Canada court rules in favour Aboriginals taken from families

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Tue Feb 14, 2017 | 8:48pm GMT



A Canadian court ruled on Tuesday that the government breached its duty of care to thousands of aboriginal children that were removed from their communities over nearly two decades, paving the way for what could be a costly payout from Ottawa.

The class action suit, which was launched eight years ago, sought C$1.3 billion (£797 million) on behalf of about 16,000 Ontario aboriginal children who were removed from reserves and placed in non-aboriginal homes from 1965 to 1984 under a federal-provincial agreement.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba ruled that the federal government breached its duty to take reasonable steps to prevent the children from losing their aboriginal identity.

The plaintiffs in the case argued that the children's loss of aboriginal identity caused issues including mental disorders, substance abuse and suicide.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-canada-aborginal-idUKKBN15T2SL?rpc=401&

[StevieM]

1. The Baby Scoop Era was a tragedy, both in Canada and the United States.

It is sad that so many people don't even know it happened.

Me B Zola stopped posting here. I hope she has seen this article.

The mistreatment of first nations was particularly egregious. I am saddened that we have a Supreme Court that is determined to gut the Indian Child Welfare Act.

[Bayard]

2. I am glad they won

But its not much compensation for losing their identity and their heritage. Their real families. The same thing happened in the U.S., where kids were taken away from their parents, hair cut off, given a "white" name and clothes, and if they were caught speaking their native language, they were beaten.

SO much to answer for..... And with the pipelines, still going on.