Ontario Ministry of Communications and Social Services, December 10, 2007
December 10, 2007 Attention News Editors: Ontario Moves Forward To Open Adoption Records New Legislation Would Provide Greater Openness In The Future, Protect Privacy For Past Adoptions
TORONTO, Dec. 10 /CNW/ - The Ontario government has introduced new legislation that will, if passed, help enshrine openness in future adoption records while providing a disclosure veto for people involved with past adoptions, Minister of Community and Social Services Madeleine Meilleur announced today. "We strongly believe that people should be able to learn about their own personal history," said Meilleur. "The legislation, if passed, will make open adoption records a cornerstone of Ontario's adoption laws. At the same time, it would safeguard the privacy of those involved in past adoptions."
The new legislation would, if passed, allow adult adoptees and birth parents, whose adoptions were registered in Ontario, to: Apply for copies of their adoption orders and birth registrations - Place a disclosure veto on their file if their adoption order is made in Ontario before September 1, 2008.
In addition, anyone who chooses to place a disclosure veto on their file would be asked to voluntarily provide their medical history so that birth relatives may be able to obtain personal health information.
Adult adoptees and birth parents may continue to place a no-contact notice on their file if they do not want to be contacted. They may also register a notice specifying a contact preference on how they prefer to be contacted.
Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Dr. Ann Cavoukian today applauded the government for including a privacy-protective disclosure veto in the new bill. "This disclosure veto will preserve the privacy of a number of deeply concerned birth parents and adoptees, while still allowing the vast majority of birth parents and adoptees to obtain the information they are seeking." The Commissioner is deeply grateful to the Government for making these important changes, allowing the Bill to strike the right balance. The legislation is consistent with the recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision of September 19, 2007 and the views of Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner.
Wendy Rowney, president of Adoptions Search and Kinship and a member of the coordinating committee for the Coalition for Open Adoption Records, stresses the importance of this legislation for adult adoptees: "Finally, the vast majority of adult adoptees in Ontario will have access to a historically accurate birth certificate." "We believe that it is in everyone's best interest to move quickly with these changes," said Meilleur. "We are committed to helping adoptees and birth parents get as much information as possible - important information about their past."
Disponible en français www.mcss.gov.on.ca
**********
Backgrounder
ONTARIO'S NEW ADOPTION INFORMATION DISCLOSURE LEGISLATION
The Government of Ontario's new adoption information disclosure legislation would, if passed, allow for more openness in adoption records while allowing those involved with past adoptions to protect their privacy.
The proposed legislation amends the Vital Statistics Act and the Child and Family Services Act to allow: - Adoptees who are 18 years old or older to obtain copies of their original birth registrations that will provide them with their original birth name and may identify birth parents. - Adoptees who are 18 years old or older to obtain copies of their adoption orders that may provide information on where they were born and their given name at birth. - Birth parents to obtain information from their child's birth records and adoption orders if the adoptee is 19 years old or older. Information about the adoptive parents would be removed from the adoption records. Adult adoptees and birth parents will also be able to continue to place no-contact notices and contact preferences on their files.
Disclosure veto
If passed, the new legislation will allow adoptees and birth parents to place a disclosure veto on their file if their adoption order is made in Ontario before September 1, 2008. If a disclosure veto has been placed on a file, copies of adoption orders or birth registrations will not be released. If a disclosure veto has been placed on a file, adoptees and birth parents can still apply for non-identifying information in their adoption records.
If there are concerns about a severe medical condition, adoptees and birth parents may also be eligible for a severe medical search to obtain or share information about their family medical history, for example, information needed for an organ transplant.
The legislation, if passed, would ask anyone who registers a disclosure veto on their file to voluntarily provide information about their family and medical history. This information can help a birth relative who needs to know about potential inherited medical conditions to make informed health care choices.
Regulatory change
The government has made an immediate regulatory change to restore the province's ability to give adult adoptees and adoptive parents copies of their adoption orders. Identifying information about birth parents will be removed from these documents. An adoptee may require a copy of their adoption order to obtain certain documents including a passport or travel visa. The province's ability to release these important documents has not been available since the recent Superior Court of Ontario decision regarding the Adoption Information Disclosure Act, 2005. The new legislation will apply to all adoptions registered in Ontario.
Media Contacts: Erika Botond Communications and Marketing Branch Members of the general public may call: or toll free at .
Disponible en français www.mcss.gov.on.ca
Link to article
No comments:
Post a Comment