Adoption: Searching in Canada

“In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage — to know who we are and where we came from. Without this enriching knowledge there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness.”- Alex Haley,  Author, “Roots”

This page contains some basic information and resources for adoption-reunion searches in Canada.

Searching in Canada is hindered by the policies which keep adoption records closed against access by  parents and adoptees. Imagine not being allowed to access your own birth certificate! Or to be unable to search for and find the beloved child you lost to adoption, not knowing if they are now alive or dead. Other than in a few provinces, that is the situation for many people separated by adoption in Canada.  See Adoption Records/By Province on this site for province by province information regarding the situation in your province.

REGISTRIES – Provincial Governments

Some provincial governments have specific registries where a person can register. Some of these registries can take years before they make a “match” even if both parties have registered. Others will perform active searches on a discriminatory basis, e.g. for adoptees only but not for natural parents, siblings or grandparents.

REGISTRIES – Other

Many nonprofit groups also have registries as a volunteer service. Registering with them should be a priority for searchers.  It is very important to keep your information up to date on any registry you are using.  These are the main registries:

These are all nonprofit volunteer organizations. If you find your family through one of them, please consider donating to the organization to help it stay active and helping reunite other separated families.

U.S. ADOPTIONS

If you are born in Canada and adopted by American Adoptive Parents and taken to the United States, contact the U.S. Dept. of Immigration and obtain a copy of your Entry Visa.  This form should show your full name at birth.  This is required for all persons taking up permanent resident status in the U.S.

States with open records (for adoptees only).

FOR FIRST NATIONS ADOPTEES:  STATUS ISSUES

To determine whether an adoptee is entitled to “Registered Indian Status,” you must make an official enquiry to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs.

Send a copy of the adoption order along with a written request to the following address:

Allan Tallman
Office of the Indian Registrar
Ottawa ON  K1A 0H4
ATTN: Adoption Unit

More information:

SEARCH ANGELS

There are many volunteer searchers across Canada, both independent and belonging to volunteer organizations such as Origins Canada and Parent Finders. If you wish to contact a search-angel, join these organizations and it’s possible that someone can help you.

OPEN RECORDS

If you are lucky enough to live in British Columbia, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, or Ontario and if no-one has filed a disclosure veto against you, you may be able to access the identifying information for your lost loved ones. This is known as a province having “open records.”

Canada is the last Commonwealth nation with closed records. Most other countries, and the United Nations, consider it to be a basic human right. There are active open records movements lobbying the provincial governments of most province where records remain closed.

The myth about sealed adoption records is that they were closed to protect “birthparent privacy.” This is incorrect, especially as records do not close when the mother signs surrender (”relinquishment”) papers, they close when the court order for the adoption is approved by the judge. This can be weeks, months, or even years later. Records closed mainly to “protect” the adoptive family from the natural mother finding her child again.

ONCE YOU HAVE A NAME TO SEARCH FOR

Phone books and Henderson Directories

Search Engines and Member Directories:

Newspaper and Obituary Indices:

Genealogy Sites:

Newspaper articles, obituaries, public notices, genealogy pages – any of these might come up in the search results.

If you are an adoptee, your natural parent’s place of birth may be on your birth registration. Searching may come up with a family with the same name in the same city. This is a good lead and should be followed-up. Searching phone books and city directories in the local public library of that area is often a good start, to find out who extended family members are of the person you are seeking, and where they may currently live. Canada-411 is another good resource.

Divorce Records:

Divorce records are public.  You must know the County in which the decree was granted.  Use the background history to narrow down the time frame.

Contact the Court office where you are searching for local directions.

Cemeteries:

Cemetery Aids can be very useful.  The Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid is a database of over 3 million interments in Ontario.  This database consists of surnames, cemetery name and location and can be accessed at
http://www.islandnet.com/ocfa/search.php

Another cemetery finding aid of the British Columbia Cemetery Finding Aid at
http://www.islandnet.com/bccfa/homepage.html

DNA Testing:

DNA testing is the most accurate way of proving a blood relative.  Go to
http://dnatestingcanada.com/

MAKING CONTACT:

Once you have identified the location of your loved one, the  next step is phoning. Phoning people you have never spoken to before, on such a sensitive subject, is never easy. However, one “script” for these “cold calls” is provided here. It works for relatives who may know the person – often searches are successful when one has contacted a second cousin, aunt, niece etc. of your natural parents. Use discretion and tact — losing a child to adoption was usually a “secret” and relatives may not know.  Origins Canada offers a First Contact Service at no charge.  We will act as an intermediary to help you make this difficult and important first call if you feel more comfortable having someone else make the call for you.

See “How Adoption Records Grew Secret” by Elizabeth Samuels for more information on the secrecy of closed adoptions.

 

Copyright Origins Canada Inc. 2010