O. Reg. 468/07: Applications for Orders Prohibiting Disclosure of Information Relating to Adoptions

 

ontario regulation 468/07

made under the

vital statistics Act

Made: August 16, 2007
Filed: August 17, 2007
Published on e-Laws: August 20, 2007
Printed in The Ontario Gazette: September 1, 2007

Amending O. Reg. 564/06

(Applications for Orders Prohibiting Disclosure of Information Relating to Adoptions)

1. The title to Ontario Regulation 564/06 is revoked and the following substituted:

Prohibitions against Disclosure of Information relating to Adoptions

2. Subsection 4 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “by courier”.

3. Subsection 6 (9) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(9) If the Board discloses information to a birth parent under subsection (8), it shall do so in a form that does not identify any person other than the birth parent.

4. (1) Subsection 7 (4) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “by courier”.

(2) Section 7 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following subsection:

(5) The Board shall include, with the notice that it gives to the Registrar General, sufficient information to allow the Registrar General to locate,

(a) the original registration, if any, of the adopted person’s birth; and

(b) any registered adoption order respecting the adopted person.

5. The following provisions of the Regulation are amended by striking out “by courier” wherever that expression appears:

1. Subsection 8 (3).

2. Subsection 8 (4) in the portion before clause (a).

6. (1) Subsection 11 (8) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “allegations pertaining to the person” and substituting “allegations pertaining to the adopted person”.

(2) Subsection 11 (9) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(9) If the Board discloses information to an adopted person under subsection (8), it shall do so in a form that does not identify any person other than the adopted person.

7. Subsection 14 (3) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(3) The Board may permit a person entitled to make an application for reconsideration to make the application after the expiry of the applicable time limit set out in subsection (2) if it is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to do so.

8. Subsection 16 (10) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(10) If the Board discloses information to an interested person under subsection (9), it shall do so in a form that does not identify any person other than the interested person.

9. Subsection 18 (3) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “by courier”.

10. Section 20 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Prohibition Against Disclosure where Adopted Person a Victim of Abuse

Determination of abuse

20. (1) For the purposes of section 48.9 of the Act, an adopted person was a victim of abuse by the birth parent if the adopted person suffered serious physical, sexual or emotional harm and the harm suffered was a result of the actions, failure to act or pattern of neglect on the part of the birth parent.

(2) Upon receiving notice under subsection 48.9 (10) of the Act that the local director of a children’s aid society has determined that the adopted person was a victim of abuse by the birth parent and that the Registrar General is prohibited, by virtue of section 48.9 of the Act, from giving the information described in subsection 48.2 (1) to the birth parent, the Registrar General shall give a copy of the notice to the birth parent and inform the birth parent that he or she may apply to the Board for reconsideration of the determination.

Reconsideration of determination of abuse

21. (1) If the local director of a children’s aid society has determined that the adopted person was a victim of abuse by the birth parent, the birth parent may apply to the Board for reconsideration of the determination by the later of,

(a) 60 days after receiving the copy of the notice from the Registrar General under subsection 20 (2); and

(b) 60 days after receiving information from the local director under subsection 48.9 (16) of the Act, if the birth parent requests the information within 30 days after receiving the copy of the notice from the Registrar General under subsection 20 (2).

(2) The Board may permit the birth parent to make the application for reconsideration after the expiry of the applicable time limit set out in subsection (1) if it is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to do so.

(3) An application for reconsideration under this section shall be in writing, be verified by or in the form of a statutory declaration if the Board so requires and shall include,

(a) a copy of the notice received from the Registrar General under subsection 20 (2);

(b) a copy of the information, if any, that the birth parent has received from the local director under subsection 48.9 (16) of the Act; and

(c) a copy of any documentation on which the birth parent is relying in support of the application.

(4) In the application, the birth parent may request that the Board hold an oral hearing and the Board shall hold the oral hearing if so requested.

(5) Upon receiving the application, the Board shall promptly send,

(a) by courier, to the local director who made the determination,

(i) a copy of the application,

(ii) a notice stating that the director is entitled to an opportunity to be heard by the Board, and

(iii) a form on which the director may request an opportunity to be heard and make written representations to the Board; and

(b) to the designated custodian mentioned in section 48.9 of the Act and to the Registrar General, notice of the application that includes sufficient information to allow the Registrar General to locate,

(i) the original registration, if any, of the adopted person’s birth, and

(ii) any registered adoption order respecting the adopted person.

(6) A request by the local director for an opportunity to be heard shall be in writing, may include written representations and shall be verified by, or in the form of, a statutory declaration if the Board so requires.

