New Surrogacy and Parenting Declaration Laws Upcoming in Ontario
Last week I wrote about the province’s new Bill 28, The All Families Are Equal Act (Parentage and Related Registrations Statute Law Amendment), 2016. This new legislation, which is at the Third Reading stage and thus likely to pass into valid law soon, makes several changes to existing statutes that govern the intricacies of parentage.
Specifically, it amends the Children’s Law Reform Act, (by establishing new surrogacy and parenting declaration rules) and the Change of Name Act and the Vital Statistics Act (relating to name changes and birth registrations, respectively).
Here are a few more of those upcoming changes:
Surrogacy
• There are new rules relating to surrogacy situations, including the provisions dealing with the agreement that governs the parties’ relationship, and various provisions relating to the surrogate providing her consent.
• The Bill also gives surrogates a seven-day “cooling off” period before the intended parent of the child take custody.
Parenting Declarations
• Specific provisions deal with the ability to apply for a court-ordered declaration that a person is or is not a parent of a child.
• In this regard, the making of a declaration is subject to the court’s considerations relating to the best interests of the child.
• Such a declaration can also be set aside in the right circumstances; otherwise, it is recognized for all purposes and is deemed to be effective from the date of the child’s birth.
Other
The new Bill also amends the Vital Statistics Act and the Change of Names Act, to bring it in line with the various changes relating to determining and declaring parentage in assorted circumstances, including assistant reproductive technology. The amendments relate to document name changes and birth registrations.
