We conducted private consultations and received written submissions from a variety of individuals expressing their personal views on adoption or the policies on adoption of local and national organizations.

During the course of reviewing the submissions and conducting the consultations we learned that there is a vocal minority who are strongly opposed to gays and lesbians being given the right to adopt. These persons were generally motivated by a sincere belief that children were better off with two parents, one of each gender, rather than by a desire to discriminate against other citizens on the basis of their sexual orientation. These opinions were rooted in deeply held beliefs about the nature of family and marriage and often were informed by religious convictions as well. For example, one submission quoted Genesis stating that God created man in his own image, male and female, and "their names were Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve". While these submissions were in the minority, they nevertheless reflected strongly held views. Indeed there was often discomfort expressed with the current state of the law permitting any adoption at all by homosexuals. Generally this was felt to erode traditional values and particularly the sanctity of marriage as the "cornerstone of society".

We learned that there are also strong advocates for the rights of gays and lesbians to have greater rights to adopt. Often these are homosexual persons who themselves are either parenting, or wish to be able to have that opportunity in future. Their conviction that this is in the best interests of children is just as firmly held as with those opposing. Many described the difficulties inherent in parenting a child with whom one is prevented from having a legal relationship including arranging for medical care, education, and even simple things like signing permission slips, as well as difficulty traveling. It was pointed out that without the legal relationship, the child was not protected in the event of the death of the "parent" or the separation of the "parent" from the child's biological parent.

Amongst those who supported adoption rights for homosexuals, some supported extending the right to jointly apply to adopt a child to any two adults, regardless of whether they are cohabiting together in a conjugal relationship. They admitted that there isn't presently much demand for this type of adoption, but they felt that it would be more "inclusive" to extend the model. Others felt that the present model worked well, so long as it was fully extended to homosexuals in all circumstances.

Each person consulted with was asked whether they would favour a public registration system for common-law relationships, or at least for same-sex common-law relationships given that these couples cannot marry in Canada. In the context of adoption, it was pointed out that such a system would be irrelevant. The relationship between joint applicants is thoroughly screened for permanence, health and commitment whether the couple is married or living common-law. Representatives of Child and Family Services advised that it would "make no difference to us" whether the relationship was registered.

In addition to hearing a variety of opinions about whether, how, and when adoptions by homosexuals should be permitted, we also gathered some practical information whichwas of interest and assistance.

We learned that Winnipeg Child and Family Services handle the great majority of the adoptions in the Province, some 104 adoptions last year. Representatives of that agency advised that adoption practice has changed substantially in recent years. Historically gays and lesbians simply did not apply to adopt children. Occasionally in the past 20 years, a single man or woman would apply to adopt in circumstances where there might be a strong suspicion that they were gay or lesbian. However, they certainly did not identify their sexual orientation, and if they were involved in a same-sex partnership, there was no evidence of this during the interviews or home visits. It has only been within the past 4 to 5 years that a few gays and lesbians, perhaps half a dozen, have come forward to apply to adopt, and have made full disclosure about their sexual orientation including any involvement in a same-sex relationship. In such circumstances the Winnipeg Child and Family Services Adoption Program staff have evaluated the permanence and health of that relationship in the same way they would an opposite-sex common-law relationship (even though only one of the couple was going to be permitted to adopt). They have investigated the extent to which the applicant would be capable of assisting the child in coping with discrimination which might result from having parents of the same gender, in the same way that they would evaluate an applicant who was proposing a cross-cultural adoption or proposing to adopt a child from a racial minority.

We also learned that there is a waiting list of special needs children wishing to be adopted, particularly children who are permanent wards. Winnipeg Child and Family Services said that they would welcome more prospective adoptive parents to assist with the placement of such children. The Children's Advocate advised that they deal with children every day who are unable to get an adoption placement quickly enough, or at all, again, particularly children with special needs or who are slightly older. The Children's Advocate noted that gays and lesbians are often well placed to assist these children as they themselves may have faced challenges similar to those experienced by the children in terms of discrimination or other difficulties.

We spoke to a representative from Adoption Options (Manitoba) Inc. which facilitates about 20 adoptions in Manitoba per year. In that agency the general approach involves a birth mother placing her child with the parents of her choice and very often having some level of continuing contact with the adoptive parents and/or the child pursuant to an "openness agreement". We learned that the agency has never had a gay or lesbian couple ask to be placed on the prospective parents list, and has never had a birth mother request gay or lesbian parents for placement of her child.

We learned that many gays and lesbians in Manitoba who are unable to parent choose other ways of caring for children such as fostering, teaching, and volunteering with youth. And we learned that, despite the current restrictions on adopting, many gays and lesbians were in fact jointly parenting children, sometimes from prior relationships and sometimes conceived through assisted insemination or surrogacy. Two gay men who are very active in the gay and lesbian community in Winnipeg estimated that 1 out of 10 gay male couples and 4 out of 10 lesbian couples were currently actively parenting.

We were unable to obtain statistics on the number of homosexuals who would like to adopt, but are prevented from doing so by the current legislation. A Winnipeg agency providing resources to gays and lesbians said that they hear about the problem of gays and lesbians wishing they could adopt "all the time." The same men who estimated how many homosexuals are currently parenting, anticipated that if the legislation changed, these numbers would increase substantially.

A Director of Research for a national advocacy group informed us that Statistics Canada was just starting to collect information about how many Canadians were living in same-sex relationships. He advised that certain samplings had been done from which it could be extrapolated that approximately 1% to 2% of Canadians are currently living in same-sex relationships. If those numbers are accurate for Manitoba, then there are perhaps five to ten thousand gay and lesbian couples who are cohabiting in relationships who could potentially utilize new provisions to adopt a child jointly, or to adopt the child of their partner.

Opinion on Common-Law Relationships of Jennifer A. Cooper, Q.C. - Volume 1 Submissions and Consultations
III a) Adoption Law in Manitoba	III c) The Impact of the Charter of Rights
Opinion on Common-Law Relationships of Jennifer A. Cooper, Q.C. Volume 1 Volume 2 (proposed Statute Amendments) Opinion on Common-Law Relationships of Hon. A.C Hamilton, Q.C. Final Report