enforcement Order That Removed Jacob
Justice Nakonechny issued an order enforcing the November travel permission, compelling Jacob’s removal from Canada under police supervision, despite documented evidence of risk and ongoing child-protection concerns.
This decision directly contradicted earlier judicial findings that international travel with the father was unsafe.
Police were instructed to attend the mother’s home to ensure Jacob’s release to his father — a Canadian child placed on a plane to Vietnam under threat of enforcement, without any return guarantee.
This order became the mechanical act of disappearance: the point at which procedure overrode protection, and a legal system became complicit in the loss of a child.
February 1 2024 — The Day Jacob Vanished
Jacob, age four, was taken abroad.
He never returned.
His mother has not seen or heard from him since.
March 7 2024 — Court Order: Wrongful Retention
Justice Schabas of the Ontario Superior Court declared that Jacob is being wrongfully retained in Vietnam and ordered his immediate return to Toronto.
“The child, Jacob David Le, born September 14, 2020, is hereby declared to be wrongfully retained in Vietnam. The child shall be immediately returned to Toronto, Ontario, where he shall primarily reside with his mother.”
— Order of Schabas J., March 7 2024
The ruling:
Confirms Jacob’s habitual residence in Canada.
Orders his immediate repatriation.
Directs enforcement by Toronto Police, RCMP, and CBSA.
No enforcement followed.
The order remains unexecuted.
April 2024 — Early Warnings Ignored
Jacob’s mother notified Global Affairs Canada (GAC) that the case constituted child trafficking and enforced disappearance.
“When a government forcibly removes a child with no due process and no plan for return, it is not enforcing law — it is participating in disappearance.”
Her warnings were met with bureaucratic deflection.
May 2024 — Interpol Yellow Notice Activated
An Interpol Yellow Notice was circulated internationally for Jacob David Le, classifying him as a missing and possibly abducted child.
It alerted law-enforcement authorities in Canada, Vietnam, and partner jurisdictions, establishing formal recognition of Jacob’s disappearance.
The alert should have triggered:
Verification of Jacob’s location by Vietnamese police.
Coordination between Interpol Ottawa and GAC.
Consular protection and lawful cooperation for return.
None of these occurred.
Months later, a consular officer cleared the Yellow Notice without legal or parental authorization, removing an international safeguard for a missing Canadian child.
June 6 2024 — Consular Knowledge Confirmed
Official correspondence confirmed that Vietnamese police were aware of the case and that Canadian officials had chosen to “wait.”
“Police … asked us to wait. It seems that the delay is related to the fact that this case involves foreigners … ”
This exchange confirmed actual knowledge of a criminal context and a deliberate policy of inaction.
July 23 2024 — Vietnam Issues Police Notice No. 2822
The Ho Chi Minh City Police issued formal Notice No. 2822 acknowledging a criminal investigation into Jacob’s wrongful retention.
Global Affairs Canada received the notice — proof of a live criminal file — yet continued to describe the case as parental and consular.
September 2024 — Retaliation for Speaking Out
After public statements in The Toronto Star exposed misconduct and systemic failures, the Consulate restricted the mother’s access to information.
Advocacy became grounds for punishment.
October 2024 — Narrative Control
Mainstream coverage softened references to organized criminal networks linked to the abductor. Institutional silence extended into the public sphere: the crime reframed as a “dispute,” and the mother’s persistence miscast as instability, a familiar tactic used to silence women who demand accountability.
January 2025 — Warnings to Police
Evidence showed that relatives of the abductor were preparing travel to Vietnam to assist concealment.
Requests for monitoring and RCMP coordination were ignored.
February 2025 — Diplomatic Deflection
Despite confirmation of an Interpol Red Notice for the abductor, GAC continued to issue only “assessments.”
No action. No démarche. No return.
April 25 2025 — Final Plea for Protection
“By refusing to request Jacob’s passport, you enable human trafficking.
You call it a ‘visa run’ … for an abducted Canadian child.” — Jacob’s Mom
No reply. No remedy.
July 2025 — Proof of Cross-Border Flight
GAC learned that the abductor had twice violated a Vietnamese travel ban, crossing into Cambodia with the child.
Officials still described it as a “visa run.”
October 7 2025 — Formal Notice of State Complicity
Jacob’s mother submitted a 40-page Formal Notice to Global Affairs Canada, invoking the Federal Courts Act, ICPPED, and Charter Sections. The notice documented:
Actual knowledge of Jacob’s disappearance;
Legal authority and capacity to act;
Decisions that protected perpetrators and harmed victims.
No written response has been received.
Legal Characterization
Under international law, a State that possesses knowledge of a disappearance, has the capacity to act, and nevertheless fails to intervene becomes a participant in that disappearance.
This principle was affirmed in the landmark Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras (Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 1988), which held that a State’s deliberate inaction constitutes participation by acquiescence.
In Jacob’s case, Canada’s omissions and administrative decisions have moved beyond negligence to facilitation:
By enforcing the order that enabled Jacob’s removal;
By failing to act on the March 7, 2024 repatriation ruling;
By clearing international alerts that were meant to locate him; and
By maintaining silence in the face of verified criminal findings abroad.
Each of these actions, and each day of continued inaction, satisfies the threshold for State complicity by acquiescence and benefit under Articles of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
Canada’s responsibility, therefore, is not only moral but continuing until Jacob is found and brought safely home.
Canada’s inaction therefore does not exist in a vacuum; it perpetuates the original abduction as a living crime, renewed with each passing day that Jacob remains disappeared.
“To love a child is to seek justice.”
— Heather McArthur
On The Court and Me, I write for my son, Jacob.
For every parent silenced by systems built to protect them.
And for every person whose path to selfhood has been marked by violence and survival.
Words are all I have left. The only way to reach across silence, to speak truth, and perhaps touch the conscience of those who hold the power to bring my child home.