Human Resources Committee on Dec. 2nd, 2010

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

On the idea of a national strategy, would you be recommending the provision of data to the federal government—to a department like HRSDC—to do research, monitor trends, measure outcomes, and that kind of thing?

[François Levert]

Yes.

[Pat Convery]

Yes, absolutely.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

That's it. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Mr. Lessard.

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

First of all, thank you for coming to inform us about this entire situation.

I'm going to get right to the point. I believe you are two individuals with very important responsibilities, each in your own field, in your respective provinces. Mr. Levert, you mentioned that consideration should be given to the fact that there are two levels of responsibility, of jurisdiction; Mr. Convery, you raised the point that there should be leadership, but that it should come from the federal government.

Among the recommendations that you're making to us here, the recommendation that employment insurance should be used to improve parental leave often comes up. We have been working toward that end for a good long time. The only province that has currently managed to improve it and to extend maternity and parental leave to 50 weeks is Quebec. Quebec managed to do that when it repatriated that jurisdiction.

Wouldn't that be a desirable prospect for the other provinces?

[Pat Convery]

I wouldn't know enough about that part of employment insurance to have an opinion. I'm sorry.

It's something I think should be looked at. Quebec has shown leadership in that area and on their focus on children.

[François Levert]

To my mind, to the extent Quebec's example can be used at the national level, there is definitely reason to sit down and explore the mechanisms that have been put in place and the process adopted to repatriate this jurisdiction, as you say, but also ultimately to improve the welfare of the children and the families.

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

One of the major concerns is that fewer families are currently adopting. You were asked that question earlier, and you offered some hypotheses. Are there any incentives to adoption that you think the federal government should offer in order to encourage families that might be able to adopt a child?

[François Levert]

Did you want to go first?

[Pat Convery]

It's up to you.

[François Levert]

I'm going to take the liberty of answering first before I forget what I was going to say.

Financial incentives are always cited as a way of meeting the needs of the child or the family, or both.

In our recent consultations of families of adoptive parents, one of the factors that emerged and that does not come under a financial statute is the need for practical support with regard to the programs offered. Does this mean a reduction or a tax credit? Perhaps.

However, to the extent the money or funding is provided indirectly by creating support systems, clinical or otherwise, I believe that the parents of young people, particularly those with special needs, very much acknowledge the value of these programs that enable them to enjoy certain advantages.

This is also a long-term investment, unlike a credit that is granted every year. I say that without downplaying the importance of the tax credit. These kinds of programs would be welcome, to the extent that the child could be kept in a family environment, while enjoying a social safety net.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Thank you very much.

Did you want to add something very briefly, Ms. Convery?

[Pat Convery]

Briefly, I would say that in actual fact there are a lot of families in Canada who are interested in adoption. I think another federal initiative in supporting the provinces is around recruitment awareness and education of families. We need to find families for the children who need them.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Thank you very much. That's all the time we have, unfortunately, as we have another set of witnesses coming in.

I want to tell you again how much we appreciate you being here and the information you've provided.

We will suspend for one minute to bring in the next set of witnesses.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Order.

In our second hour--which will only be going until 9:30, because we have committee business--we are pleased to have with us via video conference Susan Smith, program and project director from the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.

We are also very pleased to have with us Cindy Xavier. Welcome. Cindy is from the Adoption Support Centre of Saskatchewan.

We have also representation from the province of New Brunswick, and we're glad to have you here as well. They are from the New Brunswick Adoption Foundation. We have Suzanne Kingston, executive director, and Bernard Paulin, a board member.

Ladies and gentlemen, each one of your groups will have approximately seven minutes to present.

Can you hear me, Ms. Smith?

[Susan Smith, Program and Project Director, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute]

Yes, I can.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

We have a very short amount of time. I'd like to keep it under seven minutes per presentation.

We will begin with Ms. Xavier, from the Adoption Support Centre of Saskatchewan.

[Cindy Xavier, Executive Director, Adoption Support Centre of Saskatchewan]

Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the committee.

I believe that we all have the same philosophical viewpoint when it comes to supporting parents. Fundamentally, when parents are properly supported, their children have a better opportunity of thriving in their given environment. It does not matter whether a child comes into a family by birth or through adoption or foster care, parents and guardians of these children all need to have the resources and tools to meet the needs of the child.

