Privacy commissioner backs 86-year-old man's effort to identify his birth father

An 86-year-old Nova Scotia man's quest to identify his birth father has received a boost from the province's information and privacy commissioner.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was placed in foster care in May 1931 by his mother and his grandmother. The only records provide a name for the father, but no other identifying information.

• Nova Scotia mother reunites over holidays with son separated after adoption

The man has been unable to get that name from government agencies, so he took his case to the province's information and privacy commissioner.

In a decision released earlier this month, the commissioner recommended that the Department of Community Services give the man the name listed as his father's in his foster records.

The office of the privacy commissioner said it is only because the man was in foster care that he was able to make a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. If the man had been adopted, the office said that recourse wouldn't have been open to him.

The man and his daughter have waged a lengthy campaign to figure out the identifies of his birth parents.

"The applicant's daughter contacted the regional health authority, Vital Statistics, a number of local churches and a local diocese," privacy commissioner Catherine Tully wrote in her decision.

"As a result of these efforts she was able to locate a short form baptismal certificate and obtained confirmation of the applicant's mother's name."

Tracks down mother

However, the mother's name was fairly common, so the man had to go through DNA testing to confirm her identity.

He tracked down a niece, who told him that his mother had subsequently married and had three children. The niece also said the mother died in 1961.

But the niece, and none of his other surviving relatives, were able to shed light on his father's identity. That remained locked in government files. The only extra detail they gained was from the DNA testing, which revealed his father was Jewish.

The privacy commissioner says in 1931 there was social stigma and embarrassment surrounding the birth of an illegitimate child.

"As a consequence it is likely, in my opinion, that the identity of the birth father was provided in confidence," she said in her report.

"I would also add that given the social stigma in 1931 it is also likely that the birth parents did not share the fact of the birth of their son with family members."

Those reasons, the commissioner noted, weighed against releasing the name.

Reliability

In its arguments against the release, the Department of Community Services questioned the reliability of the 85-year-old information, saying there was no other identifying details in the file, just the name.

However, Tully ultimately said it was in the best interest of the 86-year-old son to release the name.

"A key factor in favour of disclosure is the age of the records and the change in societal views regarding children born out of wedlock," she wrote.

"As a result I recommend that the department disclose the name of the individual identified as the applicant's father in the records."

Tully also said disclosing the information would not be an unreasonable invasion of privacy given the likelihood that the 86-year-old man's father died more than 30 years ago.

The department has 30 days from the release of the commissioner's report to respond. If the department rejects the recommendation, the decision can be appealed to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

• Nova Scotia again urged to open adoption records