Recently LINKS gave the Hon. Jon Gerrard, M.L.A for River Heights, and Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party, several question to ask of the Minister in the current session of the Legislature. The following is the Minister’s reply, and my comments in italics.
Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): My question–first question to the minister deals with The Adoption Act. And I know the minister has been engaged in some changes as was reported very recently in the Free Press. And Penny Treflin, for example, has been asking about this.
And I would like to know what the minister's plans are with respect to The Adoption Act, and when changes can be expected?
Ms. Howard: I know the member opposite will appreciate this, that when we're looking at opening up adoption records pre-1999, it's a very complex situation. (Many jurisdictions have done it. Why is it so complex for Manitoba?)We want to be able to do that. I think there is a tremendous interest also in my department, with the people who work with those adoptees (and birthmothers, and birthfathers) who are looking for their information, to be able to provide them as much information as possible.
So what we're endeavouring to do right now, is certainly learn from those jurisdictions that have gone down this road. A big part of that learning is the need to provide for birth parents to know that this information is going to be made public. (Then why haven’t they began this process years ago, if they were serious?) I think what they learned in Ontario when they did this, that they needed to provide a veto for those parents. (very easy to write a veto into the regulations) That can involve a lot of information, public communication, to let those parents know, who may now be living all over the world. So we have to make sure that we are balancing the need to communicate to birth parents their right to veto with, frankly, the cost of doing all of that public communication. (so it becomes a matter of cost and not the interest of the adoptee that is their first concern. Other provinces placed ads in the major newspapers across Canada, and that was sufficient. Are they going to track down every birthparent anywhere in the world and contact them personally. Some are quite likely deceased)
We also know that in Manitoba, when we look at who was adopted in that time period, the vast majority of those adoptees were Aboriginal kids, that were part of the, what is known as the '60s scoop, that really went through the '60s and the '70s and part of the '80s. A lot of those records are held in Manitoba. A lot of them are held outside the province too, in the jurisdictions to which they were adopted. So it does require a discussion with other provinces. It requires some discussion with other states, international states. (so discuss it with them but in the meantime open the records to those adopted in Manitoba, and add the other provinces and states as they agree) And so that work is ongoing. We have found in many of those provinces and states, very willing partners, so that we can do what we need to do.
And finally, we want to make sure as we proceed, that we are endeavouring to discuss and consult with certainly, Aboriginal leadership, other organizations that represent adoptees, and we want to make sure that as the records do become opened up, that there is in place for people who are going to be getting that information, the right kind of social and emotional support. (What is the right kind of social and emotional support? They are not concerned with the social and emotional support that adoptees require now, i.e. finding their birth families)For many, many adoptees, it is something they've waited their whole lives to get to find out that information. But it also can be a very emotional time, and we all wish for happy reunions, but that isn't always the case. Sometimes the birth parents don't wish to be reunited. Sometimes those birth parents have passed away, (and more are passing away every day without knowing about their child) and sometimes the information that the adoptee finds out is that there were very, very difficult circumstances surrounding their birth and their adoption. (Does the Minister think she is telling the adoptee something they do not already know and have to live with?)
So it's a complicated area, not only legally, but ethically, but I think the right thing to do. As I've said publicly, I do believe that people who have been adopted have a right to that information, and we're going to be moving to make sure that they can get that information. They claim that they have been moving for 11 years, and are still not there yet. It is either a make-work project, a conflict of interest with those doing the research, or total incompetence.)
