Adoption/Birth Records question.

Just wondering if anyone knows about Ontario birth records holdings. A close friend who was adopted comes from a small town in Northern Ontario. She has never been able to trace her birth family due to two different circumstances. She was adopted, then (if I'm remembering this correctly) her adopted mother passed away. Her adopted father placed her in the care of another couple, then he passed away. Her 'parents' who raised her apparently have no official/legal status as parents as this was never altered from her first adoption. Also, the town hall burned down years ago with all the records.

Does anyone know of another avenue she could follow based on the name/names she is aware of? Would there be duplicate records archived anywhere else?

Has she sent for her non-identifying information? Was her adoption through the CAS?

And here's a site that was recommended to me by an adoption disclosure worker:

http://www.canadianadopteesregistry.org/index.html

If she knows which Hospital she was born in, they also keep a record in the Hospital of all births.

UM she hasn't applied for anything.......she's really not sure where to start. Other than knowing she was adopted and ended up with another family she only has one or two names or partial names to go on.

Darworth, I'll ask her about the hospital. We talked about this maybe a year ago and I can't remember all the details, but I believe where she was born no longer exists.

Thanks UM for those useful links. I'll get in touch with her and try to clarify some more info. She has no luck when it comes to technology and relies on me a lot to 'find' things.

If the Hospital was decommissioned, then all records would be moved to the Hospital which replaced it, or if no replacement was built, they are sent to the Hospital that takes over coverage of that region.

I don't think the hospitals are allowed to release the information she's looking for. Her birth registration/certificate would have issued under her adoptive parents names.

Rottn, the first link steps you through the applications she'll need. It really is quite easy now. I did it before they opened the records, had to go through an intermediary (which actually turned out to be a good thing) and it took YEARS.

Good luck to your friend!