Remove the barriers
We are Open Records P.E.I. Members of the group all have our own adoption experiences and came together through Facebook adoption search and support groups.
When realizing how difficult the search for contact has been for hundreds of people, we decided it was time to see if opening records on P.E.I. was possible.
The provincial government is currently reviewing the Adoption Act. As part of the review an advisory committee is seeking public input on opening closed adoption records.
We appreciate your review is broad in scope, however our mandate is to have records opened to allow adult adoptees and parents unfettered access to their documents.
As you can appreciate there are an untold number of reasons that people are searching. But from a legal standpoint, every Canadian citizen has the right to his/her medical history and their birth documentation unredacted.
Every Canadian citizen has access to personal documentation regarding their birth, except for people who were adopted or the parents who relinquished their children. The circumstances at the time of adoption should have no bearing on opening the records.
Most importantly, having records opened would allow adult adoptees and parents to learn valuable information about one another and also about their ancestral heritage and other information they would appreciate knowing about one another.
As it stands today many of those involved in a search for answers are put through much more trauma than necessary.
It has become all too common to see people having to turn to complete strangers on social media to put their very personal information ‘out there’ on the off chance someone will know someone who can help in their search. Opening records would be one less stressful barrier for these people to get their own information and keep it a personal matter. From our experience in communicating with hundreds of people involved in searches there are no benefits to keeping the records closed.
Identification and privacy are two separate entities. Opening records would provide valuable identifying information, but that doesn’t mean privacy can’t be respected.
We are talking about adults here. And as adults they are equipped to make up their own minds as to decide what will or will not happen after contact is made. The government has no business acting as a go-between.
In some cases, people are looking for information because they are fighting for their lives.
We have heard many sad stories of adoptees who have lost their lives before finding their answers.
But really, everyone is fighting for their right to live as at any moment they could become terminally ill with no medical history to reference.
Imagine the possibilities of a positive outcome if these people had that critical information when they needed it most. Adoptees and parents, like other adults, can make decisions about their own lives provided they have the information to do so. Open records aren’t solely about reunions; far from it. If a mutual and happy reunion results, that’s great, but it may not - either way it’s a private decision to be made by the people involved.
We want to reiterate we are talking about the hundreds, if not thousands, of closed adoption records that already exist.
There are a lot of what ifs that could be answered with open records.
Thank you for considering our point of view.
(For more information or to have your say, go to: https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/ family-and-human-services/giveinput-adoption-act-review or call 902-368-5294.)