Claude Perras's Sierra Leone adoption doesn't meet legal requirements: Canadian government

The Canadian government says a Longueuil man's adoption application in Sierra Leone has faced delays because it doesn't satisfy the West African country's laws.

• Claude Perras might leave Canada if it won't recognize adoption in Sierra Leone
• Claude Perras still waiting for Visa for adopted Ella in Sierra Leone
• Ella, toddler from Sierra Leone, still can't join adoptive family in Montreal​

Claude Perras's application fails to meet certain criteria required under Sierra Leone adoption law, Citizenship and Immigration Canada said in a statement to CBC.

For instance, Perras, who is engaged to a Canadian woman, requested the adoption as a single man, which is something Canadian officials say is against the law in Sierra Leone.

The law also states that adoptive parents have to spend six consecutive months with the child before the adoption can get the green-light, which is another requirement they say Perras didn't meet.

Originally, Perras thought the delays were due to fears over Ebola. 

Documents obtained by CBC show a Sierra Leone judge granted exceptions in the case, but the CIC said it wants an affidavit from the judge explaining the decision to them. 

Perras said he’s been in limbo since he first went to Sierra Leone to get his daughter, Ella, in October.

On Monday, he told CBC's Daybreak that the Canadian government has overstepped its boundaries.

"I am supported by my fiancée, my partner, to adopt Ella, and this has been presented, and the judge is fully aware and the Ministry of Social Welfare (in Sierra Leone) is fully aware, so I don’t understand what the issue is," Perras said.

You can listen to the full interview here.