Is there any compensation for a surrogate in Ontario?
Lisa Feldstein 
In Canada it is illegal to pay a surrogate.
The Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHRA) is a federal law that governs surrogacy and other assisted human reproduction procedures in Canada. The law prohibits the payment of any fees or compensation to a surrogate, except for her reasonable expenses "in relation to her surrogacy", such as maternity clothing, prenatal exercise classes, life insurance, counselling, and legal fees.
In order to determine what is a legitimate reimbursement, we have two sources of guidance:
1. The AHRA reimbursement regulations
2. A Health Canada "Guidance Document" to help us interpret the AHRA reimbursement regulations
In order to reimburse a surrogate, there must be a receipt and a signed and dated "declaration", which is a document that contains specific information about the surrogate and the expenditures for which she seeks reimbursement.
Unfortunately, the law is written in a manner that assumes a surrogate has the resources to pay upfront and then be reimbursed by intended parents, which can potentially lead to financial hardship. The surrogacy agreement is therefore an important tool to establish mutual expectations around reimbursements, including what will be covered and, if the parties so choose, how quickly a surrogate will be paid back.
Categories: Finding a Surrogate, Information for Surrogates