Sarah
on Canada
All adoptions in Canada are handled provincially, not nationally. So, a person needs to start their search in the province where the adoptee was born/adopted.
Requests for Non-ID info can take 6 to 24 months, depending which province you're dealing with, but requests take the longest in Ontario. In Ontario, adoptions are handled not just provincially, but according to districts, so a person needs to contact the Children's Aid Office in the appropriate district. (In my case, it was the Wellington Children's Aid, since my birth brother was born/adopted in the city of Guelph.)
From what I've heard, British Columbia is the province where searches take the least amount of time. The provincial NDP government established laws allowing somewhat freer access to personal information; something which not all other provinces have done.
In all major Canadian centres a searcher should look into either Triad or Parent Finders to help them search. These are good groups who charge minimal membership fees and provide a wealth of information.
There is new legislation (hopefully) going through July 1, 1996 that will allow all searchers easier access to information about their birth rights, but we'll have to wait and see if it really goes through.