OPEN RECORDS: ACC BACKS BILL 183(Apr. 5, 2005) When she introduced Bill 183 into the Ontario Legislature on March 29, 2005, Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Community and Social Services, sparked a lively debate. If it became law, Bill 183 (the Adoption Information Disclosure Act, 2005) would allow adoptees over 18 and birth parents to get information which has been sealed until now, such as birth certificates and adoption orders (which would reveal identities). They could put a "no contact" notice on file so that they would not be contacted. However there would be no disclosure veto to prevent identifying information from being revealed. This policy on opening adoption records would be retroactive and cover all adoptions finalized in Ontario. The bill from the Liberal government brought immediate reaction from Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian and from the Coalition for Open Adoption Records (COAR) in Toronto. The President of the Adoption Council of Canada, Sandra Scarth, announced that ACC fully supports Bill 183 and the position of COAR. (See the COAR news release below.) In addition she backed COAR's letter-writing campaign, and urged Ontarians to write their MPP in support of retroactive opening of records and against a disclosure veto. Ms. Scarth released a letter sent to Cam Jackson, Conservative MPP and critic for Community and Social Services. FOR MORE INFORMATION
COAR NEWS RELEASENews Release For Immediate Release. Monday, April 4, 2005 Position Paper in Response to the Information and Privacy Commissioner's Opinion on Bill 183 The Coalition for Open Adoption Records (COAR) supports Bill 183 in principle and is very pleased with Premier Dalton McGuinty's and Minister Sandra Pupatello's support of our community in bringing this bill forward. Information and Privacy Commissioner, Dr. Ann Cavoukian, indicated her displeasure with Bill 183, which if passed into law would become the Adoption Disclosure Information Act, presented for first reading on March 29, 2005 by Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Community and Social Services. Dr. Cavoukian said that if this bill were passed:
COAR asserts that birth parents’ rights are severely compromised by the existing system which fails them. Presently in Ontario, birth parents are only allowed to register on the passive registry where their names often linger for many years while they wait in despair. The experience of other provinces show that disclosure vetoes, whether applied against birth parents or adopted adults, are very hurtful, punitive, prevent medical information from being transmitted, and are often confusing. The adoption community does not support disclosure vetoes. Evidence in other jurisdictions suggests that contact vetoes are effective and successfully protect the privacy of the people concerned. No jurisdiction has reported the need to modify the contact veto in order to improve its effectiveness. In fact, jurisdictions without any vetoes at all report no serious problems implementing their legislation. The adoption community accepted and welcomed the changes. Dr. Cavoukian cites out-dated information from a New South Wales Law Reform Commission report (Australia) which was done in 1992, thirteen years ago. The NSW Adoption Act 2000 was based on a subsequent Commission report in 1997. Neither of these reports recommended a disclosure veto. In fact, the 1992 report discusses the unexpected high compliance with the contact veto. We believe that it is inappropriate for Dr. Cavoukian to cite an old report that has clearly outlived its use -- it was never implemented -- and to misrepresent this report to support her claim for the need for a disclosure veto in Ontario. From all reports, adoption disclosure in New South Wales, after 2000, is working well. The NSW Government and the adoption community are happy with this legislation. The Commissioner's mandate includes overseeing the access and privacy provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The Child and Family Services Act which Ms. Pupatello's bill would amend is exempt from FIPPA. COAR does not support the Information and Privacy Commissioner's opinions on a bill which is outside of her mandate. COAR is an organization representing adopted adults, birth families and adoptive parents. Our position has been endorsed by the Canadian Council of Natural Mothers, Parent Finders Canada, the Adoption Council of Ontario, the Adoption Council of Canada, Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies and Adoption Support and Kinship. We attempted to arrange a meeting with Dr. Cavoukian to discuss with her our concerns prior to the introduction of Bill 183, yet she declined to meet with us. We regret her decision to not speak with us in light of her attempts to speak for the mothers among us. For further information contact: COAR Coordinating Committee Michael Grand, PhD, C.Psych Karen Lynn Wendy Rowney SAMPLE LETTERCameron Jackson Dear Mr. Jackson: The Adoption Council of Canada is the umbrella organization for adoption in Canada. Our membership is comprised of adoptive parents, adoption professionals, birth parents, and adopted adults. Since 1989, we have represented the rights of and advocated for progressive legislation on behalf of all members of the adoption community. We fully support Bill 183, Adoption Information Disclosure Act, 2005 presented by Minister Pupatello in the Ontario Legislature. The Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies recognizes that no birth mother signed a contract guaranteeing her anonymity. Indeed, the vast majority of birth mothers state that they welcome contact from their adult children. This is borne out by the small percentage of birth mothers in other jurisdictions who file vetoes. Bill 183 balances the right of adoptees to learn their birth information with the desire of a few birth mothers who wish to maintain privacy. A contact veto permits adoptees to learn the information while preventing them from making contact. A disclosure veto does not provide this balance because one party gets what he/she wants while the other gets nothing. Contact vetoes have worked successfully in other jurisdictions. The adoption communities in British Columbia, Newfoundland, and Alberta deeply regret the inclusion of a disclosure veto in their respective adoption disclosure laws. Community members in the rest of Canada are unsatisfied with the restrictive laws in place and are actively lobbying to have the laws changed. Clearly, the people whom this bill mostly closely affects support it. Like all good legislation, Bill 183 supports the will of the majority while providing protection for the minority. This is an issue of human rights. We sincerely hope that you and your colleagues in the Conservative party will join with others in the Legislature to vote Bill 183 into law. There are 57,000 Ontario citizens on the Adoption Disclosure Register who are hoping for your support and recognition of their rights. Yours sincerely, Sandra Scarth 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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