Adults who were adopted as infants will find it easier to reach out to their birth parents and birth parents will be able to learn about the children placed for adoption under legislation that comes into effect on June 15. This announcement was made by Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross.
“All of us want to know our heritage and where our families came from,” said Minister Irvin-Ross. “By making birth records more accessible, this may open the door for adult adoptees to form a deeper understanding about their birth families and rebuild a connection with their home communities.”
When amendments to the Adoption Act come into effect, adoptees 18 years of age or older can request pre-adoption birth registration information, as long as they meet one of the following criteria:
- the individual was born in Manitoba, and adopted in or outside of Manitoba; or
- the individual was born outside Manitoba, but adopted in Manitoba.
Additionally, when an adoptee is 18 years of age or older, a birth parent named on the pre-adoption birth registration can request the child’s pre-adoption birth registration information and the child’s substituted registration of birth. This does not include the names of the adoptive parents.
“The changes can finally give adoptees a sense of closure on an unknown chapter in their life, a sense of finally belonging,” said Roy Kading, LINKS. LINKS is a volunteer, non-profit organization offering support to adoptees, birthparents and adoptive parents. “Birthparents will have the opportunity to find out what happened to the child they gave up. Did they have a good life? Have they been well and what are they doing in life?”
Minister Irvin-Ross noted privacy rights will be respected, and both adoptees and birth parents can keep their information confidential if they wish. Individuals who do not wish to disclose information can file a disclosure veto to restrict access to birth records related to adoption. Such a veto prohibits the release of any identifying information. All vetoes filed in the past will be respected. Disclosure vetoes can still be filed for adoptions that took place before the legislative changes come into effect if the information has not already been released.
Individuals can also file a contact preference, which informs the Manitoba Post-Adoption Registry of the type of contact, if any, that an individual wishes to have with the person specified on it.
After the legislation comes into effect, adoptees and birth parents will be able to apply to access birth records related to adoption at the Manitoba Post-Adoption Registry. For more information, visit www.manitoba.ca/adoptionrecords.
