Searching for Origins: the new provisions of Bill 2

Bill 2, An Act respecting family law reform with regard to filiation and amending the Civil Code in relation to personality rights and civil status (2022, chapter 22 ) (in French only), amends, in particular, the rules concerning the knowledge of one’s origins in relation to adoption so as to broaden their scope.

As of June 8, 2024, the date of entry into force of these amendments, new applicants will be able to make requests for services relating to research into family and medical antecedents and reunions. The research services will be the responsibility of institutions whose mission is the protection of children and young people (hereinafter the institutions) for the national component and under the responsibility of the Secrétariat aux services internationales à l’enfant (SASIE) for the international and intergovernmental component.

The requests that may be made as well as those to come in accordance with the legislative provisions that will come into force on June 8, 2024 are set out below:

• Adoptee and adoptable person who has not been adopted
• Parent of origin
• Adoptive parent
• Siblings of an adoptee
• Grandparent of origin
• First‑degree descendant of a deceased adoptee or adoptable person who has not been adopted (14 years of age and older)
• Adoptee following an adoption by special consent
• Other possible requests

Adoptee and adoptable person who has not been adopted ^{Read the content of the note 1}

Requests that may be made by an adoptee and an adoptable person who has not been adopted:

• to obtain their adoption history (summary of family and medical antecedents);
• to obtain their identity of origin;
• to obtain the identity of their parents of origin;
• to obtain the information that will allow them to contact their parents of origin (reunion) (subject to the registration of a veto);
• to carry out a death verification concerning their parents of origin, when the identity of the latter has been disclosed for at least 12 months;
• to register a contact veto;
• to withdraw an automatic identity disclosure veto;
• to withdraw a contact veto.

Requests that may be made by the parent of origin of an adoptee:

• to obtain a summary of the history of the child’s adoptive parents, including the information available on the child’s adoption history;
• to obtain the identity of an adoptee who has reached the age of majority (subject to the automatic veto conferred on adoptees before June 16, 2018);
• to obtain the identity of an adoptee who has reached the age of majority for adoptions pronounced after June 16, 2018;
• to obtain the information that will allow them to contact an adoptee who has reached the age of majority (reunion);
• to carry out a death verification concerning the adoptee (special rules apply);
• to register an identity disclosure veto within 30 days of the birth of the child given up for adoption;
• to withdraw an identity disclosure veto;
• to register, maintain or withdraw a contact veto.

Requests that may be made by an adoptive parent:

• to obtain a summary of the family and medical antecedents of their child who is under 14 years of age in the case of a national adoption, with no age criterion in the case of an international adoption.

Requests that may be made by the siblings of an adoptee:

• to obtain the identity of an adoptee who has reached the age of majority ( special rules apply ^{Read the content of the note 2} );
• to obtain the information that will allow them to contact an adoptee who has reached the age of majority, as well as reunions with psychosocial support;
• to register or withdraw a contact veto.

Requests that may be made by the grandparent of origin of an adoptee:

• to obtain the identity of an adoptee who has reached the age of majority ( special rules apply ^{Read the content of the note 4} );
• to obtain the information that will allow them to contact the adoptee, as well as reunions with psychosocial support (special rules apply);
• to register or withdraw a contact veto.

Requests that may be made by an adoptee following an adoption by special consent:

• to obtain their adoption history (summary of family and medical antecedents).

Other requests may be made depending on the applicant’s situation:

• application for recognition of Indigenous status from the Department of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) or the Department of Crown‑Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC);
• application under the National Reconciliation Program for Duplessis Orphans;
• request related to the respect of inheritance tax;
• request from the attending physician to obtain medical information from the medical authorities.

As of May 1, 2024, in order to obtain services related to the new provisions, applicants will be asked to submit their request again on June 8, 2024, using the new service request form.

As of June 8, 2024, three forms may be used to make a request for services relating to research into family and medical antecedents and reunions:

• a complete form for all applicants and types of requests;
• a simplified form for adoptees or people who are adoptable but have not been adopted who have already obtained services since June 16, 2018;
• a form for verifying the death of a person who is being sought.

