Information for New Seekers

Adoption Disclosure Services

Halifax District Office

6009 Quinpool Road 4th Floor

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Canada  B3K 5J7

(902) 424-2755

http://www.gov.ns.ca/coms/families/adoption/adoptiondisclosure.html

 

Note: Nova Scotia law now states that once a birth mother has passed away, you are eligible to get your complete birth file. You must first fill out a form which they will send to you and you may have to provide a copy of the death certificate or obituary. This only applies if your adoption was processed and finalized in Nova Scotia. 

 

Note: This contact is only for those whose adoptions were processed in New Brunswick. As of April 1, 2018, adult adoptees will be able to obtain forms to  apply for access to birth records related to an adoption.They will send you a form to fill out and return to them. They will provide non-identifying information. You can request identifying information which they will provide if both parties in the adoption agree to be matched. Non-identifying information may include physical descriptions of the birth parents, their approximate ages, education, religion, racial origin, medical histories and the circumstances which led to the adoption placement. 

 

New Brunswick Post Adoption Services

551 King Street

P.O. Box 6000

Fredericton, New Brunswick

Canada  E3B 5H1

1-(844)-851-0999

Email: postadoptionservices@gnb.ca   

You also might be interested in the Coalition for Open Adoption Records of New Brunswick website at COARnb.org

 

PARENT FINDERS OF NOVA SCOTIA

P.O. Box 23148

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Canada  B3A 4S9

 

CANADIAN ADOPTEES REGISTRY, INC.

Gail Hadley  (905) 563-1021

email: gail251@cogcco.ca

 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

I.C.E.

425 1st Street NW

2nd Floor ULLICO Bldg.

Washington, D.C. 20536

Attn: FOIA/PA Officer

 

Note: U.S. Dept of Justice address is to obtain naturalization data based upon the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Ask for the entire contents of your file.

 

Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia

3045 Robie Street, Suite 222

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Canada  B3K 4P6

 

According to information distributed in 1997 by Bob Hartlen, our group's former spokesperson, "Generally, you are better off if your adoption was NOT registered in Nova Scotia. This may or may not mean that yours was an "illegal" adoption. The rules were different in the past. But, it would mean that your records under your birth name are not sealed and are available, providing you know your birth name. To take advantage of this fact you would have to know your birth name provided by some other means: old documents (including U.S. immigration/naturalization forms), old records, family members, etc.

 

Providing that you were NOT adopted in Nova Scotia, you can claim to have no records of your adoption in any other jurisdiction. You should plan to offer some proof of your contention that you were, in fact, born at the IMH. Write directly to the Minister of Social Services and request a search of records to match a birth date from the Home. This is a long shot, but if only one birth is recorded for that date, you can at least begin pushing for disclosure or a passive disclosure."

 
Information on Canadian Citizenship

 

The following link contains information about Canada's current laws regarding citizenship if you were born in Canada.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/index.asp