OPEN RECORDS: ACC SAYS IT'S "THE RIGHT LAW FOR ONTARIO"
(Sept. 6, 2007) In 2005 the Adoption Information Disclosure Act became law and was welcomed by many sectors of the adoption community in Ontario. That law has now been proclaimed and will come into force on Sept. 17, 2007. As of that date, adult adoptees and birth parents, whose adoptions were finalized in Ontario, can apply to get information in adoption orders and original birth records.
Finally adoption records are opening up -- adoptees over 18 can access previously sealed records, and discover their original name. Birth parents can learn the current name of a child they placed for adoption, but only if the child is now an adult (19 and up). These details could lead to a long-separated parent and child finding out about each other and arranging a meeting if they wished.
"This is the right law for Ontario. We have fully supported the intent of the legislation from the start," said Sandra Scarth, president of the Adoption Council of Canada. "You can put a 'no contact' notice on file if you don't wish to be contacted. But there would be no disclosure veto to prevent identifying information from being released. We also like the fact that the policy on opening adoption records would be retroactive, applying to all adoptions finalized in Ontario, past and future."
Since the emphasis is on disclosure, the Ontario law provides that to keep their records sealed adoptees or birth parents would need to prove to the Child and Family Services Review Board that revealing their identifying information would cause harm.
Under the new law, adult adoptees and birth parents can:
Adult adoptees can also register a “waiver of protection” that will allow the Ontario Registrar General to release information to a birth parent even though the adopted person was a victim of abuse.
The new law also eliminated the Adoption Disclosure Register (ADR), which since the 1980s ran a mutual match registry for both adoptees and birth parents and an active search registry on behalf of adoptees.
ACC president Sandra Scarth said she "personally felt that closing the Adoption Disclosure Register, which offered some assistance and counseling for reunions when desired, was not the best way to implement these changes. While the ACC supported the intent of the law, we had reservations about some of the implementation." She also said she was sympathetic to those families who adopted children from abusive families through the child welfare system, and hoped that the new process will be sensitive in the handling of those situations.
Wendy Rowney of the Coalition for Open Adoption Records (COAR), www.geocities.com/coarontario in Toronto, noted that COAR did not support closing the Adoption Disclosure Register, and in fact lobbied strenuously for continuing it. She added the clarification that "in the case of every public adoption, the government will check with the Children's Aid Society to determine whether the adoptee was removed from his/her original home because of abuse. We hope that this will provide protection for those adopted adults who feel they need it. It should be noted, however, that all adoptees who were adopted through the public system can file a Waiver of Protection and ought to do so if they are certain they were not abused."
In June 2007, COAR sought to prevent a disclosure veto being added to the Act's provisions. COAR argued this through written and oral submissions in a constitutional challenge which four Ontarians launched against Bill 183, the Adoption Information Disclosure Act.
Four Ontario residents (three adoptees and a birth parent) had sought to have the law allowing birth parents and adoptees to access information about each other struck down as unconstitutional. They said the legislation should allow adoptees and birth parents to file a disclosure veto if they want to stay anonymous, as is permitted under Alberta, British Columbia and Newfoundland legislation. Lawyer Clayton Ruby, acting for the four, said the Ontario legislation violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which guarantees rights to life, liberty and security of the person.
Following the hearing June 25-26, 2007, Justice Edward Belobaba of the Superior Court of Ontario said he planned to rule on the constitutional challenge by the end of August. That ruling had not been handed down as of Sept. 6, 2007.
RELATED ACC ARTICLES
(Nov. 3, 2005) "Ontario Opens Its Adoption Records",
http://www.adoption.ca/news/051103bill183.htm
(Apr. 5, 2005) "Open Records: ACC Backs Bill 183",
http://www.adoption.ca/news/050405bill183back.htm
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Ontario Fulfills Its Commitment to Deliver New Adoption Information Laws (Sept. 4, 2007)
http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/mcss/english/news/releases/070904.htm
Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services
What is the Adoption Information Disclosure Act, 2005?
Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services
The Right to Know your Personal Identity and History: Ontario's new adoption information law
http://www.cfcs.gov.on.ca/mcss/english/pillars/community/what/adopt_disclose_law.htm
Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services
ABOUT ACC
Based in Ottawa, the Adoption Council of Canada is a federally chartered, charitable organization which aims to inform and educate Canadians about all aspects of adoption, and encourage the adoption of children needing permanent homes.
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Interested in domestic adoption? Consult Canada's only national photolisting web site, "Canada's Waiting Kids", http://www.canadaswaitingkids.ca, run by the Adoption Council of Canada. It shows photos and profiles of children in the care of Canadian child welfare agencies and waiting for permanent adoptive families.
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For definitions of adoption terms, go to http://www.adoption.ca and click "Glossary".
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Copyright 2007 Adoption Council of Canada. Reproduction permitted, if credited "Source: Adoption Council of Canada, www.adoption.ca".
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