Thank you, Mr. Chairman. One of the concerns of the Adoption Act was the order of the different sections. During the public hearings, we heard that it was difficult to determine what sections apply to private adoption versus departmental adoptions. Addressing this concern requires a major reformatting of the bill for that reason. The Minister agreed to table a new version of the Adoption Act. The original version would be allowed to die on the order paper. In the new version of the Adoption Act, the committee expects to see changes to reflect the issues raised during the public hearings. This includes the following points. In determining the vast interests of a child, child and parental preference should be considered. A mother should be required to identify the father of the child if she knows who it is. While we recognize the mother's right to privacy, it is our opinion that the right of a child to be aware of his background overrides the right to privacy of the mother.

Section 14 backs to restrict financial assistance for adoptive parents to those with special needs identified prior to the adoption. We acknowledge the Minister's concern about liability. However, there must be some flexibility to address congenital problems which surface after the adoption. This would be consistent with the intent of the section.

Section 14(4) allows the department to change the amount paid to adoptive parents. We would like to see a process available for parents who want to dispute a decision to change financial support.

In determining preference of an adoptive placement, we would like to see preference given, not just to the grandparents, but to members of the extended family, including siblings, aunts and uncles. For private adoptions there should be a requirement for adoptive parents to attempt to have a pre-placement report done prior to accepting a child, whether a child is adopted through a private or departmental placement. There should still be that initial check on the home.

For out-of-territory adoptions, all aboriginal groups need to have the opportunity for input. The original bill only covered Dene chiefs. We would also like the bill to allow more pro-active involvement in out-of-territory births, where the Director revokes consent for departmental adoptions. Written reasons should be provided.

Section 27 deals with a parent revoking consent. We were concerned about a case where, for example, the mother has physical custody of the child before the adoption, but the father revokes the consent. The placement of the child needs to be clarified in a timely way which protects the best interest of the child. When a child revokes his consent to an adoption, we would like a mandatory requirement for investigation.

Adopted children and biological parents should be able to readily access adoption information. The Minister has agreed to take further steps toward open adoptions. This will include eliminating the distinction between identifying and non-identifying information. Many people said that although, legally, a biological parent ceases to be a parent with adoption, they thought that bond was still important. We think this should be addressed in the preamble.

In keeping with the intent of providing complete information through the adoption registry, the bill should allow other interested parties to have information placed on the registry. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.