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Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham speaks to reporters at an energy conference in St. John's, N.L., on June 2, 2026. The Canadian Press/Sarah Smellie
Newfoundland and Labrador’s premier is promising to fix a policy that prevents parents from accessing the medical records of children 12 or older without their consent.
Premier Tony Wakeham has announced an immediate review of the Personal Health Information Act and other relevant legislations, saying the province’s new health information system—CorCare—does not sufficiently respect a parent’s right to make decisions for their children.
The launch of CorCare’s digital MyHealthNL tool this spring exposed a gap between policy and public expectations, Wakeham said in a statement, citing negative feedback from parents.
“It has become clear that there is significant confusion and concern regarding parental access to their children’s medical records following the rollout of the new healthcare information system,” Wakeham said. “I want to be categorical: Parents are the primary protectors of their children. Our government believes that parents or guardians should always have the right to access their children’s healthcare information.”
Wakeham’s statement addresses a letter sent earlier this month to every parent of school-age children by Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services. The letter details the process by which parents can obtain their children’s medical records through the MyHealthNL online platform.
Under the revised system, parents can request proxy access to their child’s personal health record through their MyHealthNL account. Access to the record will only be available if the proxy is approved, and it will end once the child turns 12.
That’s because the privacy of children 12 or older in Newfoundland is protected under the “mature minor” doctrine and confidentiality laws. Parents must apply for proxy access and can only view records if consent is given by the child. This access would then end once the youth turns 16.
Kids 16 and older can choose “any trusted person” to be a proxy and share access to their personal health record, according to the letter. They can also choose the level of access and can add or remove a proxy whenever they wish.
The current “mature minor” policy has been in place for decades, but the letter sent to parents brought the issue to the forefront, eliciting thousands of comments on various Facebook posts.
Most of the comments criticized the regulations, arguing parents should have unrestricted access to the medical records of their minor children. Hundreds of people also commented on Wakeham’s announcement, and applauded the government’s response.
Wakeham said in his statement that although his government did not create the policy, they are committed to revising it.
“We can’t allow a policy of ‘secrecy by default’ to stand between parents and the health of their children,” he said. “We have heard clearly from families across the province, and we will ensure the law supports parents and guardians while protecting the best interests of children and youth.”
‘Mature Minor’ Rules by Province
Parental access to the online medical records of pre-teens and teenagers varies from province-to-province because there are no federal rules in place. Each province determines its own age criteria to balance a guardian’s legal duties with a youth’s right to privacy.
Full parental portal access ends at 12 in British Columbia. After this, parents are restricted online and can typically only view basic information like immunization history.
Similar rules apply in New Brunswick. Parents must obtain their child’s explicit, co-signed consent to access their health records when the child is between 12 and 15 years old. At 16, youth are legally recognized as adults for the purposes of accessing their own health information.
Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec establish 14 as the age at which adolescents are granted the legal right to oversee access to their medical records.
The Alberta government rolled out updates to the MyHealth Alberta platform in February that changed the cutoff age from 12 to 16. Parents are now allowed to request independent proxy access without a provider or child’s consent up until the youth is 16. Prince Edward Island also ties digital parental access to a child’s 16th birthday.
Ontario and Nova Scotia have no established minimum age for health-care consent. If a child is deemed “capable” by a doctor to understand a treatment, they control that specific record. Parents in Ontario are usually permitted to oversee proxy files for children younger than 16 for general digital portals like ConnectMyHealth.
