Starting June 8, under a legislative change, any adult who has been adopted in Quebec will be able to know the names of their biological parents, whether they like it or not.
What there is to know
For seven years, adopted people had access to their files, but only if their biological parents had not registered a veto.
From June 8, no more secrecy and veto: any adult will be able to know their origins.
On the other hand, no reunion will be forced. Long delays in obtaining responses are to be expected.
Adopted people will thus have access to the name of their mother, but also of their father (whether or not he has been officially recognized) or their grandparents if they are registered in the file. Brothers and sisters can also be found, in certain cases.
At the Ministry of Health and Social Services, it is estimated that “between 30,000 and 70,000 adopted people could submit an application,” indicates Marie-Claude Lacasse, media relations coordinator.
She does not hide the fact that, even if “the teams are preparing to respond to this increased volume of requests”, delays are very predictable.
Because many people at the same time will be looking for their origins, but also because gathering all the information (often very old) will be complicated in many cases.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Caroline Fortin, president of the Retrouvailles Movement
As Caroline Fortin, president of the Retrouvailles Movement, points out, the number of requests will be inflated by a large number of descendants of adopted people who will also now be able to obtain information. (For example, if our father or mother died and he or she was adopted, their children will be able to obtain information about them.)
Johanne Dionne is one of this type of applicant. Her mother, born in 1938 and adopted in 1939, only learned the truth once at school, completely by chance.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE FAMILY
Johanne Dionne
It was a terrible tragedy for her, even though her adoptive family assured her that she was loved. My mother spent her life moving heaven and earth to find out her origins, in vain: her biological mother was opposed to any reunion or disclosure of information.
Johanne Dionne
Like Mme Dionne suffers from a rare disease, she thinks that knowing the identity of her maternal grandparents could provide her with important information. But above all, she says, it is out of a duty to remember that she intends to present a request. “My mother suffered until her deathbed from not knowing who her parents were. »
End of secrecy, end of veto
Historically, in Quebec, adoption was carried out under the seal of confidentiality, so that the identity of the biological parents was kept secret, which has always complicated research carried out by children (and also complicated archiving information).
In 2017, the Liberal government went a long way by allowing adopted people to have access to their file, but only if their biological parents had not registered a veto during the moratorium period or before the child was his request. It is this veto which is overridden today, because the quest for its origins “corresponds to a fundamental human need”, notes Alain Roy, professor of law at the University of Montreal and special advisor to the Minister of Justice of Quebec. for the reform of family law.
But this does not mean that the adopted person “will be able to interfere in the life of the parent who does not wish it,” he adds.
The Civil Code still allows [au parent] to register a refusal of contact so that the child cannot try in one way or another to communicate with him. A child who does not respect this refusal of contact is exposed to heavy sanctions.
Alain Roy, special advisor for family law reform
Isabelle – who remains anonymous due to her family situation – hopes for her part that she will be able to obtain the name of her older brother. “My mother had it when she was unmarried. As was often done at the time, under pressure from the Church, she hid her pregnancy and gave her child up for adoption. »
His mother and father – now deceased – ultimately married and had three more children. “It was through an aunt that I knew I had a brother somewhere. When I told my mother about it, she started crying and never wanted to talk about it again. »
Temper expectations
For his part, Gilles Bourbonnière suggests to those who are about to take steps to hope for the best, but not to have too high expectations. The people who meet again after decades often had very different upbringings, which means that it can stick… or not.
In his case, it was his daughter who pushed him to do research. “I didn’t feel the need, I was used to being an orphan,” he says in an interview.
Because he has been almost all his life. When his mother, in her eighties, found him, she learned that he had not grown up in a loving family as she had dreamed of, but that he had been an orphan from Duplessis having lived in an institution until he came of age. .
Even though he was very gray when they met, his mother couldn’t help but try to correct his little quirks, as if he were still a kid. “When we get together, we have to put water in our wine!” », says Mr. Bourbonnière.
He remained in close contact with his mother until her death several years later. Now, it is mainly with his sister that he stays in contact. ” I get on well with it. »
People who are looking for a loved one will be able, from June 8, to submit a request to the CISSS or CIUSSS in their region – the information will be found on their website. People adopted outside of Quebec must contact the Secretariat for International Children’s Services (SASIE).