An Update.

This update came to us from our MP's office. It was received from the Russian Desk at Foreign Affairs.

Our MP, and his office, have been absolutely amazing today.

Most of this isn't new information, but it is what is most current.

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On July 3, 2013, Russia passed legislation prohibiting adoption to same-sex couples or single people in countries that recognize same-sex marriage.

On August 29, the Russian Supreme Court issued a directive that seems to restrict  adoption to countries that allow same-sex marriage that don't have bilateral agreements or that allow re-adoption without Russian approval.

It is unclear what this directive means, or if it has legal weight.  Lower courts are all interpreting it differently in Russia, leading to a variety of responses in different districts.  Some are saying they just need an agreement that there will be no re-adoption without Russian approval.

The confusion has led to open adoption applications being put on hold until there is clarification about what impact this directive will have.

Foreign Affairs is in contact with Russian officials through the Canadian embassy in Moscow and the Russian embassy in Canada, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada is also engaged because they are the federal agency that deals with inter-country adoptions.

There are about 50 open cases in Canada that may be impacted.

Foreign Affairs has sent registered correspondence to Russia asking for clarification about the impact of this legislation and highlighting the Canadian cases that are currently in progress and asking how they will be handled. They have not yet received a response.

The Russian Ministry of Education and Science, which is responsible for adoption, had a meeting with Canadian officials about two weeks ago.  The two messages were that Russia is looking to lower its inter-country adoption rate and is encouraging countries to enter bilateral agreements.

So far only one country has a bilateral agreement with Russia.  Canada has requested a copy, and legal experts are examining it to see if such a thing would be possible in Canada.  Canada is also consulting with other countries, and the problem is not isolated to Canada.

Canada's preference has been to operate under the multilateral Hague agreement, which Russia has signed but not ratified.

Foreign Affairs is raising the issue at every opportunity and advocating that ongoing cases be allowed to proceed.

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