Please visit our training page for more information about available training including workshops for professionals in health, early years education and other sectors.

Yes – all research project we promote must adhere to Sherbourne Health Centre’s research policy. For more details, visit our page for researchers

Yes – researchers are invited to submit publications to our library if your would like to work on another knowledge translation project with our staff, please get in touch.

Please visit our list of current resources to check with version of a resource is current.

Some of our resources are available in print through the Rainbow Health Ontario store [link lgbtqpn.ca=”” order=””][/link]. The cost reflects the actual cost of printing and shipping in most cases.

Generally, brochures, posters, cards, and resource kits are available in print or to download. Info sheets, reports, and other documents are available only as a .PDF download.

Sign up for our newsletter to find out what’s going on. Consult the What’s On page to find out about events we or community organizations are hosting. Consider hosting your own event, we can list it on the calendar and in newsletter for you.

Yes! Send the details to [email protected]
We promote events on our Community Listings, our eNews, and on Facebook and Twitter.
Events posted are intended for LGBTQ parents and prospective parents, their children, and families. Events which are recruiting participants for research or for media participation require prior authorization. Events promoting a commercial product or service are typically not posted.

We have a few educational and festive events each year. A full listing of our events is on our events page.

Please connect with us by e-mail at [email protected] over social media, on the phone at (416) 324-4100 ext 5276  or  in person by appointment.

In the past, we partnered with The 519 to offer the LGBTQ Family Planning Courses. 

We are a part of LGBTQ Community Programs at Sherbourne Health Centre.

We welcome donations online and are able to issue tax receipts.

The LGBTQ Family Planning Courses are designed to help you find information, strategies, and opportunities to build community as you consider parenthood.

The courses are not academic courses – we give you some information, but the focus is on learning together and in community. We call them closed learning groups. Expect to explore and learn together with a facilitator to guide you.

Learn more about the courses.

The courses are not designed to simply provide information – our goal is to help you find community, consider decisions you will make along the way an make decisions. You will get lots of information along the way, but if you only want information, browsing the resources in our library or booking an individual appointment with our staff might be helpful.

Some courses are offered as a weekend intensive – if you can get to Toronto for the weekend, we hope you will join us to take the course. There are no options to participate other than in person. If you would like to book an individual phone appointment or have a specific question – please e-mail us.

Yes – these courses are designed for people considering parenthood. Some people will go on to decide that parenting is not for them.

Yes – many people take our courses as single people, some are planning to parent in a co-parenting arrangement, some are planning to be single parents, and others are hoping to find a partner before becoming a parent.

That depends – if you’re not sure, connect with us by phone or send us an e-mail to figure out which course will benefit you the most.

Queer & Trans Family Planning is generally the best fit for all trans people, but does not include much information on surrogacy specifically. If you are looking to build community and make decisions, and especially if you’re not sure you want to parent, it will be a good fit.

Daddies & Papas 2B is a good fit for trans men and transmasculine people who are considering surrogacy or adoption.

We are committed to making the courses accessible to as many people as possible. If you are interested in taking the course, but can’t afford the full fee, please register for a sliding scale spot. We will then e-mail you with more information. More information about the sliding scale.

The difference is that a second parent adoption or declaration of parentage provides definitive legal proof of parentage. It means that a judge has declared that you are both legal parents, with equal standing. The All Families are Equal Act has addressed this difference – we will soon have more information on how the act applies to children born prior to January 1, 2017.

For children born before January 1, 2017:

The birth registration on its own provides presumptive proof of parentage, which is what heterosexual couples and most couples in your situation rely on all the time. The difference is that presumptive proof of parentage could be legally decided another way, in the unlikely situation that you would end up before a judge who was deciding parentage.

In most typical Canadian or Ontario family court contexts, judges weigh the established parenting situation very highly, and it is unlikely, though not impossible, that a judge would decide that one of you is not a parent.

Some countries do not recognize the mother who did not give birth through birth registration. This may be important if your child is applying for citizenship abroad, or if you travel or live abroad with your child, even once they are an adult. In that case, some parents choose to pursue a second parent adoption or declaration of parentage to make sure their parental status is recognized by another government, or to gain citizenship for their child in another country.

(Last updated: Februrary 2017)

In this situation, most people do not complete a second parent adoption. Instead, both mothers can be registered on a statement of live birth. Still, some parents may wish to complete a second parent adoption in this circumstance to feel more secure, or if there are problems having parentage recognized by foreign jurisdictions. Second parent adoption can be done at any time.

If you are not sure if you should complete a second parent adoption only a family lawyer with current experience with LGBTQ families can advise you. Be sure you get the most current legal advice possible.

After January 1, 2017 – you no longer need to complete a second parent adoption or a declaration of parentage in order to list two, three, or four parents on a birth registration. Please refer to our page on parental recognition.

After January 1, 2017: Yes! This is a change to the law following the All Families Are Equal Act. Please refer to our page on parental recognition.

You are not required to list a known sperm donor on the birth registration. You should only list the person who intends to parent.

The birth parent’s rights will be recognized, but you may wish to seek a declaration of non-parentage to establish the parental rights of the sole parents and eliminate the sperm donor’s ability to make a future parental claim.

Please refer to our page on parental recognition.

Yes. Each person involved in the adoption will need to independently meet with a lawyer from a different law firm. This includes the parent who gave birth to the child, the parent who is adopting the child, and the donor or former parent who is surrendering their rights. Children over the age of seven are required to receive independent legal advice and provide proof that they were advised of their rights.

These meetings typically take 45 minutes to an hour, it is a one-time consultation, which is different from retaining a lawyer to represent you.

You do not need a lawyer to represent you in court, you may choose to file your own second parent adoption paperwork using information from our series of info sheets.