After undertaking costly procedures, a Quebec couple launched a cry from the heart in order to be able to expand their family with the help of a surrogate mother from New Brunswick, which is not on the list of Canadian provinces recently authorized by the Legault government.
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Patrik Garon and his partner are imploring Quebec to allow them to complete the surrogacy process started with a New Brunswick woman, who agreed to carry their second child. They also sent a letter to the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette.
“It’s the desire to start a family, it’s the desire to give siblings to our first child, it’s the desire to fulfill ourselves as a human being, to fulfill ourselves as a family,” confides the 41-year-old man in an interview, struggling to contain his emotion.
A law now governs the use of surrogate mothers in Quebec. Since June 6, surrogate pregnancies can also be carried out with the help of a woman from Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. But not New Brunswick. They never suspected that the government would exclude the Maritime province before investing nearly $60,000 in the adventure.
The two men had taken steps to expand their family in December 2022, before the adoption of the Quebec law.
“A nice story”
Already parents of a three and a half year old little girl from a New Brunswick surrogate mother, their first experience was a success. “It’s a very beautiful story” made possible through a Toronto agency specializing in surrogacy, which matches intended parents with women who agree to undertake a pregnancy for another, explains Patrik Garon .
The very expensive process is supervised by lawyers and a contract is signed between the parties before fertility treatments begin. Surrogates are not paid, but the pregnancy-related expenses and the associated loss of income are assumed by the intended parents. Expenses that often exceed the $100,000 mark.
The rare pearls
But since surrogate mothers are not commonplace and the current must pass between the parents and the woman called to carry the baby, the couple’s second project was a long one. After six unsuccessful matches, Patrik Garon and her husband finally found the rare gem a few months ago, a surrogate mother once again from New Brunswick.
“There are two lawyers in the file, a contract, we have eight embryo loans, we have a surrogate woman with whom things are going really well, she is a really good ally. They came to Montreal, we met her husband, his family, pleads Patrik Garon, tremors in his voice. I hope there is someone who will say that we can [nous] give the chance to complete this project because changing surrogate mothers means additional costs […]it’s a long process, a lot of emotions…”
All the more so since the couple and the stakeholders in the case were quite surprised that Quebec excluded New Brunswick from the jurisdictions where it is permitted to use the services of a surrogate mother.
Mr. Garon emphasizes that Quebec law provides that the government designates states where practices do not contravene public safety, the integrity and the interests of the child. According to him, we certainly cannot compare the maritime province to what is happening in countries like India or Colombia.
The Department of Justice emphasizes that the government can take into account any criteria it deems appropriate, such as the similarity of the rules with those of Quebec, in making its choice. “Since New Brunswick does not provide any legal framework for surrogate pregnancy, this condition has not been designated,” it states.
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