Adoption and child trafficking in Romania: the Quebec government knew that there were irregularities in the file of a child adopted nine years ago

A Quebec woman, adopted in Romania in the 1990s under a false identity, laments that the government had been warned nine years ago by her country of origin of the irregularities in her file, but without ever notifying her.

"It's been nine years since I was told that I had the wrong identity. How many other adoptees are they hiding information from?" says Roxana Pamela Harrison, who hopes her story will force the Quebec government, which is responsible for adoptions, to be proactive.

The 33-year-old woman learned on her own a little over a year ago that she had been adopted in Romania under the identity of another child, without her adoptive parents knowing. It was when she found her biological family that she discovered that her name was "Adriana" and that she had been born in December 1990, rather than April 1991.

But when she went to Romania in January 2024 to try to get her adoption file, she was shocked to learn that her adoption had been cancelled outright. Worse still, the Quebec government had known about it since 2015.

Adoption cancelled

Since April 2024, Ms. Harrison  has been trying to obtain her adoption file in Quebec. But it was only after Le Journal asked questions on November 18 that her request appeared to have been processed. Two days later, she was summoned to a meeting with several members of the Direction de la recherche des origines et des retrouvailles internationales et intergouvernementales, including the director of the service.

"There is clearly someone who did not do their job," says the young woman who could have started her quest for identity in 2015 if she had been warned.

This is because the person - whose identity she has been unknowingly impersonating for over 30 years - had the Romanian court annul the adoption by proving that she had never been to Canada.

On May 4, 2015, the Romanian government asked the Quebec government if it was sure that Roxana Pamela was in Canada, in a letter that Le Journal was able to consult.

"A girl, holder of a temporary identity card with the surname Iordache, first name Roxana Pamela, mother's first name Maria and date of birth 22/04/1991, place of birth Dâmbovita county, declares that she has never left Romania and has lived and been raised by her biological mother," the letter reads.

"Given that we [the Romanian government] do not know whether another child left the country with the adoptive family or whether after the adoption was approved the Canadian family did not return the child for unknown reasons, we ask you to kindly inform us whether a child in the Canadian family was adopted," it added.

On May 13, Josée-Anne Goupil, Director General of the Secretariat for International Adoption at the time, responded: "Given the seriousness of the facts mentioned therein, we are processing your request with all possible diligence and caution."

Three months later, on August 5, 2015, the Secretariat for International Adoption stated in a second letter that "Roxana Pamela, born on April 22, 1991 in Targoviste - Dimbovita, Romania, was indeed adopted at the age of 3 months by a couple from Quebec."

Incomprehensible

For Ms Harrison, it is incomprehensible that no one reacted and raised red flags following receipt of this communication.

"Apparently, they just checked the legality of the papers without asking any more questions," she says angrily.

During that meeting, the department members admitted to Ms. Harrison that if they had been notified today, she would have been informed. They also apologized to her.

"We are in communication with the Central Authority of Romania to see if there are other files in which they are aware that there were illicit practices," said Geneviève Poirier, principal director of youth protection and secretary of International Child Services at the Ministry of Health and Social Services, in an interview with the Journal .

According to the latter, a communication channel has been opened with Romania in order to treat as a priority the file of Mrs Harrison , but also of other adoptees who could call on their services in the coming months.

"We will do everything to support them, to work with the Romanian government so that their rights are restored, their identity is found," promised Ms. Poirier , who expects that many Romanian adoptees will also discover irregularities with their identity.

Roxana Pamela Harrison, is happy — in a sense — that her story can make a difference for others who might be facing the same reality.

"But these are additional years that I have been deprived of with my biological family, with my brother and that I will never be able to make up for, and my aunt who has just been diagnosed with lung cancer," she denounces.

A few hours after its meeting on November 27, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) announced that it was suspending, until further notice, new international adoptions from approved organizations while a system is established that will, in particular, ensure the prevention of child trafficking.

Stuck in the Twelve Tasks of Asterix

After learning she has the wrong identity, a Romanian adoptee struggles with the Twelve Labors of Asterix to understand the steps she must take to find hers.

"I feel like no one has a clear answer and everyone is passing the buck," sighs Roxana Pamela Harrison, whose real name is Adriana Câlin, with annoyance.

After finally meeting with the Quebec government on November 27, this 33-year-old woman feels like she is alone in her efforts.

"I've been trying to figure out what to do for over a year now and it seems like no one can help me, and I'm at the end of my rope," she tells the Journal with discouragement.

Citizenship

Since July 2023, even before knowing that Romania had cancelled her adoption, she first contacted the federal government to find out what she should do. Because since she discovered her story, she fears that Canada will take away her citizenship.

Julie Lafortune, spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), explains that if someone discovers they have obtained citizenship under a false or stolen identity, they should immediately contact IRCC to resolve the problem.

But that's not what the federal government employee told Ms. Harrison .

"I was instead told to settle my affairs with the Romanian government first and then contact a long list of federal government offices," she explains.

The government employee never provided a case number or followed up with Ms. Harrison following her call.

Blockade in Romania

So Roxana Pamela decides to go straight to Romania to do it right there.

But after she is told her adoption has been revoked, she receives no help from the government. Instead, she is left to fend for herself and find answers on her own.

After almost a year, even after hiring a lawyer, Ms. Harrison still has not obtained her real birth certificate and therefore still does not know her birthday.