When Barb first contacted a social services agency in Montreal in 1983 to find out who her birth mother was, she was 43 years old. A year later, she received non-identifying adoption information, and the agency told her they would conduct a search so a parent-child meeting could take place.
Five years later, in 1988, Barb (not her real name) was advised the agency hoped to begin her search soon and, if her birth mother agreed, the meeting would be arranged. They warned her it could take a while, since they gave priority to adoptees waiting for non-identifying information.
In 1992, nine years after her first contact with the agency, a lengthy search, and occasional communications, Barb received a Sworn Declaration of Death. It stated her birth mother had died in 1988.
Since her birth mother was no longer able to agree to meet, Barb was only provided with the age at death and cause.
The news about her birth mother’s death meant Barb had reached the end of the road. Her request was officially closed. At that point, her chances of learning her birth mother’s name were slim to none.
Now, however, there may be hope for Barb and others like her.
Access to information
On June 16, an amendment to Quebec’s civil code, Bill 113, will go into effect. This amendment will allow social service agencies to share information found in thousands of the adoption files held in regional agencies throughout the province.
According to Caroline Fortin of Mouvement Retrouvailles, a not-for-profit organization that defends the rights of adoptees and biological parents in Quebec, about 300,000 Quebec children were given up for adoption between 1920 and 1970.
While the new law will not provide full open access to entire adoption files, it will provide access to key information in those records.
Thousands of single pregnant women and abandoned children were welcomed at the Miséricorde Hospital in Montreal. Founded in 1848, the hospital closed in 2012. Photo Philippe Du Berger. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Starting June 16, when the law comes into effect, if the information is available, adopted people born in Quebec will have the right to know their original first and last name.
In the event that a biological mother or father has been dead for one year or longer, adopted people will have the right to know their first and last name. If the parent has not been dead for a year or longer, the adopted person must wait for a year to pass after the death to have access to information.
Conditions
While the bill is good news for many and clearly an improvement over the current situation, some conditions will restrict access to the records.
The new rules will allow an adopted child and his or her birth parents to learn about each other’s identity and medical records and establish contact only if both parties agree to it or have not vetoed access. If either party registers a veto, either within 18 months of the law passing, or in the case of future adoptions, within a year of the child’s birth, the file will remain closed and contact will not be possible.
As for minors, the bill states their identification will not be disclosed “until the minor reaches full age, unless he or she decides otherwise.”
Records not open for deceased adoptee’s children
If an adopted person has died, their children and grandchildren will not have access to the file.
“Disclosing of identity remains between the adoptee and birth parents,” said Ariadne Bourbonnière, spokesperson for the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal (CIUSSS), a health and social services agency in the western part of Montreal.
Access after first year of enactment of law
Twelve months after the law comes into effect, meaning June 16, 2019 at the latest, adopted people will have the right to know the first and last names of their biological mother or father if they did not contact the appropriate authorities to indicate their refusal to have their identity disclosed.
As of June 16, 2019, adopted people will be entitled to obtain information that will allow them to contact their biological mother or father, again, only if the biological parent has not indicated that he or she has refused to allow this information to be disclosed.
National Assembly, Quebec City, Quebec. Photo: Christophe Finot. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Transition period
While some adoption files will officially be accessible as soon as the law goes into effect, it is unlikely information about the identity of adoptees and birth parents will be disclosed during the first year of transition after the law is in place.
Searches for birth parents and adoptees, living or dead, will take quite a while, and CIUSSS said it is difficult to predict how much time will be required. Ms. Bourbonnière indicated it will be faster to find people if they still live in Quebec than if they have moved to other parts of the country. Searches outside Canada will take even longer.
So, how do these changes affect Barb? Years ago she was told it was not possible to learn the name of her birth mother because she had died. The new law, however, has now made it possible for her to possibly discover the name of the young woman who gave birth to her 78 years ago. Let’s hope that is the case.
Information on researching adoption and biological history, biological parents, or about an adopted biological child is available, in English and French, on the Quebec government’s website.
