Notice – Conclusion of Operation Stork: March 4, 2010 update

March 4, 2010 — Operation Stork has resulted in the successful union of 203 Haitian children 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 and a half, 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 one or two more children will be able to come to Canada under the special immigration measures, 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 adoption cases were considered advanced in the adoption process when the earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince.
• To date, 203 children have arrived in Canada since the Haitian Prime Minister gave permission for children to be allowed to travel to Canada for adoption.
  • 126 children were destined for Quebec
  • 27 children were destined for Alberta
  • 21 children were destined for British Columbia
  • 10 children were destined for Saskatchewan
  • Eight children were destined for Ontario
  • Seven children were destined for New Brunswick
  • Two children were destined for Manitoba
  • Two children were destined for Nova Scotia

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