Today we have outlined three important areas in which we believe the federal government could play a role in supporting adoptive parents, and in turn the children who come into their families.

Firstly, we ask that the committee make a recommendation to amend the Employment Insurance Act and Canada Labour Code to provide adoptive parents with the same benefits that birth or natural parents enjoy. We are not asking for adoptive parents to have access to the maternity benefits program of 15 paid weeks, as was done in the cases of Schafer v. Canada and Tomasson v. Canada. Nor are we asking for a 15-week extension for the parental leave program. What we are asking is that the federal government recognize the needs of adoptive parents to be as valid and substantial as a parent who gives birth. We are asking the committee to recommend creating an adoption leave benefit program for the primary caregiver of a child who comes into a family by adoption.

We feel that the current employment legislation discriminates against adoptive parents. Adoptive parents face many challenges in their journey to build a family. These challenges can have significant mental, physical, and emotional effects for the adoptive parents. However, these are largely misunderstood by the general public. Post-adoption depression is well documented but rarely talked about, much like post-partum depression was in the past. Adoptive parents face numerous challenges in meeting the medical, emotional, and psychological needs of children who may come to them having had severely damaging experiences. Some of these parents' testimonies are in the supporting document that we have provided to you.

We want to see families succeed, and we want to minimize adoption disruptions that further traumatize children and their families. We believe that an adoption leave benefit would provide adoptive parents with more opportunity to successfully parent their children.

Secondly, we are asking the committee to review the current information processes and legislation around citizenship and immigration for adoptive families. We are asking for an amendment to Bill C-37 to allow adoptees who are Canadian citizens born abroad to pass their Canadian citizenship status on to their children. This is a freedom and right enjoyed by every other Canadian citizen who gives birth and passes their Canadian citizenship on to their biological children.

We also ask that the committee recommend a review of the current information and delivery through Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Navigating the website is confusing. There is no information for adoptive parents regarding the status of countries where adoptive parents may look to adopt. Accessing consistent and concise information through the call centre is difficult. This is compounded when the adoptive parents speak another language and French or English is a new language to them.

Thirdly, but most importantly, we urge the committee to recommend that the federal government establish a higher level of service to children in care by mandating that provinces consult with the children in their care when alternative family options such as adoption are being considered. Every province across Canada is experiencing a child welfare crisis. Foster care overcrowding has been the priority in reports, reviews, and discussion papers across Canada. In 2008, the Saskatchewan children's advocate report, under the direction of Marv Bernstein, highlighted many of the critical issues for the children who reside in the Saskatchewan foster care system. Since that time, we have had a number of child deaths of the children in care in Saskatchewan. Children who cannot return to their birth family or community are still remaining in foster care for a far longer time than necessary. The longer children are in care before they may be joined with their adoptive family minimizes the chances of success and increases the risks of adoption disruption.

Children have a right to have a voice. Children have a right to have a say in what they want when returning to their birth family or community is not an option. Children have a right to timely permanency and stability when other options are not possible.

Thank you for your time.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Thank you very much.

We'll now go to the New Brunswick Adoption Foundation.

I'm not sure, but is Mr. Paulin or Ms. Kingston presenting?

[Bernard Paulin, Board Member, New Brunswick Adoption Foundation]

I'm going to start.

Good morning, Madam Chair. The two of us will be making the presentation, so I'll be quite brief.

Back in 2001, I was at the department. Today I am a volunteer. In 2001, we had 1,200 children under our care, 800 of whom were legally available for adoption. There was an eight-year waiting period for parents wishing to adopt young children. The number continued to increase. The idea arose of establishing the New Brunswick Adoption Foundation.

The New Brunswick Adoption Foundation was created in 2002 to raise public awareness. Senator Erminie Cohen became the chair of the foundation. She became the best advocate for children in care waiting for an adoptive family. A major public awareness campaign was launched under her leadership.

Since our creation, the adoption rate in New Brunswick has increased by 400%. Prior to 2002 there were only 25 kids on average adopted in New Brunswick. Now there have been over 800 children placed in adoptive homes.

