Legislature still in session

It is now the 22nd of August and the Legislature is still in session, but nothing is getting done. The debate over the PST has been going on and on and I am afraid it is going to delay other bills. When the Legislature finally ends for the summer, it will no doubt be delayed in opening for the Fall session which will no doubt be a short session. Will there be enough time to present a new Adoption Act or will it now have to wait until Spring. That also depends on whether or not there is a new Adoption Act ready.

Minister Howard's reply to a question in the Legislature

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.)

Letter to Premier Selinger

I spoke with the Premier on CJOB a few weeks ago and he was going to look into the delay in opening past adoption records.

I received a reply to my letter to Minister Howard in November 2012, from the Acting Assistant Deputy Minister repeating as follows:

the Department quote: is currently consulting with Manitoba’s Vital Statistics Agency, as part of our consideration of Manitoba’s open records model unquote.  This is a quote from Minister Howard’s letter of March 22, 2012 and contains no new information.  

My question to the Premier is:

quote: why has it taken 12 years to study the open adoption laws of other jurisdictions and still not be in a position to open Manitoba adoption records for the years since the government began recording adoptions to March 15, 1999?  All jurisdictions in Canada who have opened their future adoption records, also opened their past adoption records, with the exception of Manitoba.

My final comment was quote: The general feeling among the thousands in the post-adoption community is that they are being lead down the proverbial garden path. unquote.

I sent a copy of my letter to Richard Cloutier at CJOB who is interested in this matter.

Another year has passed and NOTHING

The final session of the Legislature has now started and will close before Christmas, again without making any changes to The Adoption Act.  For the past 6 years we have been led to believe that changes i.e. opening closed records, was imminent.  Well so much for promises and political double-speak.

The Ministry is continuing to maintain that opening the closed records in Manitoba will take place, but they are "committed to ensuring that all interests are being examined as part of the legislative review".  If all interests are being examined why has there been no discussions with LINKS since January 2007?

Well, they have been reviewing this for several years now and still can't seem to understand that their delaying action is adversely affecting the lives of hundred of people in the adoption community in Manitoba. In November 2007 LINKS were advised that the government was "gathering information from other jurisdictions" to "see if any of the new developments may be suitable to Manitoba". In November 2008 we were advised that "our government takes the issue of adoption very seriously and is still carefully examining the matter of changes".  It is hard to understand what they are reviewing.  British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Newfoundland/Labrador have opened all adoption records, past and future.  British Columbia opened their past adoption records in 1996, Alberta in 2004 and Ontario is the most recent.  Anyone can review the adoption law of these provinces and they do not take 6 years to digest if you know anything about the post-adoption world.

It appears the government is not dedicated to improving the lives of thousands of Manitobans.  It is a delaying tactic by people not committed, or a delay by those with a conflict of interest, or maybe it is a make-work project that can be dragged out to ensure you have a job, or by incompetence.  Whatever the reason for the delay it has gone from an acceptable length to a totally unacceptable and disgraceful length of time.

Hopefully open records getting close

 We have been advised that the Post Adoption Registry has instituted a priority contact listing for individuals interested in adoption information should the Province of Manitoba open its adoption records in the near future.  Requests for adoption information are considered a priority by departmental staff, and should adoptions be opened, PAR staff will be in direct contact with these individuals to assist with obtaining their desired information.  Should individuals wish to be added to the contact list, they are invited to contact Ms. Marguerite Lapka-Woytowich, Post-Adoption Specialist at 204-945-4272.

We were advised that discussion of changes to the Adoption Act would begin in late 2004 and completed in 2006. It is now June 2011 and we have been told for the past 3 years that the wheels were in motion to determine how and when the Act may be ammended.

An article in the Winnipeg Free Press August 8, 2008 mentioned that the Adoption Act, the Child and Family Services Act and the Authorities Act will be rewritten and may be amalgamated into one Act, and that this would be a 2-3 year project. The Post Adoption portion of the Adoption Act can and should be ammended now. Because of all the problems the government is experiencing with other areas of child care, adult adoptees are having to wait in line for something that should have been done years ago.

The final session of the present legislature has ended, and no changes to the Adoption Act have been made. It has been very discouraging for the past 11 years to have been told that the wheels are in motion for change, yet nothing happens. The politicians just do not feel that it is an important enough issue to garner them votes. Manitoba continues to lag behind the rest of Canada, and the world, with their antiquated post adoption legislation.

The next session of the legislature will not happen now until after the provincial election on October 4, 2011. The previous Conservative government left us with closed post adoption records, and the present NDP government has continued the injustice.

The end of another disappointing year

The 2010 sessions of the Legislature has now ended and still no change to the Adoption Act. After all the encouragement received from the government, only disappointment resulted. The process to change the Act began in 1999 and will have to carry on. The problem is that another election must be held on October 4, 2011, and if the present government gets defeated, then we start all over again.
The previous Conservative government refused to make the adoption records open retroactively, so wonder if they will have changed their thinking on this. If Bonnie Mitchelson, the minister in charge in 1999, gets to be Minister of Family Services, we will likely see no change under her leadership.
Our only hope is that the present government get re-elected so that what they are saying can be put into results, or that they open the records before the next election. This may be pretty hard to get through the legislature with the little time they sit in the spring and the fall will be a very short session.