Bill 137 explained in plain English
Cy and Ruby's Act (Parental Recognition), 2015
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 137, Cy and Ruby's Act (Parental Recognition), 2015, updates Ontario law to recognize parentage based on agreements and assisted reproduction, in addition to biological ties, and makes consequential changes to related acts.
This bill, known as Cy and Ruby's Act (Parental Recognition), 2015, aims to change how parentage is determined in Ontario. It expands the definition of parentage beyond biological ties to include agreements and circumstances related to assisted reproduction and surrogacy. The bill also updates laws regarding the certification of births and the recognition of parentage in various legal contexts, including adoption and family law. It clarifies that biological or genetic relationships, as determined by ancestry tests, are not the sole factors in determining legal parentage.
- Amends the Children's Law Reform Act to redefine parentage based on specific rules outlined in Part II of the Act, which include arrangements for assisted reproduction and agreements regarding parentage.
- Changes the Vital Statistics Act to state that 'parents' rather than 'mother and father' are to certify a child's birth.
- Introduces provisions for determining parentage in cases of assisted reproduction, surrogacy agreements, and post-mortem conception.
- Clarifies that an ancestry test's determination of a biological or genetic relationship does not solely determine legal parentage.
- Modifies laws to allow for scenarios where a child may have more than two legal parents.
- Makes various consequential amendments to related legislation to align with the new definitions and rules for parentage.
- Individuals seeking to establish parentage for children.
- Parents and intended parents involved in assisted reproduction, including donors and those using surrogacy.
- Children whose parentage is being determined.
- Individuals involved in adoption processes, including adopted persons and birth parents.
- The Registrar General of Ontario, responsible for vital statistics and birth registration.
- Courts and legal professionals involved in family law cases.
- The general public, as the determination of parentage impacts various legal and social frameworks.
- The right to apply to a court for a declaration of parentage.
- The right for parties to enter into agreements regarding parentage before conception.
- The right for parties to withdraw from parentage agreements before conception.
- Provisions for establishing parentage in cases of assisted reproduction, including donor rights and responsibilities.
- Rules regarding the recognition of parentage in surrogacy arrangements.
- Provisions for parentage in cases of posthumous conception.
- The right to use ancestry tests in parentage proceedings, with the caveat that test results do not solely determine legal parentage.
- Rights and obligations related to the certification of birth and the issuance of birth certificates.
- Provisions for adopted persons and birth parents to submit notices regarding contact preferences or wishes not to be contacted.
- The ability to submit disclosure vetoes to prohibit or allow the disclosure of information in adoption cases.
- Restrictions on contacting individuals who have expressed a wish not to be contacted, with potential offenses for non-compliance.
- The Act comes into force six months after receiving Royal Assent.
- The bill may impose costs on parties involved in parentage disputes who are ordered to pay for ancestry tests.
- Failure to comply with a court order for ancestry testing may lead to inferences drawn by the court.
- Knowingly contacting or attempting to contact an individual who has expressed a wish not to be contacted may be considered an offense.
- The bill itself does not specify penalties for offenses related to contacting individuals against their wishes, but implies that such actions are prohibited.
- The bill does not explicitly define 'significant period of time' or 'settled intention' in relation to parentage, which could lead to interpretation in legal proceedings.
- The effectiveness and interpretation of 'parentage agreements' may be subject to judicial review.
- The bill does not detail the specific criteria for 'prescribed persons' or 'prescribed circumstances' for amending birth registrations, leaving these to regulations.
- The specific 'criteria' for a 'surrendering parent' are to be prescribed by regulations.
- While the bill allows for more than two legal parents, the practical implications and legal recognition in all contexts are not fully detailed.
- The bill does not specify penalties for offenses related to contacting individuals against their wishes, only that such actions are prohibited.
Changes how parentage is determined, moving beyond 'natural parents' to rules in Part II of the Act that cover assisted reproduction and agreements about parenthood. It also clarifies that ancestry tests alone do not determine parentage and allows for more than two parents to be recognized. Multiple sections of the Act are amended or repealed to implement these changes.
Source: Sections 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44
Updates the certification of a child's birth to refer to 'parents' instead of 'the mother and the father'. It also includes definitions and provisions related to birth parents and modifies rules for amending birth registrations and issuing new birth certificates. It also changes rules concerning adoption records and contact between adopted persons and birth parents, including the use of notices and disclosure vetoes.
Source: Sections 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
Requires the consent of a person declared a parent under the Children's Law Reform Act before another person can apply to change a child's surname, if an order changing the surname has already been made.
Source: Section 29
Makes changes to the French versions of definitions and sections related to parents, relatives, and adoption, including introducing the term 'parent proche' (close relative) in certain contexts.
Source: Sections 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
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