Quebec Justice Minister Kathleen Weil has proposed sweeping changes to the province's adoption laws. She would like to introduce two new types of adoption, and change the rules regarding parental authority.
Weil said she is proposing the changes because she believes Quebec families have evolved, but the civil code is stuck in the past.
"People were adopting different practices in fact, but they were not recognized in law," said Weil.
Weil would like to see Quebec legislate the concept of an open adoption, where the birth and adoptive parents sign an agreement regarding continuing contact with the birth parents.
She would also like to see a type of adoption where the ties of filiation with the birth parent would actually be recognized beside the adoptive parents on the birth certificate.
Weil said that type of adoption would allow an adopted child to retain a connection with his or her biological father, rather than completely eliminating that part of their identity.
In both of those new measures, the adoptive parents would be considered the legal parents of the child.
Parental authority
Due to the increasing number of blended families in Quebec, Weil said there should be parental authority for the person who lives with the children of his or her spouse.
"The person that is living with them needs some authority vis-�-vis the school or other institutions," Weil said.
Weil will launch a wide ranging consultation in January that will deal the proposals and other issues, such as reuniting children with birth parents.
