Notice – Operation Stork: February 23, 2010 update

February 23, 2010 — To date, 202 Haitian children have been united with their families in Canada since the earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince on January 12. This was a monumental task – in just a month, the Government of Canada and the provinces and territories processed as many cases from Haiti as are normally done in about two years.

The Government of Haiti gave permission for up to 250 children to be considered for adoption in Canada. The majority of these children were able to come to Canada under the special immigration measures. While it is possible that a few more children will be able to come to Canada, this will not be possible for most of the remaining cases.

The Government of Canada included as many names as possible on the list for approval by the Haitian government. After close review, some of these children do not have the required provincial/territorial government approval for adoption. In other cases, the prospective adoptees were over 18 and ineligible to be adopted, were not matched with a family in Canada before the earthquake in Haiti, or the parents were unable to obtain provincial approval to adopt.

However, these children may be able to come to Canada at a later date through the regular adoption process, if all requirements are met. All of the parents whose adoptive children will not be able to come to Canada under the special immigration measures have been contacted.

Intercountry adoption is regulated under provincial, territorial and foreign adoption laws. In Canada, either the provinces and territories or licensed adoption agencies carry out adoption case management. For information on current intercountry adoption processes, please contact your provincial or territorial government.

Adoption facts

• The Government of Haiti has given permission for up to 250 children to come to Canada. These children were at different stages – most cases were considered advanced in the adoption process when the earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince.
• To date, 202 children have arrived in Canada since the Haitian Prime Minister gave permission for children to be allowed to travel to Canada for adoption.
  • 19 children arrived in Montreal on February 16. The children ranged in age from 20 months to 16 years old and all were destined for Quebec.
  • Two children, aged 5 and 9 years, arrived in Ottawa on February 10. They were destined for Quebec.
  • A 16 year old child arrived in Ottawa on February 6.
  • 31 children arrived in Ottawa on February 3. The children ranged in age from 6 months to 16 years old. One child was destined for Ontario, one for Alberta and the rest went to Quebec. These children were accompanied by Air Transat staff, CIC officials, and a medical team.
  • 62 children arrived in Ottawa on January 30. The children ranged in age from 3 months to 17 years. Thirty-five of the children were destined for Quebec, and the rest went to British Columbia (11), Alberta (10), Saskatchewan (2), Manitoba (2) and Ontario (2). The children were accompanied by Air Canada staff, CIC officials, and a medical team.
  • 52 children arrived in Ottawa on January 27. The children ranged in age from six months to 18 years of age. Twenty-four of the children were destined for Quebec and the other children went to British Columbia (4), Alberta (11), Saskatchewan (8), Ontario (1), New Brunswick (2), and Nova Scotia (2). These children were accompanied by Air Transat staff, CIC officials, and a medical team.
  • One child arrived on a Canadian Forces evacuation flight on January 26 and another one was already in Canada.
  • 24 children arrived in Ottawa on January 24. The children ranged in age from 11 months to 14 years in age, and were accompanied by Air Canada representatives, CIC officials, and a medical team.
  • Nine children arrived through the United States having been evacuated on American evacuation flights.

A total of 237 children were adopted from Haiti by Canadians in 2008 and January-September of 2009.