R&B singer, actor, and model, Tyrese Gibson, announced in a recent Entertainment Tonight interview that he purchased a private island for his eight-year-old daughter, Shayla, as a Christmas gift.

It is no secret that Tyrese and his ex-wife Norma Mitchell have been fighting for custody of Shayla since they broke up in 2009. The former couple has battled publicly over their daughter's time and whether she may travel with her mother. In March of 2015, a Court had to order Tyrese to release his daughter's passport and allow her to travel with Mitchell to visit family in Israel.

Tyrese's extravagant Christmas gift will presumably result in future travel plans with Shayla. Love Island is reported to be at an undisclosed location, however, it is most likely out of state and may be in a different country. This begs the question: What will happen if Mitchell does not agree to let Tyrese take Shayla to Love Island?

Like Tyrese, many Ontario parents deal with complications when they attempt to take their children on vacation to foreign countries. Although Tyrese now has 50/50 custody, if his matter were governed by Ontario law, both parents would still require each other's consent for any international travel with their child. In Ontario, all parents who wish to travel with their child in the absence of the child's other parent must have the consent of the other parent to do so, even if the parents are not separated or divorced.

An efficient approach taken by many families it to include terms in their Separation Agreement or Parenting Agreement to specify that consent for travel shall not be unreasonably withheld. However, this can nevertheless lead to conflict if the parties do not agree about what is reasonable.

A parent may have the right to withhold travel consent if the other parent is attempting to take the child to dangerous place, such as a country experiencing political unrest. However, a parent wishing to travel with his or her child may seek a court order to force the other parent to consent or to dispense with the need for same. In other situations, where travel consent is being withheld due to reasonable concerns for the health, safety, or other interests of the child, a court may be inclined to order that the child may not travel to a certain location or with a particular parent. In either situation, the court proceedings may be costly and time consuming.

Given the above, parents wishing to take tropical holidays or visit with relatives who live abroad should plan ahead and attempt to obtain the necessary travel consent well in advance of their travel dates. Doing so may minimize conflict and a need for urgent court interventions such as the Order obtained by Ms. Mitchell.