NEED TO KNOW

Details about the province’s adoption disclosure program • A person wishing to opt out would have to register a disclosure veto, a document filed with the disclosure program stating that they do not want to share information that can identify them.

• The online portal (www.disclosure-program.novascotia. ca/privacy-tools) is now available for disclosure vetoes and contact notices. The website also has printable versions of the forms to download, fill out and send through email or regular mail.

• A disclosure veto is a document stating an adopted person or a birth parent does not wish to share information that can identify them. A contact notice lets people share information that can identify them and set parameters around if or how they choose to be contacted.

• An adopted person can file a disclosure veto once they turn 19. They have until they turn 20 to decide if they want to file a disclosure veto. The program won’t release identifying information about them to the birth parents until they are 20. After they turn 20, they can file a disclosure veto at any time. They can also remove their disclosure veto at any time.

• A disclosure veto expires if the person who filed the veto passes away or has the veto removed.

• The change will apply to all adoption records. It is important to note that under the new legislation, people who have previously indicated they want to keep their information private are still required to fill out a privacy tool. • Nova Scotia, the last jurisdiction in Canada to introduce such legislation, has averaged 150 adoptions per year over the past dozen years.

• Adopted people, birth parents and others affected by the changes can get more information or file a disclosure veto or contact notice by contacting the Disclosure Program: 902-424-2755, 1-833-424-2755 (toll-free), disclosureprogram@novascotia.ca, Disclosure Program, 2131 Gottingen Street - 3rd Floor, Halifax, NS B3K 5Z7.

REVERSING ONUS OF CONSENT