Bill 88, Adoption Disclosure Statute Law Amendment Act, 1998

Versions

B088_E

Bill 88 1998

An Act to amend the Vital Statistics Act and the Child and Family Services Act in respect of Adoption Disclosure

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

VITAL STATISTICS ACT

1. Section 28 of the Vital Statistics Act, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 1994, chapter 27, section 102, is further amended by adding the following subsections:

Exception

(6) Despite anything else in this Act, a person whose birth was registered in Ontario and in respect of whom an adoption order was registered under subsection (1) or a predecessor of that subsection is entitled, on application and payment of the prescribed fee, to obtain a copy of the original birth registration from the Registrar General.

Conditions

(7) Subsection (6) applies only if the person is 18 years of age or older and produces evidence of identity that is satisfactory to the Registrar General.

Notice, birth parent's wish not to be contacted

(8) If a birth parent has filed a notice that has become effective under section 165.1 of the Child and Family Services Act, the Registrar General shall give the notice, or the information contained in it, to the adopted person together with the copy of the original birth registration.

Other information

(9) The Registrar General shall also give the adopted person any information provided by the birth parent under subsection 165.1 (3) of the Child and Family Services Act and disclosed to the Registrar General together with the notice; if no such information was disclosed, the Registrar General shall advise the adopted person of that fact.

2. Section 29 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Disclosure to Registrar of Adoption Information

29. The Registrar General may disclose personal information to the Registrar of Adoption Information for the purposes of Part VII of the Child and Family Services Act.

Unsealing file

29.1 The Registrar General may, for the purposes of subsection 28 (6) and section 29 and for such administrative purposes as he or she considers appropriate, unseal any file that was sealed under this Act or a predecessor of this Act.

3. Clause 60 (u) of the Act is repealed.

CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES ACT

4. Clauses 163 (2) (b) and (c) of the Child and Family Services Act are repealed and the following substituted:

(b) ensure that counselling is made available to persons,

(i) who receive identifying or non-identifying information from the Registrar,

(ii) who are or may wish to be named in the register,

(iii) who are concerned that they may be affected by the disclosure of identifying information, including the disclosure of information under subsection 28 (6) of the Vital Statistics Act, or

(iv) who receive information under subsection 28 (8) of the Vital Statistics Act\;

5. Subsection 165 (2) of the Act is amended by adding the following clauses:

(j) the disclosure of information for the purposes of section 165.1;

(k) the disclosure of information for the purposes of prosecutions under section 176.1.

6. The Act is amended by adding the following section:

No-Contact Notices

Definition

165.1 (1) In this section,

birth parent" means a person whose name appears on an original birth registration as parent.

Notice, birth parent's wish not to be contacted

(2) A birth parent who wishes not to be contacted by the person named as his or her child in the original birth registration may file written notice of the wish with the Registrar.

Other information

(3) The birth parent shall be given an opportunity to provide, together with the notice,

(a) a written statement of his or her reasons for not wishing to be contacted;

(b) a written statement that briefly summarizes any information he or she may have about,

(i) any genetic conditions that he or she has, and any past and present serious illnesses,

(ii) any genetic conditions and past and present serious illnesses of his or her own parents, of the other birth parent (or of the other biological parent, if only one person's name appears on the original birth registration as parent) and of his or her parents,

(iii) the cause of death and age at death of any of the persons named in subclause (ii) who are no longer alive, and

(iv) any other health-related matters that may be relevant; and

Disclosure to Registrar General

(4) The Registrar shall disclose the notice or the information contained in it, together with any other information provided by the birth parent, to the Registrar General under the Vital Statistics Act.

Non-application

(5) Subsections 2 (2) to (4) of the Vital Statistics Act do not apply to anything disclosed under subsections (3) and (4).

Effective notice

(6) The notice becomes effective for the purposes of subsection 28 (8) of the Vital Statistics Act when the Registrar General has matched it with the original birth registration and completed the match.

Ineffective notice

(7) The notice does not become effective if, before the notice is matched with the original birth registration, the Registrar General has already issued a copy of the original birth registration under subsection 28 (6) of the Vital Statistics Act.