(7) Written representations made by the local director shall not identify any person other than the birth parent.

(8) Upon receiving the request by the local director for an opportunity to be heard, the Board shall provide a copy of the request and the written representations, if any, to the birth parent.

(9) If the local director has made written representations in a request for an opportunity to be heard, the birth parent is entitled to respond to the representations, whether or not the Board holds an oral hearing for the reconsideration.

(10) If the birth parent, under subsection (4), has requested an oral hearing, the Board shall give reasonable notice of the hearing to,

(a) the birth parent; and,

(b) the local director who made the determination, if the local director has requested an opportunity to be heard.

(11) The notice of the hearing shall include,

(a) a reference to the statutory authority under which the hearing will be held;

(b) a statement of the date, time, place and purpose of the hearing; and

(c) a statement that if the party notified does not attend at the hearing, the Board may proceed in the party’s absence and the party will not be entitled to any further notice in the proceeding.

(12) The applicant and the local director may be represented before the Board by counsel or an agent.

(13) No person, other than the birth parent, the birth parent’s counsel or agent, the local director who made the determination, the counsel or agent of the local director and other persons whom the Board permits, shall be present before the Board when the Board holds an oral hearing for the reconsideration.

(14) The Board may require the local director to give the Board a copy of all information that the director considered in making the determination, except for information that could identify a person other than the birth parent.

(15) The Board shall give the birth parent a copy of all information that it receives from the local director under subsection (14).

(16) After reconsidering the determination of abuse of an adopted person, the Board shall affirm or rescind the determination and shall give the following to the birth parent and the local director:

1. Notice in writing of its decision.

2. Reasons for the decision, if the recipient requests them.

(17) If the Board affirms the determination of abuse of an adopted person, the Board shall promptly give notice in writing of its decision to the designated custodian and to the Registrar General and shall include sufficient information to allow the Registrar General to locate,

(a) the original registration, if any, of the adopted person’s birth; and

(b) any registered adoption order respecting the adopted person.

(18) If the Board rescinds the determination of abuse of an adopted person, the Board shall give the notice of rescission that subsection 48.9 (15) of the Act requires it to give promptly to the designated custodian and shall include sufficient information to allow the Registrar General to locate,

(a) the original registration, if any, of the adopted person’s birth; and

(b) any registered adoption order respecting the adopted person.

(19) If, under subsection 48.1 (10) of the Act, the Registrar General has given an adopted person a copy of the notice with respect to the determination of abuse of the adopted person, the Registrar General, at the request of the person, shall advise the person if the birth parent has applied for reconsideration of the determination and, if so, whether the Board has affirmed or rescinded the determination.

Withdrawal or abandonment of application

22. (1) The birth parent who has applied under section 21 for a reconsideration of a determination may withdraw the application by notifying the Board in writing at any time before the Board affirms or rescinds the determination.

(2) The Board may treat an application made under section 21 as abandoned if the birth parent does not, within the time period that the Board sets, respond to a request that the Board makes with respect to the application.

(3) If an application made under section 21 is withdrawn or abandoned, the Board shall promptly give notice of that fact,

(a) by courier to the local director who made the determination that was the subject of the application;

(b) to the designated custodian mentioned in section 48.9 of the Act; and

(c) to the Registrar General.

(4) The notice shall be in the form that the Registrar General approves.

(5) The Board shall include, with the notice that it gives to the Registrar General, sufficient information to allow the Registrar General to locate,

(a) the original registration, if any, of the adopted person’s birth; and

(b) any registered adoption order respecting the adopted person.

Service

23. (1) A notice, order or other document that is required or permitted to be given or delivered to or served on a person or body under this Regulation is sufficiently given, delivered or served if,

(a) it is delivered personally; or

(b) it is sent by regular mail addressed to the person at the person’s last known address.

(2) A notice, order or other document sent by regular mail in accordance with clause (1) (b), except if it is sent to the Registrar General, shall be deemed to be received on the fifth day after the day of mailing, unless the person to whom it is sent establishes that it was not received on or before that date because of absence, accident, illness or other cause beyond the person’s control.

(3) The Registrar General shall be deemed not to have received a notice, order or other document given or delivered to or served on the Registrar General until the Registrar General has matched it with the original registration, if any, of the adopted person’s birth or, if there is no original registration, until the Registrar General has matched it with the registered adoption order for the adopted person.

11. This Regulation comes into force on the later of the day it is filed and the day section 6 of the Adoption Information Disclosure Act, 2005 comes into force.