I'm rooting for Greg Mountenay, an expectant dad, who has filed a claim with the Human Rights Tribunal against the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan for failing to cover the cost of his surrogate's fertility drugs.  The Insurer has said that the surrogate does not meet the definition of "dependent" under ...

In very welcome news, Manitoba now has provincial legislation dealing with surrogacy: Parentage | Province of Manitoba (gov.mb.ca) .  Manitoba has now taken a significant step forward to recognize modern ways of building families! I feel very fortunate to be in BC, which was the first province to bring in ...

Saskatchewan is set to enact its much anticipated Children's Law Act which will at last provide legislative certainty regarding parentage in donor and surrogacy situations.  This is a celebrated achievement and reflects that modern realities of family building.  It is expected that the legislation will come into effect in March ...

After years and years of effort, compensated gestational surrogacy is now legal in New York.  This is extremely welcome news for those with fertility issues and those in the LGBTQ community who need to turn to surrogacy to build their families.  This is exciting news from those of us looking ...

At last, after years and years of effort, New York's new laws allowing for compensated surrogacy will soon come into effect. This is a tremendous achievement and will undoubtedly bring family building within reach for many in the LGBTQ+ community and those struggling with infertility.  I am hopeful that one ...

Every so often, you watch a movie that keeps you thinking about it even days later.  This was the case for me when I watched Ghosts of the Republique, a beautiful documentary that followed a gay French couple from the date of their marriage through to the birth of their first ...

The Canadian Government has announced that there will be a change to the interpretation of "Parent" under the Citizenship Act to allow for children born abroad to be recognized as Canadian citizens even if there is no genetic connection to the Canadian parent.  This is very welcome news to many ...

On August 30. 2019, the Federal Government published its Guidance Document relating to the reimbursement of expenses for assisted human reproduction, including surrogacy, sperm donation, egg donation and embryo donation. Health Canada has also published expense templates included in the Guidance Document to assist those involved in Surrogacy, Sperm Donation, ...

On June 9, 2019, the federal government published new regulations regarding reimbursements related to assisted reproduction.  The new regulations can be found here: http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2019/2019-06-26/html/sor-dors193-eng.html  The new regulations will take effect in June 2020. Health Canada is also seeking input regarding its Draft Guidance Document and is accepting submissions regarding that ...

14 years after the Assisted Human Reproduction Act came into effect, Health Canada has released a list of proposed allowable reimbursable expenses for surrogates and donors.  Health Canada will consult the industry on these proposals until January 2019.  For more on this story, follow the link to the CBC article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/assisted-reproduction-surrogate-sperm-1.4879572 ...

An interesting article from Above the Law about the proposed changes to Canadian surrogacy laws and the need for compensated egg and sperm donations in Canada ...

Prime Minister Trudeau said that it is time to have a national conversation about compensated surrogacy, sperm donation and egg donation in Canada.  This follows the announcement that a Liberal private member's bill will be put forward in May to decriminalize compensated surrogacy, sperm donation and egg donation in Canada ...

I am very happy to hear that a Liberal MP is bringing forward a private member's bill in May with hopes of decriminalizing compensated surrogacy as well as compensated egg and sperm donation in Canada ...

An interesting read on mitochondrial replacement therapy which involves swapping a certain type of DNA between two women's eggs.  The procedure could prevent women from passing on fatal inherited genetic diseases to their offspring ...

Professionals working in the assisted human reproduction fields are calling for the federal government to update the Assisted Human Reproduction Act to allow for compensated surrogacy.  Check out the link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/time-to-change-surrogacy-laws-in-canada-say-delegates-at-fertility-conference-1.4292981 ...

There are calls for urgent legislative change in Australia after the recent decision of the full Family Court concluded that parents who sought commercial surrogacy abroad could not be recognized as the legal parents of a child (now 3) in Australia. Follow this link to read more about it: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/surrogacy-decision-leaves-children-without-parents/news-story/865957dbf734bdda22a43b7d2933a05a ...

I had the pleasure of speaking with Lisa and Liz and they are truly two amazing women.  I wish them the best of luck with their new Fertility Consulting business - Fertility Match! Whether you are a prospective surrogate, intended parent or egg donor, check out their website to learn ...

Today Health Canada published policy proposals that will be used to guide the development of new regulations to the Assisted Human Reproduction Act.  One of the major changes to come will be the clarification of exactly what expenses are reimbursable to donors and surrogates. Click here to see the Health ...

An important documentary is airing tonight on the CBC's documentary channel.  The documentary is the result of North Vancouver filmmaker Nick Orchard's two years of work and is called "Having Our Baby: The Surrogacy Boom".  Mr. Orchard explores surrogacy in Canada from legal, ethical and medical perspectives.  The documentary is re-airing ...

We are fortunate here in BC to have a relatively new Family Law Act that makes a child born via surrogacy the legal child of the intended parents in a very streamlined way.  This was not the experience of a Manitoba couple whose biological child was recently born by a ...