Law Times

Page 12 February 27, 2017 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com says. "The new act doesn't add a modification to the word 'risk,' and it's going to continue to result in children being apprehended, in my view, unjustifiably." Kavassalis identifies the OCL's biggest goal as the revamping of the access provisions. "I don't think the present pro- visions that apply once a child is a crown ward are child focused," she says. "They make it difficult for sibling connections to be maintained. You have to show that it's beneficial to maintain contact and that it won't impair adoption. It's hard for a child to get that evidence." She stresses the importance of children, at the very least, main- taining sibling relationships. "If they are going to lose some relationships, they shouldn't lose all of them," she says. "We want more of a best interests test." Schuman applauds the exten- sion of protection to older chil- dren. "There is an issue with the current act so that 16- or 17-year-olds can basically be left on the street," he says. The OCL is already taking steps to prepare for this change. "Representing 16- and 17-year- olds for the first time in child protection proceedings is very different to representing young children," advises Kavassalis. "I'm hoping that ADR will be used primarily, as opposed to the court process. At that age, they have to be part of the decision-making. " In the broader picture of Chil- dren's Aid Society oversight and organization, lawyers are pleased to see additional oversight but eager to see more movement on amalgamation of societies. "This doesn't quite go far enough," says Gagné. Schuman says his biggest concern is that even if the act gets everything right, it may fail through lack of resources. Kavassalis believes the OCL is already getting the resources it needs to meet its obligations. "That's not just financial re- sources but human resources — lawyers to do the work and lawyers trained to do it proper- ly, especially with regard to in- digenous families. It's important that our lawyers put in the effort to be well prepared," she says. LT nurse try to figure out what the surrogacy agreement says?" Flowerday says the waiting period puts intended parents in a difficult position. "There are a multitude of sce- narios which could arise in the first week of a child's life where a legal limbo period would not be very helpful in the least," she says. "Also, it f lies in the face of the removal of judicial oversight. In one breath, the government is acknowledging the importance of the relinquishment and ac- ceptance of parental rights by having the surrogate and the intended parents wait seven days post-birth before swearing a statutory declaration, and yet the government has removed the involvement of the judiciary to ensure that certain standards are met." Jordan says the seven-day waiting period makes sense if the law recognizes traditional and gestational surrogates the same way. "A traditional surrogate couldn't give up rights to the child before the child is born," she says. In fact, she sees the seven-day joint period being subject to the gestational carriage agreement as a significant improvement. "Before, the birth mother was the parent regardless of whether she was the genetic mother or not," she says. "I'm sure intended parents would like to automatically have parentage from birth, but because they are treating gesta- tional and traditional the same, it wouldn't be appropriate. Once hospitals become familiar with it, this will assist." Jordan points out that if there are problems, the parties can still go to court. "Parentage is only registered if everyone is consenting," she says. In fact, the registration part of the process has been well re- ceived by clients. "The registration process for parentage has gone well," says Cohen. "It is one week or two faster than when we had court applications. So far, the process is a bit difficult, but when people become more familiar with the documents, that will sort itself out." Cohen says clients like the approach "because it chops off a huge part of the process." "There are two steps to the process — having the agreement in place and the parentage pro- cess," she says. "Quite frankly, the judicial declaration was the more expensive of the two processes. It's encouraging that costs are down." Lawyers agree that the prob- lems with the act will not stop people from using surrogacy. "It won't stop anyone," agrees Lam. "Laws are so slow and people aren't getting any younger." LT FOCUS Continued from page 8 Wait period puts parents in a difficult position Modernization welcomed Continued from page 9 Nancy Lam says new legislation on surro- gacy will not stop people from participat- ing in the process. 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