Only these three forms will be accepted and will be accessible as of June 8, 2024 on Québec.ca. They can be sent by email or by mail as needed.

The completed form along with the required identity documents must be sent by email, by mail or delivered in person to the institution concerned or to the SASIE.

All requests for services will be processed diligently in accordance with the legal framework and the priority criteria in force.

The information communicated to applicants is that found in the summary of family and medical antecedents. Access to the full adoption file remains confidential.

As of June 8, 2024:

• identity disclosure vetos registered by the parents of origin and concerning adoptions that took place before June 16, 2018 will no longer be valid;
• identity disclosure vetos registered by the parent of origin in the year following the child’s birth, from June 16, 2018 to June 7, 2024, will remain effective until the age of majority of the child who was given up for adoption, unless the parent of origin withdraws it;
• identity disclosure vetos registered by the parent of origin as of June 8, 2024 within 30 days of the child’s birth will be effective until the age of majority of the child who was given up for adoption, unless the parent of origin withdraws it.

Therefore, prior to the disclosure of their identity, a parent of origin will be contacted to be informed of the legal changes regarding the disclosure of their identity and will be asked to register or withdraw a contact veto, if applicable. In the event that the parent of origin changes their mind, they can contact the institution or the SASIE to withdraw their contact veto.

A person who is being sought and who is incapable of expressing their desire to start or continue a reunion process will be assigned a contact veto automatically.

When the identity of the parent is indicated in the birth or adoption archives, it is possible to search for this person, whether the child’s filiation is established with regard to them or not. In some situations, the identity of the father of origin does not appear in the archives. Since he is not identified, the search cannot be conducted. The institution’s or the SASIE’s service relating to research into family and medical antecedents will begin a research process only if the person’s name is available in the archives. This identity will be communicated to a person who requests it, whether or not filiation is recognized, without the possibility for the person who is being sought to veto the communication of their identity. The parent of origin will, however, be able to register a contact veto, but will not be able to object to the search for the siblings of origin, that is, their children.

DNA tests may be helpful in the discovery of origins. However, the institution’s service relating to research into family and medical antecedents cannot search for a person whose identity is not in the archives, but who has been found using a DNA test.

Adoptees or people who are adoptable but have not been adopted may make a request to the access to information service of the hospital where they were born. They can obtain, depending on the confidentiality rules applied by the institution, information on their birth. However, the hospital where they were born is not authorized to transmit information about the parents of origin or other children affiliated with them. In the same vein, the medical history available in the birth and adoption archives can be transmitted through the summary of family and medical antecedents.

A copy of the original birth certificate as well as the judgments relating to the adoption may be requested by an adoptee or an adoptable person who has not been adopted. If the person is deceased, the request can be made by their first‑degree descendant who is 14 years of age or older. The draft regulation concerning the terms and conditions of access to these documents was published in the Gazette officielle du Québec on February 14, 2024. This section will be updated when the regulations are enacted.

The appropriations granted to the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) for the implementation of the Act respecting family law reform with regard to filiation and amending the Civil Code in relation to personality rights and civil status will make it possible, by June 2024, to strengthen or build the teams in institutions that provide services relating to research into family and medical antecedents in order to reduce the current waiting lists and respond to new requests.

To ensure teams are adequately trained and prepared for the coming into force of the new provisions, the MSSS is, in particular, putting in place:

• clinical ownership training on the changes brought about by the coming into force of the Act, accessible online for the service providers and managers concerned;
• support and assistance for the teams concerned, including regular provincial meetings and a toolkit for managers;
• the distribution of updated versions of the following documents:
  • national adoption: a professional practice guide;
  • national, intergovernmental and international adoption: a practice guide on research into family and medical antecedents and reunions;
  • forms and other supporting documents for service providers and managers;
• the continuous updating of this page.

This page is updated regularly and remains the reference for information on the subject.

For more information about the new provisions introduced by the coming into force of Bill 2, please consult the document Family law reform: Legislative changes for sociobiological research and reunions  produced by the Secrétariat aux services internationaux à l’enfant in collaboration with its partners.