As Nova Scotia moves toward potentially creating open adoption records legislation, the majority of respondents to a provincial survey on the topic say they want access to information without the need of consent from other parties.
Officials with the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services released the results of a comprehensive survey conducted over several months on Monday.
“We, as government, need to do what’s best for all Nova Scotians by considering the full range of their desires and concerns as we form recommendations on any proposed changes to legislation,” the report says. “Overall, most of the consultation participants indicated they are in favour of moving toward open adoption records legislation. However, these consultations also found that Nova Scotians hold passionate yet opposing views about how best to share information from adoption records.”
Nova Scotia is the only province in Canada that doesn't have open adoption records legislation, the report says.
The current legislation governing adoption information was enacted in 1996 and sought to balance the right to information with the right to privacy. To allow access to background and medical information, the Adoption Disclosure Program was created. Identifying information was shared only with the consent of all parties.
The respondents to the recent survey overwhelmingly indicated that is not good enough, with 82 per cent saying it doesn't allow enough access to identifying information.
Seventy two per cent of the survey respondents agreed that identifying information contained in new adoption records should be shared without consent, it says. About 27 per cent did not agree.
“Most of the Nova Scotians who participated in the consultation indicated they experience many challenges because of the limitations of the current Adoption Information Act,” the report says “One of the challenges noted by adopted persons was not having a strong sense of identity. Many consultation participants, specifically those who identified as an adopted persons, felt that being prevented from learning information about themselves and their birth families may raise a Human Rights issue. They were also of the view that government has adoption information but does not share it.
Participants also were concerned about the potential impact to their health from the lack of accurate family medical history.
Open adoption legislation in other jurisdictions allows those who do not want their identifying information to be shared to have the option of providing what is called a disclosure veto, usually available only to people involved in adoptions before the legislation was passed. Alternatively, a person could file a contact notice, which allows identifying information to be shared but contact to be either limited or not provided at all.
“(Sixty five) per cent of survey respondents noted that a Disclosure Veto should apply to all adoptions granted before and after the change; 22 per cent noted that only adoptions granted before the change to the law should be subject to a Disclosure Veto,” the report says, adding that the principle of “opting out” was generally seen as a positive. Suggestions included that the disclosure veto should have some sort of expiration date or a requirement to renew it every five years, and that medical information be disclosed before a veto is granted.
The influence of internet and DNA testing services also have had an effect, the report says, adding that many people can use these services to find family members without consultation.
“Use of social media and DNA testing to connect with birth parents or an adopted person was identified by consultation participants as a potentially traumatizing experience for both parties. The examples provided include the increased risk of 'outing' a birth parent whose family is not aware of the adoption, and the consequences of what may be considered an intrusion in an individual’s life.”
Respondents opposed to open adoption records cited their right to privacy as well as concerns that the birth might have been the result of a “traumatic event” for the mother, or when the child came from an abusive situation.
Nova Scotia also has the opportunity to learn from other provinces that have open records legislation, some participants said.
“These participants felt that with these learnings, Nova Scotia could consider alternative solutions that would put them ahead of the current practices in use in Canada.”
The online survey conducted from November through January garnered more than 2,700 responses and included people who were adopted, parents who adopted children, birth parents, family members and others who preferred not to say.
In addition, information sessions were held in 11 communities across the province, from Sydney to Yarmouth and places in between. Of the 104 people who attended the sessions, 25 written submissions were sent in.
Consultations with stakeholder groups involved both provincial government bodies and non-governmental advocacy groups and non-profits.
"We are grateful to all those who participated. The information collected will allow for a thorough consideration of people's feedback," Kelly Regan, minister of community services, said in a news release.
The report is available here.
