Let's say that the adoption took place last week and the parent goes to the embassy today to apply. First of all, the child must have a passport. It takes a two-part process to get a passport. First of all, they must apply for a Canadian passport. Second, the Chinese government will not allow a child to leave on a foreign passport. In this case, even if the child is Canadian, he or she must travel on a Chinese passport. So the parents must apply for a Chinese passport. After applying for it, it takes a least a few days to get a passport in China, where the process is very strictly controlled. That is not the case everywhere, however.
On December 13th, 2010. See this statement in context.