Adoption Information Disclosure Act
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| Adoption Information Disclosure Act | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Legislative Assembly of Ontario | |
| |
| Assented to | November 3, 2005 |
| Legislative history | |
| Bill citation | Bill 183 |
| Introduced by | Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Community and Social Services |
| First reading | March 29, 2005 |
| Second reading | May 3, 2005 |
| Third reading | November 1, 2005 |
| Status: Current legislation | |
The Adoption Information Disclosure Act, formally An Act respecting the disclosure of information and records to adopted persons and birth parents, also known as Bill 183, is an Ontario, Canada, law regarding the disclosure of information between parties involved in adoptions.
The Act was passed by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 2005 and put into force on September 17, 2007.[1] Significant sections of it were quashed just two days later in a ruling by Judge Edward Belobaba of the Ontario Superior Court.[2]
On November 13, 2007, the Ontario government announced that instead of appealing Belobaba's decision, it would opt to amend the act to contain a universal disclosure veto.[3] It accordingly introduced the Access to Adoption Records Act on December 10, 2007, which passed third reading in May 2008 and took effect in September 2008.
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 that time.
The practice was reduced but not eliminated for current adoptions, but there remained the question of what to do with existing adoption records: how does the right to information for either party compare with the obligation of honouring past commitments to privacy?
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.
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. Several adoptees including Denbigh Patton and birth parents campaigned actively against the bill, Patton arguing that he alone should decide when, if ever, to release his identity to his birth parents.
Bill 183 was passed 68 to 19 by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on November 1, 2005. All 19 votes against the bill came from the opposition Conservatives, who objected to the lack of a disclosure veto provision.[4]
Disclosure veto question
Unlike several other retroactive adoption disclosure laws in Canada and unlike any of Churley's proposals, Bill 183 did not have any universal "disclosure veto" provision. Such a provision typically allows a party to issue, within a fixed time period after the law's introduction, a request that his or her identifying information not be released.
The bill did 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 did have a restricted disclosure veto. Adoptees or birth parents could apply to a tribunal to prohibit the release of their identifying information in cases where they can demonstrate their safety is at stake.[5] [6]