In adoptions, confidentiality is the general rule. All the same, there are exceptions to this rule, for example when the adopted person and biological parent would like to meet each other. Confidentiality could also be relaxed to respect the law – for example to avoid a marriage between people related by blood, or for the sake of study and research, as long as the anonymity of the subjects is preserved.

You can make a request for a socio-biological history with the youth centre of the region where you were adopted. At the youth centre, you fill out the official form and provide all the information you have, in order to help search for your file and to identify you. For example, you can send them your name at birth, your date and place of birth, the date of your adoption, the names of your adoptive parents, etc.

You will receive a summary of all the information in your medical record from the time you were born until the time you were adopted. You also have access to any available information on your biological parents. Nevertheless, you cannot be given information that would allow you to identify or locate your biological parents, unless they have consented to this.

You can begin searching for your biological parents once you reach the age of 14, and even before then if your adoptive parents consent.

There are three steps to a parent/child reunion:

First, you must ask a youth centre in the area where the adoption took place to conduct a search. You can make this request at the same time you submit your application for your socio-biological history, using the same form. You can also request that this search be done once you have obtained your socio-biological history. The youth centre will then try to locate your parents using information available in its adoption records. It can even go so far as to contact the Health Insurance Board to obtain the most recent address of your biological parent.

Next, the youth centre will notify your biological parent that you wish to be reunited. The parent you are seeking has complete freedom to accept or refuse to meet. Only with the consent of the parent can the youth centre reveal his or her identity and contact information.
The third and last step is meeting your biological parent. Some youth centres insist that a support worker be present during these reunions. In many regions of Québec you can be accompanied by a volunteer from the Mouvement Retrouvailles.

Mouvement Retrouvailles can offer you support at each step during your search. You can obtain contact information on the closest office of the Mouvement by contacting the head office at (450) 646-1060 or by consulting the organization’s Web site at www.mouvement-retrouvailles.qc.ca.

The youth centre cannot notify your biological child of your search application until he has reached the age of 18.

You can submit a search application to the youth centre in the area where you gave the child up for adoption once the child reaches this age. The youth centre will then proceed in the same manner as with an application submitted by an adopted child in search of his or her biological parents. The youth centre will contact your child if he is located and the latter can either accept or refuse to have his contact information given to you.

This information will only be given if you or a member of your close family, such as your child, is at risk for serious health problems. In this case, you’ll have to go to the Court of Québec, Youth Division and convince the court that your request is well-founded. For more information, consult the Court of Québec, Youth Division in Côtécour.