The Government of Saskatchewan unveiled five proposed changes to the province’s Adoption Act Monday, which aims to help adoptees and their families.
Two of the changes include providing better guidelines around how a child’s voice may be heard in court and increasing the number of days for birth parents to revoke their consent to adoption from 14 to 21.
The government said this time period aligns with the majority of other jurisdictions in Canada.
Another change is altering how adult adoptees and birth parents can access identifying information from the adoptee’s birth registration and allowing the government to better enforce compliance if an individual’s preference for contact is violated.
According to the provincial government, requirements will now be the same for all children being adopted by Saskatchewan residents, even if the child’s country of origin is a signatory to the Hague Convention.
The Hague Convention is a multilateral treaty which makes it easier to recover a child internationally abducted by a parent from a member country.
“We wanted to be able to put regulations in place that would ensure that we were not allowing by default, adoptions where there may be trafficking involved or money exchanged,” Social Services Minister Donna Harpauer said.
In the event that adoptive parents pass away, the Minister of Social Services will be able to enter into assisted adoption agreements with their subsequent legal guardians. The benefits would follow the children.
“The changes we are introducing are a part of the Government of Saskatchewan’s strategy to transform child welfare in our province for the benefit of our youngest citizens, their families, and communities,” Harpaurer said.
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