Relief for adopted Quebecers who want to know the first chapter of their lives: from June 8, 2024, they will be able to ask the government about the identity of their birth parents, even those who previously refused to share the information.
The anonymity of the birth parents is therefore no longer guaranteed, but they can refuse to be contacted at any time.
This is the result of the entry into force of a series of measures related to adoption contained in Bill 2, which amended the Civil Code in June 2022 on issues of parentage, personal rights and civil status.
Bill 2 notably proposes that the right to know one's origins be included in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which represents a major step for Caroline Fortin, President of the Retrouvailles Movement.
We have been fighting to gain access to this information for a long time. “It is important to know our roots, our social and medical history,” recalls the coordinator, whose organization has been working for the recognition of this right since 1983.
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The President of the Reunion Movement, Caroline Fortin
Photo: Radio-Canada / Fanny Samson
A long fight
Unlike other Canadian provinces, Quebec has long been slow to open adoption archives.
For decades, the right to privacy of original parents has been upheld, even if this means trivializing the identity aspirations of adopted people, observes Alain Roy, a full professor at the University of Montreal's Faculty of Law.
It was believed that it was a whim, a misguided curiosity, for a child adopted by a good family to want to meet its original parents. We now know that people need to know the first chapter of their existence in order to build themselves up.
A first step towards the right to know one's origins was taken with Law 113, which came into force on June 16, 2018. It partially lifted the seal of confidentiality on the 300,000 existing files in the Quebec government's archives, but would allow birth parents still living to refuse to reveal their identities.
This right of veto will therefore soon no longer apply.
Patrick Villeneuve, who was given up for adoption at the age of one, welcomes this new law as very good news that reassures those who, like him, are in search of their origins. Although this fifty-year-old says he was very spoiled by his adoptive family, he talks about how the desire for knowledge is stronger than anything else.
They were all great, five stars, nothing to say. I had everything one could wish for. But at some point the search for identity becomes stronger than oneself, even if I wanted to remain in solidarity with those who have given me so much.
He took steps after the deaths of both his parents. He discovered the identity of his birth mother and even collected details about his grandfather, a doctor in Lanaudière. He describes it as a bit like a police investigation.
He hopes the new law will allow him to discover his father's identity by gaining access to his full adoption file.
It would be satisfying just to know his name. Appetite comes with food, and I could come up with other ideas, but for now I'm interested in the name and the region it comes from, he admits.
Concerns about deadlines
The Department of Health and Human Services (MSSS) expects between 30,000 and 70,000 requests starting in June 2024.
“We hope that the processing times for the files will not take years, because the people who will submit applications have already been waiting for a very long time,” fears Caroline Fortin.
After Law 113 came into force, it sometimes took more than two years for an application to be processed, she remembers.
The President of the Retrouvailles Movement therefore calls on the Ministry to take into account the age of applicants and to provide the necessary resources and personnel. Even if some applicants go to visit their deceased loved one, the information needs to be provided to them quickly so they can contact their family, she stressed.
The MSSS assures that it will provide teams with the necessary support and tools to ensure they are adequately prepared to deal with the increased number of requests.
However, he does not want to commit to deadlines, which vary depending on the nature of the request. Finding and locating affected people so that they can agree to reveal their identity or to meet again can take time, explains Marie-Pierre Blier, head of media relations.
Patrick Villeneuve emphasizes the urgency, especially for people older than him. I'm still relatively young. My father must be about twenty years older than me, so he might still be alive, he hopes.
With information from Aimée Lemieux and Rose St-Pierre
The new law at a glance
- It virtually eliminates the possibility that a refusal to disclose could impede a request for information about the identity of the original parent.
- It gives the adopted person the right, under certain conditions, to receive a copy of their original birth certificate and the judgments relating to their adoption, as well as the names of their grandparents and their siblings. Origin, accompanied, if you agree, with information that allows you to contact them.
- Services will be expanded to new categories of applicants, such as the original grandparents of an adopted person and the first-degree descendants of a deceased adoptee.
- It inserts the right to know one's origins into the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
Source: Government of Quebec