Page 4, The Herald, Tuesday, Apri! 7, 1981 - “= General Office - 635-6357 Circulation - 635-6387 Publisher — Garry Husak Egitor — Pete Nadeau CLASS. ADS. . TERRACE - 635-4000 CIRCULATION . TERRACE - 635-8357 Published every weekday at 3010 Kalum Street, ’ Terrace, B.C. Authorized as second class mail. Published by = postage guaranteed, - : NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT The Heratd retains full, complete and sole copyright in S any advertisement produced andor any editorial or 2 pholographic content published in the Herald. <3 Reproduction is net permitted without the written = permission of the Publisher... x The second ina series of three articles by Gordon Hardy on ‘sdopting a child in B.C. == Adoptions are for life. Once you've adopted a child, your Tgsponsibilities towards him or her are the same as if the shild was naturally yours. 2Fhis is the big difference between adopting and fostering. - Hefeater child, though in a foster parent’s care, may return Bdme to his natural family or may remain a ward of a B.C, fificial called the Superintendent of Child Welfare. An adopted child, on the other hand, is treated by law just like © your own natural child, 3-Dnce an adoption has been confirmed, the child loses any inheritance rights on the estate of its natural parent; instead, twill have them on the estate of its adopted parents, + Likewise, the natural parents are not required to make any ‘maintenance payments to the adopted child’s upkeep. degally, they are no longer its parents. The “real” parents fare the adopted pareats and there is no way of undoing an Sddoption once it is confirmed. : Because adoption is so final, B.C. law allows for a ‘probation period in which adopting parents and children have time to adjust to each other. This period begins when a rhild begins to live with the adopting family and ends six Months later when an adopting order is made by the Supreme Court of B.C. During this time, social workers from the Ministry of Human Hesources (MHR)} keep iabs on the family situation. : Some attempted adoptions don’t work out. Chris Reinhold nf the MHR says children are sometimes returned during the probation period because the family realizes it has taken on more than it can handle. Other reasons, sych as marriage breskdown or iliness, may also contribute to the adoption breakdown. The child itself, if over the age of 12, may not _ consent tg headoplion, This consent isnecesssry. ““Once the adoption order has been made, both the natural parents and the Superintendent of Child Welfare are out of the picture. However, the natural parents can play a role with the MHR in helping to select the kind of family which they think will make the child most happy. Reinhold says the MUR welcomes such participation by the natural parenis. Many are forced by poverty or youth to give up their children; on top of this, they may feel the stigma of being seen as callous or indifferent. While they will not learn the identity of the adopting femily, their anguish can be tem- pered by the knowledge they’ve help select a good family for their child. : Many adoptions involve step-parent adoptions. For example, a husband may want to adopt the children hia wife had in a previous marriage. Changes in the Adopting Act of B.C. have simplified this kind of adoption by eliminating the need for an MHR in- vestigation. . A stepparent adoption generally requires the consent of both the natural parents. For example, both the natural mother and father will have to consent to the adoption of children by the natural mother's new husband. However, in cases where the best interests of the child are at stake, a court may dispense with this consent. According to Jane Auer, a B.C. lawyer who works in the adoptions area, atep-parent adoptions have often been used as a Lactic for cutting natural parents out of the picture. A natural parent's opposition to a step-parent adoption, she says, is cometimes based on fear cf being denied access - or visiting rights - to a child. A father might worry that if be consents to the adoption of his child by his ex-wife's new husband he will not see the child again. But Auxier says recent court cases have held that a step: parent adcyiion will no! m«cesarily exclude a natural parent from eecess to childrcn. This means, for example, that if a court has awarded a divorced father weekly visits to his children, he will not necessarily tose these even if his children are adopted by his ex-wife's husband. Next: Fostering v. Adopting : The Herald welcomes its readers commenss. All lefters to the editor of general public interest will be printed. We do, however, retain the right to refuse to print letters on grounds of possible libel or bad laste. We may also edit letters for | style and length. All letters to be considered for publication must be signed. - daily! ald “ Sterting