Senate Committee Investigates 60’s Adoption Practices

Recently a committee of the Senate held hearings and received submissions on post-war adoption practices in Canada. Origins Canada travelled to Ottawa and spoke of the numerous rights violations that were perpetrated at that time.

As frequently happens, I learned something else that I was never told “back then”, a right I didn’t know I had and could have exercised. Something that might have changed everything.

Here is the link to the Senate Report on the hearings.

https://sencanada.ca/en/sencaplus/news/survivors-of-postwar-adoption-mandate-share-their-stories/

Peace

UM

Adoption Should be A Last Resort…

It’s always good when people “Get it” particularly if that person is an adoptive parent.  From Red Thread Broken – Why I (An Adoptive Parent) Am Not Pro Adoption.

It is my belief that children belong with their first families whenever possible. Adoption should be a last resort and should be about finding appropriate families for children, not children for families. This means understanding that adoption is built on loss, and that loss is often permanent of first parents, siblings, a whole kinship system, … cultural identity, and a sense of wholeness. Adoption is not a one time act where the door to one life closes and a new, better one begins. It is a life long process of self discovery and integration, with pain, confusion, and living with dualities often regular companions. We first must be willing to see that it is arrogant to assume that having more things, opportunities, and wealth is a fair trade off for losing that first family. If we value family, we will value [first families]. (Emphasis Added)

 

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Just a reminder about the Unsigned Masterpiece typewriter.

When you see it in the upper left hand corner of a post, it means the post was written by me.

If you don’t see it there, I’m linking to something written by someone else.

Peace

UM

Well I’ll be damned!!

From the editorial in yesterday’s Globe and Mail.

“Ottawa should investigate whether a large number of women were subjected to institutionalized cruelty, and coerced into making an irreversible and life-altering decision. This is not yet a closed chapter in Canada’s history.  The pain caused by coerced adoption has the potential to ripple across generations. These women – and their children – deserve credible answers.”

We are legion and not to be ignored.  It’s nice to know Canada’s National newspaper thinks somebody should look into this.

Read the editorial.

Unwed Mothers, Unknown Choices

UM Theatre Review: Adopt This! now playing at The Toronto Fringe Festival

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Adopt This! is Dan Bingham’s one -man show currently playing in the Tarragon Theatre’s Solo Space as part of The Toronto Fringe Festival.  Bingham has taken his adoption experience and decided to make us all, the initiated and the uninitiated, laugh.

And laugh we did.  I can’t think of when I have laughed so much about adoption. Oh wait, yes I can. Never. And it felt good to laugh. Damn good!

Adopt This! at The Toronto Fringe Festival

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Writing is easy, they say – Just sit down and open a vein.  There is a one-man show on at the Toronto Fringe Festival called “Adopt This!”  It was on at the Ottawa Fringe two years ago and won for best script.  There is a very therapeutic effect to letting it all out on paper and Dan Bingham has apparently done it with humour or humor as they say in the U.S.

I have tickets.  I’ll post my review after I see it.

Click on the link to read more. http://fringetoronto.com/fringe-festival/shows/adopt-this

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