Human Resources Committee on Nov. 25th, 2010

[The Chair (Ms. Candice Hoeppner (Portage—Lisgar, CPC)), Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Good morning, everyone.

I would like to call to order meeting number 35 of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. Pursuant to Standing Order 108, we are commencing our study of the federal support measures to adoptive parents.

We're really happy to have officials from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration as well as the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development here with us today. Thank you very much for being here.

We've just begun our study. We know there are a lot of questions around the room on a lot of different areas, so we wanted to bring you folks in to get us started on the right foot. Thank you for being here.

We have your presentations in front of us. It looks like we'll have one presentation from each of the departments, and then we'll have a chance to ask you questions.

Maybe we will begin this morning with Mr. Griffith. Are you doing a presentation with Mr. Paquette?

[Andrew Griffith, Director General, Citizenship and Multiculturalism, Department of Citizenship and Immigration]

He's first, though.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Merci.

All right. Please go ahead. Thank you.

[Jacques Paquette, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Income Security and Social Development Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to thank you for inviting us and giving us this opportunity to speak to you about federal supports for adoptive parents.

With me today is Louis Beauséjour, Acting Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch, who will be able to answer the committee's questions on employment insurance. I also have with me today, François Weldon, Acting Director General of Social Policy, who will be able to take any of the committee's questions on federal supports available to families with children more generally.

The government recognizes that getting the best possible start in life is crucial to ensuring that children reach their full potential. That is why a broad range of initiatives has been put in place to support families with children, such as tax support for Canadian families and transfers to provinces and territories for programs and services. Families adopting children would be eligible to apply for benefits such as the Canada child tax benefit, including the national child benefit supplement, the universal child care benefit, and the child tax credit.

The Government of Canada currently has a number of support measures available to adoptive parents and their adopted children. These include recognition, through the adoption tax credit, that adoption expenses reduce the ability of adoptive parents to pay income taxes, and there's also the employment insurance parental benefit for 35 weeks.

My remarks will especially address the federal government's involvement in intercountry adoption and the complementary parental benefits available to adoptive parents through the employment insurance program.

I have to state at the outset that adoption in Canada is a provincial and territorial responsibility and that each province and territory has its own rules and regulations on all aspects of adoption, including the adoption of children into Canada. Provinces and territories or licensed adoption agencies are responsible for case management.

International or inter-country adoptions are probably the most complicated adoptions, as there are many layers involved—provincial/territorial adoption laws, federal immigration laws and the laws of the child's country of origin. Even the best prepared parents can find such a process fraught with unexpected financial, cultural, legal and other considerations. They need to know about adoption policies in a country they're dealing with. And they want reassurance that the child offered to them is legally adoptable; in other words, that he or she has not been a victim of exploitation or trafficking.

To help ensure that parents have access to the most current information at all times, HRSDC's Intercountry Adoption Services website provides an overview of the intercountry adoption process, as well as alerts about Canada-wide adoption suspensions.

The federal government plays an important role in ensuring that adoption into Canada is done in accordance with related federal laws and regulations and international treaties. For example, Canada is a signatory to both the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. These international conventions are intended to protect children's fundamental rights, provide safeguards that ensure that intercountry adoption takes place in the best interests of the child, and establish a system of cooperation among states to prevent the abduction, sale, or trafficking of children.

Our departments facilitate communication and cooperation between adoption authorities in Canada at the federal, provincial, and territorial levels and foreign authorities. It also collects information and data on intercountry adoption, facilitates research, and disseminates information on legislation, policies, and current adoption practices in other countries. As well, it facilitates issue resolution and the development of a pan-Canadian response to matters such as unethical or irregular adoption practices.

While HRSDC is the lead federal agency under the Hague Convention, three other departments are involved and have specific roles. All four departments work very closely to ensure seamless support to the provinces and territories, which in turn, of course, work directly with adoptive parents to complete the adoption process. The Department of Justice is one of them. Foreign Affairs and International Trade and of course Citizenship and Immigration Canada also have specific roles in the process. We will have more information about this in a few seconds.

As stated earlier, the federal government provides access to parental benefits, through the employment insurance program, to Canadian parents who wish to adopt a child. In 2008-09, adoptive parents received almost $24 million in EI benefits. Over the same period, according to the 2009 Monitoring and Assessment Report, adoptive parents used, on average, more than 26 of the 35 weeks of benefits available, without factoring in sharing. On average, they received a weekly benefit of $408.

