OPEN RECORDS CLOSER IN ONTARIO(Mar. 29, 2005) Reform of Ontario law on disclosing adoption records now seems much closer, thanks to an initiative by the Liberal government. On March 29, 2005, Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Community and Social Services (the ministry responsible for adoption disclosure), introduced a bill in the legislature that would open up adoption records in Ontario: Bill 183, the Adoption Information Disclosure Act, 2005. The proposed law provides that:
In a news release on March 29, Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Dr. Ann Cavoukian said the new bill could invade the privacy of thousands of Ontarians. "Retroactively changing the rules and exposing the identities of birth parents who entered into the adoption process in an era when secrecy was the norm can have major repercussions," she said. The Commissioner urged the Minister to amend the bill to give birth parents and adoptees the right to file a disclosure veto for past adoptions. That would let them block access to birth registration information. The Coalition for Open Adoption Records (COAR), which is active in the campaign to unseal adoption records in Ontario, came out in favour of Bill 183 in its news release of April 4, supporting retroactive opening of records and rejecting a disclosure veto. Sandra Scarth, president of the Adoption Council of Canada, announced April 5 that ACC fully supports Bill 183 and the position of COAR. See "Open Records: ACC Backs Bill 183", http://www.adoption.ca/news/050405bill183back.htm. According to COAR, these are the next steps for Bill 183: "It will proceed to second reading later this year. It is likely that it will either then go to committee or that the government will ask for public feedback in some other format. Following this, we anticipate that the bill will return to the legislature for third and final reading. Then, there will likely be an 18-month waiting period before the changes come into effect." In effect Ontario's Liberal government has scooped the New Democrats, proposing a bill with provisions similar to those sought by NDP M.P.P. Marilyn Churley. Since 1998 Ms. Churley has introduced five private member's bills to try to get adoption records opened. Her adoption disclosure reform bill is currently before the Ontario legislature. For more, see "Bill 14 Joins the Struggle for Open Records", http://www.adoption.ca/news/050221bill14.htm The sealing of adoption records is the legacy of closed adoptions, which were common in the past. Because the identities of adoptees and birth parents were kept hidden from each other, they have trouble locating each other later in life, to exchange medical information or to renew connections. (ACC Glossary, http://www.adoption.ca) FOR MORE INFORMATION
ABOUT ACCBased 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. One of ACC's long-standing goals has been to recruit adoptive families for waiting children across Canada. In 1997, six years after becoming incorporated, ACC earned its first grant from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (www.davethomasfoundation.org) and Wendy's Restaurants of Canada, which made the Canada's Waiting Children program (and the "Canada's Waiting Kids" web site, www.canadaswaitingkids.ca) possible. Thanks to their ongoing support, ACC has been able to devote considerably more time and effort to finding families for Canadian children without a permanent home. There are thousands of children right here in Canada who need permanent homes. To find out more about adopting in Canada, consult Canada's only national photolisting web site, "Canada's Waiting Kids", 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. For a description of how the web site works, see "Canada's Waiting Children Program Finds Permanent Homes For Kids." For definitions of adoption terms, go to http://www.adoption.ca and click "Glossary". Source: Adoption Council of Canada, www.adoption.ca Copyright 2005 Adoption Council of Canada. Reproduction permitted, if credited "Source: Adoption Council of Canada, www.adoption.ca". Please make a request to reprint, so we can track where ACC news items are used. Send your request to acc@adoption.ca.
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