Publishers. |. : Regisiration number 1201. Postage paid in cash. return ‘ __ “Everyone out of the pool!” WHY VOTE FOR THE ‘LIBERALPARTY 2, stole Hal Aad ck i3jea Al Vaomer, T'M ASHAMED You! ALL WEEKEND You WATHED SPoRTS. INVADED IS IN CHAOS! MATOR ISSUES THREATEN CouLb Be EL SALVADOR SusT ONE weekend mER AS SOON LeT ME EXPLAIN To YOU |/ AS THe CANUCKS ARE OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS. ' offered for these Increases. ' VICTORIAg - REPORT by FRANK HOWARD SKEENA MLA Debate In the’ fegislature recently focused on , ) the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Universities, Sctence and Communications. We In the NDP spent most of the time ralsing concerns about the level of government spending proposed in this year's estimates, particularly in non-essential areas. tn every estimate for every government department there are large increases In such items as travel expenses, advertising and publications, office space, office equipment and "other expenditures”. ; Other expenditures” - what does that mean? This year’s budget shows $563 million In “other expenditures’, scattered throughout the varlous depariments. To date, no ‘satisfactory explanation has been Some have cojec- tured the money is simply padding in the budget _ which can be used for political purposes ater on. The NOP caucus has decided to move budget cuts. We have gane item by Item through the estimates and moved to cut items which are not necessary to provide service to residents of B.C. BHI King (NDP Shuswap-Revelstoke) and NDP forestry spokesperson moved to pare slightly more than $}2 million from the estimates of the minister of forests. $12 million may not seem much compared with the spending of more than $300 milllon which the ministry af forests Is * responsible for. Nonetheless, the Social Credit government refused fo accept the NDP amend- ments, and the “padded” estimates went through. , ‘ Curiously, the forest minister tried to defend his budget by saying it does not reflect the government’s spending plans. He said the government plans to cut 2.3 per cent out of the budget during the year. If this is so, the NDP members wondered why the government js requesting the legislature to vote money it does not intend ta spend. The . government is only supposed to ask for such sums a5 are required to defray the expenses of Funning the departments for the year. Asking any more money means the budget Is. padded. Ergon (eiseg* Mae od qui g. ae en “Int the Ministry’ of Universities, Science and Communications, a similar story was found. Again, items that are not related to programs for people, were found to have increased dramatically. Gary Lauvk (NDP Vancouver Centre), NDP spokesperson for the ministry, moved @ series of amendinents on Friday, March 27, to pare half a million dollars in such Ttems from the budget. These were all defeated by the Social Credit majority. In short, Social Credit cannot justify the massive tax Increases brought In this year. ‘It appears they had to pad the budget in order to. show «8 projected deficit, which they then cevered with tax increases. We believe that the budget Is being padded so that Social Credit can build up a war chest for the. next election. The plan Is to attempt to buy you off with your own money. aed De Canada has - African connections ‘CALGARY (CP) -— black. culture is called the | Thompson, a. University historian of. Canadian society has long been permeated by African culture but most people don't realize it, says Robert Yale African art. In Calgary recently in con- “nection with the Glenbow Museum’s art exhibit, Treasures of Ancient Nigeria, Thompedn. said a . cultural connection between Hie two continents can be * traced back to 17th century _ slave trading. The most obvious con- nection comes through black “ pnuaie, frooa rock and roll to jazz, he sabd. “The off-daty hours of Albertans are radia'~ 1 with this blackness, even befare . they enter the museum. Just turn on the radio and tune in,” Thompeon said. “Every Canadian into jarz or rock is caming home to Africa; Bot the difference is that it is mediated by an aristocracy of style. The “mere black basketball player or the football player running for a touchdown has something in common with the kings of Africa.” Thompeon said the thread which links various forms of . “esthetle of the cool.” “Composure and self- control is one of the major goals of the black world. You can see it in black athletes and black leadership and in the way traditional African families sit for a ‘ Li] For instance, none of the Pieces in the Nigerian exhibit include women bearing Mona - Lisa-like smiles, he said. tionary. It's a dance, a posture. The KiKongo word ‘boogie’ means devil rousic, : tnusic « that’s. . just. too delicious to be good.” =. and I'l ehow you an African word: samba, mambo, tango, bossa neva. “My bag is trying to take |