Communication re outcome

(8) When a notice becomes effective, or when the Registrar General becomes aware that it is ineffective, he or she shall advise the Registrar of the fact.

Withdrawal of notice

(9) A birth parent who files a notice under subsection (2) may withdraw it at any time, in writing.

Effect of withdrawal

(10) A birth parent who has withdrawn a notice under subsection (9) is not entitled to file a further notice under subsection (2) in respect of the same original birth registration.

Privacy

(11) For the purposes of subsection 165 (5), a notice or withdrawal of a notice under this section and the information it contains, and all other information dealt with under this section or generated in connection with its administration, constitute information relating to an adoption.

Forms

(12) The Registrar may provide for and require the use of forms under this section.

7. (1) Subsection 167 (5) of the Act is amended by striking out "each of them receives counselling" in the sixth and seventh lines and substituting "counselling has been made available to each of them".

(2) Subsection 167 (6) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Registrar to compile relevant material

(6) If both persons give the further consent referred to in subsection (5), the Registrar shall compile the material described in paragraphs 1 and 2:

1. All relevant identifying information from the records of the Ministry and of societies and licensees.

2. If the adopted person requests it, copies of the documents referred to in subsection 162 (2) (court file).

(3) Clause 167 (9) (a) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(a) make the compiled material available to the adopted person or the other person named in the register, or to both, first ensuring that counselling has been made available to each person to whom the material is made available.

(4) Clause 167 (9) (c) of the Act is amended by striking out "the person will receive appropriate counselling" at the end and substituting "appropriate counselling will be made available to the person".

(5) Subsection 167 (11) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Duty of society

(11) A society that receives compiled material under clause (9) (b) shall promptly make it available to the adopted person or the other person named in the register, or both, as the case may be, first ensuring that counselling has been made available to each person to whom the material is made available.

(6) Subsection 167 (13) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Duty of society

(13) A society shall make counselling available to persons who receive identifying information from the society, who are named or may wish to be named in the register or who are concerned that they may be affected by the disclosure of identifying information.

8. The Act is amended by adding the following section:

Offence, contacting birth parent despite notice

176.1 (1) No person who has been given information under subsection 28 (8) of the Vital Statistics Act together with a copy of his or her original birth registration shall knowingly contact or attempt to contact the birth parent, directly or indirectly, except under section 167 or 169.

Same

(2) No person shall knowingly contact or attempt to contact the birth parent, directly or indirectly, on behalf of another person who is prohibited from doing so by subsection (1), except under section 167 or 169.

Same

(3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $5,000.

Commencement

9. (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.

Same

(2) Section 1, subsection 7 (2) and section 8 come into force on the first anniversary of the day named by proclamation.

Short title

10. The short title of this Act is the Adoption Disclosure Statute Law Amendment Act, 1998.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill amends the Vital Statistics Act to give adult adopted persons an unqualified right of access to their own original birth registrations.

Related amendments are made to the Child and Family Services Act. Persons named as birth parents in original birth registrations are entitled to file with the Registrar of Adoption Information written notices of their wish not to be contacted. These notices are forwarded to the Registrar General under the Vital Statistics Act, to be matched with original birth registrations and communicated to adopted persons who obtain copies of those registrations. An adopted person who contacts the birth parent despite having received the no-contact notice is guilty of an offence.

When filing a no-contact notice, a birth parent is given an opportunity to provide a statement of his or her reasons for not wishing to be contacted, a statement of medical information and a statement of any other non-identifying information that may be relevant. These statements are communicated to the adopted person together with the copy of his or her original birth registration.

The Bill also amends the Child and Family Services Act to provide that counselling for adopted persons, birth parents and others who may be affected by the disclosure of information about the adoption must be made available but is no longer mandatory.

To allow birth parents time to file no-contact notices if they wish to do so, the coming into effect of the provision giving adopted persons access to their own original birth registrations is postponed for one year.

Office of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Toronto, Ontario, Canada.