Little, if any, enforcement of child identity rights in Canada

Most provinces or territories in Canada have the responsibility of keeping vital statistics which includes birth records.

The person with the greatest stake in the correct birth registration is the person created, the helpless newborn child.

Although vital statistics scts lists penalties for false information of $100,000 or 6 months in jail, the Canadian Children's Rights Council's repeated requests for enforcement information have been ignored by many of the ministers responsible.

In Ontario, the Hon. Jim Watson is the Registrar General and the Deputy-Registrar/Director is Judi Hartman.  Both have failed to provide enforcement information of any kind.

Judi Hartman can be reached at (416)325-4130 or email judi.hartman@cbs.gov.on.ca

We Advocate For Mandatory Paternity testing

What is the latest technology for paternity testing?
Paternity testing can now be done by means of a simple blood test of the pregnant woman after 12 weeks of pregnancy.  At that point, the woman's blood carries some fetal cells which through current technology can be separated from the mothers cells and used to establish paternity.

How are blood samples collected?
The blood sample is taken from the pregnant woman's arm in a similar manner as a sample taken for other purposes such as testing done for annual checkups.

When would a pregnant woman be required by law to prove paternity?

Every woman in Canada has the right to choose not to become a mother if she becomes pregnant. Under current law, she has no legal obligation to inform the man involved with the pregnancy, that she is pregnant or gave birth to his child.

We advocate that if she chooses to give birth, she takes on the legal responsibility to inform both the biological father and her husband / life-long partner (in the case that they aren't the same person) so that the true identity of the future child can be established and recorded truthfully in the provincial vital statistics records for birth registration.

We advocate that a woman who chooses to become a parent and therefore give birth be required within a statutory time limit to provide a legal declaration of her intent to become a parent to the potential father or sex partners she has had that may possibly be the potential father.

We further advocate that after legal service of such a declaration made by the mother, that the recipient male be legally required to provide a dna sample to a private laboratory in a similar manner as is already currently available for other paternity establishment requirements for immigration matters etc.  You may also want to read the section below on Pro-choice for men.  After he is matched, he can then choose if he wants to become a parent.

Under current laws, can a woman in Canada who chooses not to become a parent when she becomes pregnant and therefore wants an abortion, be forced to give birth even if the potential father wants to raise the child by himself and doesn't want any financial support?

No. In 1989, in the provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, ex-boyfriends tried to get injunctions to stop their former girlfriends' abortions. Chantal Daigle of Quebec was refused an abortion under an injunction appealed to the Supreme Court. During the hearing in August, the court learned that Ms. Daigle had already had an abortion in the U.S., but overturned the injunction against her anyway.

Background info:
In May,1990, the House of Commons passed Bill C-43 and the legislation was sent to the Senate for approval. In 1991, the bill was narrowly defeated by the Senate in a tie vote. Abortion was then treated like any other medical procedure giving all women in Canada the right to choose whether or not they become a parent if they become pregnant

Pro-Choice for men

What is pro-choice for men in Canada?

Pro-choice for men in Canada is similar in many ways to pro-choice for women.  It is the "next best equal legal position available" to men in the case of a woman becoming pregnant. At or before birth, as may be practical under law, a man would make a legal declaration in response of his choice to become a parent to a specific pregnant woman after mandatory government paid paternity testing.  This declaration of his choice to become parent or not become a parent would be legally binding.

The man's declaration would be a response to a woman's legal declaration stating that she is pregnant and that she believe that man to be the potential father served on him.

The man could then make the choice of becoming or not becoming a parent to that child and if he chooses to become a parent would be entitled to a relationship with that child and provide or receive financial support for the child, as the case may be, as determined by the provincial, territorial and federal acts concerning family law, custody and child financial support.

The Canadian Children's Rights Council advocates for legally binding declarations of the choice of both potential parents to become parents when a woman becoming pregnant.

What impact will it have on children?

Should major medical information about biological parents be provided for a person's lifetime as a human right?

To fully understand the impact of recent laws in Canada regarding this issue, one must read The Assisted Human Reproduction Act of 2004. Information is also available from Health Canada - Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR)

The Assisted Human reproduction Act states

"2. The Parliament of Canada recognizes and declares that

(a) the health and well-being of children born through the application of assisted human reproductive technologies must be given priority in all decisions respecting their use;"