Adoption Information Disclosure Act

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The Adoption Information Disclosure Act, also known as Bill 183, is a bill passed by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on November 1, 2005. When implemented, it will remove much of the secrecy present in Ontario adoptions from 1927 until the 1980s.

1 Background
2 Bill 183
3 Disclosure veto question
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Background

From 1927 until the mid 1980s (?), certain measures existed in Ontario to preserve anonymity between birth parents and adoptees; this was consistent with adoption practice elsewhere in Canada and the United States at this time.

The practice was later abolished for current adoptions, but there remained the question what to do with existing adoption records: how does the right to information for either party compare with the obligation of honouring past commitments?

Adoptees and birth parents could apply to be put onto the government-run Adoption Disclosure Register, but the process was long, the resources for active searches for birth relatives were limited, and success was not guaranteed.

NDP MPP Marilyn Churley introduced several bills into the Legislative Assembly starting in the late 1990s. Her strong stance for open records was personally motivated, as she had placed a child for adoption years earlier and was later reunited with him. None of these bills were passed.

[edit] Bill 183

In 2005, Sandra Pupatello introduced Bill 183, the Adoption Information Disclosure Act. It permits the disclosure, to an adult adoptee, of that adoptee's original full name, birth certificate, and the names of birth parents. To birth parents it permits the disclosure of an adoptee's legal (adoptive) name.

The bill was supported by the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies. It was criticized by others, many of whom were opposed to its lack of a general disclosure veto (see below). Ontario Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian stated that the bill was insufficiently respectful of implicit or explicit promises of anonymity made to birth mothers in the past. Adoptee Denbigh Patton campaigned actively against the bill, arguing that he should alone decide if his identity is revealed to his birth parents.

It was passed 68 to 19 by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on November 1, 2005, and is expected to be enacted within 18 months. All 19 votes against it came from the opposition Conservatives, who objected to the lack of a disclosure veto provision (see below).

Denbigh Patton has promised to challenge the bill in court, and has retained noted Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby for this purpose.

[edit] Disclosure veto question

Unlike several other retroactive adoption disclosure laws in Canada and unlike any of Churley's proposals, Bill 183 does not have any universal "disclosure veto" provision. Such a provision typically allows either party to unconditionally request, within a fixed time period after the law's introduction, that their identifying information not be released.

Bill 183 does provide a "contact veto", similar to a restraining order whereby a concerned party can request not to be contacted by his or her birth relative, but this does not prevent the release of the person's name.

As well, Bill 183 does have a restricted disclosure veto. Adoptees or birth parents can apply to a tribunal to prohibit the release of their identifying information in cases where they can demonstrate their safety is at stake.