In recognition of the contributions to the Canadian economy of 2.6 million self-employed Canadians, the government introduced Bill C-56, which received royal assent last December. That legislation permits self-employed Canadians to opt in to a program that provides parental benefits as early as January 2011, if they want to adopt a child.

That concludes my remarks, Madam Chair. My colleagues and I will be pleased, of course, to answer your questions.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Griffith, you have comments as well.

Thank you.

[Andrew Griffith]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

It's a pleasure to be before you today to explain CIC's role. I'm accompanied today by Erica Usher, senior director, international region, who handles many of the operational aspects of helping to reunite or unite families.

I would like to lay out the role Citizenship and Immigration staff plays in the intercountry adoption process. I want to talk about the expediting of cases during the Haiti earthquake and its aftermath, and how those were truly extraordinary circumstances. I would also like to give you an idea of the type of support Citizenship and Immigration is offering for adoptive parents.

Let me begin by talking about CIC's role in intercountry adoptions.

As my colleague has mentioned, intercountry adoption is a three-pronged process involving the provinces and territories, given their responsibility for adoption, the country of origin of the child, and the Government of Canada.

The provinces and territories are responsible for things such as the home study, which ensures that conditions are right for bringing an adopted child into a new home. Then there is the country of adoption itself, which works to ensure that the adoption is done in accordance with its local laws. Then there is Citizenship and Immigration Canada's role in giving the adopted child permanent status to enter Canada, either as a permanent resident or as a citizen.

Throughout the approval process, CIC's first priority is to ensure that the best interests of the child are taken into account and are protected in accordance with our international obligations in adoption cases and our obligations under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act.

In some parts of the world, child trafficking is a serious concern, documentation is non-existent or unreliable, there is evidence of wrongdoing in the adoption system, or limited infrastructure exists to support the protection of children. In these cases, CIC works with the provinces to ensure the best interests of children being adopted by Canadians are respected.

As we know, international adoption is a complex process. Canadian families planning to adopt children in other countries should understand that even under ideal conditions it is a lengthy process.

We want to talk about how we were able to expedite things in Haiti after the earthquake and give some examples and some contrasts. Operation Stork resulted in the successful union of 203 Haitian children with their new families in Canada. It was a monumental task. In just a month and a half, the Government of Canada and the provinces and territories processed as many cases from Haiti as are normally done in about two years. But even during this expedited process there were protocols in place that we had to follow.

We must remember that the children who came to Canada in the aftermath of that disaster were children whose adoptions were advanced in the process. Where there was a record of an adoption being completed in Haiti prior to the January 12 earthquake, those children could move directly into the immigration or citizenship process to obtain permanent status in Canada. Children with adoptions in process were only brought to Canada for expedited processing if provincial authorities had no concerns about the integrity of the cases. Special permission was also granted by the Haitian government to remove the adoptive children from Haiti to bring them to Canada. Again, let me be clear that these were extraordinary circumstances.

The position of the Government of Canada is that during war or natural disasters, family tracing should be the first priority. That position is shared by UNICEF, UNHCR, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Inter-Country Adoption, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and International NGOs such as Save the Children Alliance.

In that situation, intercountry adoption should be envisaged for a child only as a last resort once all tracing efforts have been proved fruitless and if stable in-country solutions are not available. This normally takes many months, and could take many more in an unstable, post-disaster situation.

In closing, let me note briefly one of the things CIC is doing to help parents through the intercountry adoption process.

In the coming months, the department will be offering parents a step-by-step process on our website about how to best navigate through our role in the international adoption process.

This is something that is currently in development, and once it is complete, it will allow parents to make a more informed choice when applying for permanent residency or citizenship for their adopted child.

Thank you once again for the opportunity to speak before you.

I'm happy to answer any questions, as is my colleague.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Great.

We'll begin with questions.

Madam Folco and Madam Minna, which one is going to begin?

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

I think I gave my name to the clerk.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like to thank our witnesses for being here.

Your statement was short, but it was very succinct and very precise.

You are probably aware of the fact that I worked with the Quebec government on relations with cultural communities, as they're called in Quebec. In particular, I worked on international adoptions, an area where the Quebec government plays a critical role.

In relation to the work of this committee, I have on many occasions asked myself exactly what we were seeking to achieve by carrying out this study on adoption that we began this morning, with you as witnesses.