I must say that at the time I was DM of the social development department, the political arm of the department was quite on board. And every time Premier Lord gave his annual state address, he gave an update on adoption. Also, Senator Percy Mockler talked about adoption at every opportunity he had. It was a priority from the top down.

Despite the success, we have come to realize that more is needed. There are still hundreds of children in care in New Brunswick, many of whom are reaching adulthood without permanent family.

I want to tell you a short story. There was a little seven-year-old boy who was asked to make a wish list a month before Christmas. At the top of his list was permanent parents. He had all kinds of hockey equipment. A year later, a home had not been found. He was quite disappointed. He said, “What about if I shorten my list? I would give all of my hockey equipment to have permanent parents. That's what I want.” Now, obviously, he's been adopted.

If you think for a moment about your own experience as a child or young person, and even as an adult, it's difficult to imagine how any of us would be where we are today without the love and support of our family. But we have kids in the system who don't have these kinds of opportunities.

What is needed? Families who have adopted, or are considering adoption and are waiting to adopt, need peer-to-peer support.

I repeat: these families need peer-to-peer support.

The New Brunswick Adoption Foundation is about to embark on a pilot project, a peer-to-peer support network for adoptive families. The aim of the pilot is to set up a program in the Moncton region of New Brunswick. Through the work of an experienced adoptive parent as coordinator, a volunteer network of experienced adoptive parents will be developed as well. The aim is to provide support to people considering adoption or in the process of adopting, and to families who have adopted.

Research on similar programs has illustrated not only that people value the support, but also that the support can proactively prevent disruptions to adoptions. As one parent who participated in a similar program stated, “For the first time I have come close to considering disruption. I am fighting to keep this adoption viable, and that is due to the support my parent-to-parent network provides. Otherwise, it would be too tough.“

Our vision is to expand this network throughout New Brunswick. The adoption foundation will play a big role. Although this program is based on similar models in the U.S. and British Columbia, it is also inspired by the family resource centre programs funded through Health Canada's community action program for children, or CAPC, which I imagine some of you know.

We recommend that a fund for a similar program be available for communities across Canada.

I will turn now to Suzanne.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

You have just a minute and a half, Ms. Kingston.

[Suzanne Kingston, Executive Director, New Brunswick Adoption Foundation]

Okay, I'll talk quickly.

Adopted children and their families need access to services. Children who are yet to be adopted need these services available to increase their chances of adoption.

Given that so many kids who are in care have very special needs, which other witnesses have referred to, there are three areas around those support systems.

Families need funds to pay for services. Although subsidized adoption programs can help, concerns and challenges often emerge post-adoption. We need federal funds to allow for those subsidized adoption programs to be more flexible and responsive.

We need specialized services. Similar to what other witnesses have referred to, often the services are not available in their communities, in their provinces, or even in their countries. So we need to make sure that there are services available for families who have kids who have been in care. Fetal alcohol syndrome is not uncommon; attachment issues are typical. Identify the key special concerns that many of those children have.

We need adoption-competent professionals. Professionals working with children and their families need to understand the unique needs of children who have been adopted. Federal funds to provide adoption competency training is needed.

Third is a bill of rights for children in care. The system is no place to grow up. Despite this, thousands of children across Canada are growing up without a parent advocating for them. Although the best interests of the child theoretically guides the workings of the systems that affect children, we know from experience that too often systems move too slowly.

A published editorial last year in the Canadian Medical Association Journal states:

Children who have a government as their parent, no matter how well intentioned or necessary that arrangement is, are often damaged by it.

Children in care need special protection. We would like to propose the development of a bill of rights for children in care. We are recommending that this be led by the federal government. For example, we envision rights that state the right to a permanent family, that children are safe in care, and that the processes work quickly.

Four, we also are asking for federal leadership on interprovincial adoption.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Thank you.

I know we had to rush through, but I think all of us have this presentation. It definitely will be part of our report. So thank you very much for preparing that.

We'll now go to our last presenter.

We have Susan Smith speaking to us. Are you actually in Raleigh right now, in North Carolina, Ms. Smith?

[Susan Smith]

Right, I'm in North Carolina. Hello.