August 23, 2016
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michelle Siu
Thousands of First Nations, Métis
and Inuit across Canada who were ripped from their homes as children are
getting their day in court after a years-long struggle in what has become known
as the “Sixties Scoop,” a painful, but little-understood chapter of Canadian
history.
The so-called scoop happened between
the 1960s and the 1980s and saw thousands of aboriginal children taken from
their homes by child-welfare service workers and placed with mostly
non-aboriginal families. In some cases, children were sent to live with
families in other provinces, the United States and the U.K., often without the
consent of their parents.
A
legacy of ‘cultural genocide’
The fallout from the practice has
negatively impacted generations of aboriginal Canadians.
The final Truth and Reconciliation Commission report stated “the effects of the residential school
experience and the Sixties Scoop have adversely affected parenting skills and
the success of many Aboriginal families.”
“By the end of the 1970s, the
transfer of children from residential schools was nearly complete in Southern
Canada, and the impact of the Sixties Scoop was in evidence across the
country,” the TRC said.
“In 1977, Aboriginal children
accounted for 44 per cent of the children in care in Alberta, 51 per cent
of
the children in care in Saskatchewan, and 60 per cent of the children in care
in Manitoba.”
The “Sixties Scoop” has not received
the same attention as another dark chapter in Canada’s history: the issue of
residential schools. And unlike survivors of the residential school system,
adults who went through the Sixties Scoop have never received an apology from
the federal government. Last June, the Manitoba government
formally apologized to those affected.
Marcia Brown Martel, a member of the
Temagami First Nation near Kirkland Lake, Ont., was taken by child welfare
officials and adopted by a non-native family as a child.
Martel has described what happened
to her and thousands of others as “cultural genocide.”
“I lost everything, including my name. I lost my family. I lost my language. I lost everything about my culture,” Martel told The Canadian Press. “This should never have happened. It was wrong.”
Dozens of supporters rallied outside
a Toronto courtroom Tuesday where an Ontario Superior Court judge will hear
opening arguments for a summary judgment in a class action lawsuit against the
federal government by survivors of the Sixties Scoop.
At the heart of the Ontario lawsuit,
is a federal-provincial arrangement in which Ontario child welfare services
placed as many as 16,000 aboriginal children with non-native families from
December 1965 to December 1984.
The claim, which has not been proven
in court, alleges the children suffered a devastating loss of cultural identity
that the federal government should have protected. The suit alleges plaintiffs
suffered emotional, psychological and spiritual harm from the lost connection
to their aboriginal heritage.
They are seeking $1.3 billion in damages, or
$85,000 for each affected person.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs will
argue they have enough evidence to forego a trial and prove that Canada had an
obligation in law to ensure that indigenous children removed from their homes
retain their cultural identity and heritage.
Tuesday’s hearing comes after seven
years of delays due to appeals by the federal government, which has fought the
claim since it was launched in 2009.
“Today I stand with the survivors of
the Ontario Sixties Scoop as they fight for justice and acknowledgement after
decades of heartache,” said AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde, in a
statement. “Survivors of the Sixties Scoop deserve just resolution and
restitution without further delay. The federal government said recently
that they would prefer to resolve this issue outside the courtroom. If
they are serious then they should work with survivors of the Sixties Scoop to
get a respectful, acceptable process in place.”
 |
| Sixties Scoop survivor Dokis Thibault is emotional as she gathers with supporters at a rally in Toronto on Tuesday, August 23, 2016. Scores of aboriginals from across Ontario rallied in Toronto today ahead of a landmark court hearing on the so-called ’60s Scoop. |
Calls
on Ottawa to recognize an ‘immense wrong’
A number of indigenous leaders
called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in an open letter
to resolve the issue without further delay and to “recognize and right an
immense wrong — with both words and deeds.”
“This case is about Canadian values
– past, present and future,” the letter says. “This moment is an opportunity
for Canada to put an ugly legacy behind us, for the government to take steps to
reform its conduct so that the injustice does not continue and build a better
future for all. It’s a chance to open the door for future generations to grow
up healthy and proud of who they are.”
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett
has said she wants to see the lawsuit over the Sixties Scoop taken out of
court.
“We, as you know — as a government —
would like to get things out of court and to a table where we can make those
kinds of agreements together, as a way forward,” Bennett told reporters in
Winnipeg in August.
“We want to work together with all
of the litigants that are presently in court and try and get to the table.”
*With files from the Canadian Press
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