I will repeat what you already said—to be absolutely sure that I understood you. In terms of domestic adoptions—in other words, the adoption of a Canadian child by Canadian parents—I understood you to say that Canada's has responsibilities with respect to financial assistance for parents—in other words, the tax credit and parental benefit. So, that's the situation with respect to domestic adoptions.

Now, with respect to international adoptions, to those two elements can be added permanent resident status and, eventually, Canadian citizenship for the child. As I understand it, the federal government never deals with individual case management, even in cases from Haiti where the general policy is that the federal government works hand in hand with provincial governments, and particularly with the Quebec government, obviously.

Am I wrong? Mr. Griffith, can you answer that question, please?

[Andrew Griffith]

Thank you for your question.

Your summary of our responsibilities with respect to international adoption is correct. Our role is really limited to facilitating the child's entry, either as a permanent resident, or as a citizen, but it does not concern the other details.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

I would also like Mr. Paquette to comment.

[Jacques Paquette]

Your summary is absolutely correct. With respect to international adoptions, in addition to the responsibilities that you described—and there are probably others as well—our primary role is to coordinate efforts with the provinces. Mr. Griffith referred to that. That is particularly the case where there are questions regarding the practices in certain countries.

In a way, the United Nations convention creates a network that enables us to compare our information with other countries, carry out research and verify a certain number of things.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Is that the case with Roumania, for example? A number of years ago, there were scandals relating to the adoption of children from Roumanian orphanages. Is that what you are referring to, in particular?

[Jacques Paquette]

Yes, and in some countries, the conditions are such that we have no assurances about certain things. For example, we talked about fundamental principles. We have to begin by looking for a solution inside the country—in other words, with close family members. After that, we try to find another solution within the country and, subsequently, we look at the last resort. We also want to avoid any possible child trafficking.

If there are no assurances, in specific cases, we discuss the situation with the provinces. The provinces make the final decision, but we share information with them. Often the provinces will agree to impose a moratorium on a specific country. In that case, no adoptions from that country will be accepted because of the potential problems.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Since we're talking about information, I know that you are not elected members of Parliament and that you have to be careful of what you say in front of us, but I would still like to ask you one question.

In your opinion, are there gaps in terms of the work carried out by your department—and here I am referring to your two departments—with respect to information that could be helpful, either for domestic adoptions, or for international adoptions. Could the government provide a different kind of assistance?

Here I am talking about your department, Mr.—Paquette, and yours as well, Mr.—Griffith. I'm talking about gaps, and therefore of a need for more extensive federal government assistance. I'm not talking about interference.

[Jacques Paquette]

My view is that relations with the provinces are excellent and that things are working very well. Cooperation in that area is practically exemplary, because everyone wants to be sure to do the right thing. Ultimately, we all agree on the fact that the welfare of the child is at stake here.

In both of our cases, we have said that we have to make information even more available to adoptive parents. As I mentioned in my statement, the process is extremely complex. We also need access to information that is not always easy to obtain abroad.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

I'm going to interrupt you, Mr. Paquette; you know how it works.

If there were to be more extensive federal government support, what form could that take? Could it be greater tax relief over a longer period? How do you see this kind of support? What form could it take?

[Jacques Paquette]

I was primarily referring to the fact that we must ensure that the parents are as well informed as possible, that they have all possible information when they make their decision, and that they have a better understanding of the complexity of this long and difficult process. We know just how hard it is for parents on an emotional level. The more information is available, the better their understanding in terms of their expectations of the process.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

So, as far as you're concerned, it's a question of information.

[Jacques Paquette]

Yes, to a large extent. In terms of the other aspect of this, a number of support programs are already in place.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Thank you.

Go ahead, Mr. Griffith.

[Andrew Griffith]

My sense is that the current system works quite well. There is effective cooperation between the departments, the provinces, international agencies, and other stakeholders. Sometimes there are problems in certain countries of origin. I think it's important to consider the point I raised earlier: incomplete documentation or the fact that people want to take advantage of the system to enter the country.

However, we have received information and we are currently focussing a lot on that, because a lot of our information is written in a style that may be too bureaucratic. We're trying to write using the language of adoptive parents. We're trying to see if we can present information in the form of stories and avoid jargon.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

You try to avoid using jargon

[Andrew Griffith]

That's right. It's fairly complex. It's important wherever possible to simplify things and ensure that adoptive parents have a good idea of the process, of what to expect, and of our requirements.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Thanks.

Mr. Lessard is next, please.