A proposed class action lawsuit against the Canadian government claims that Indigenous children who were removed from their communities and placed in group homes in the early 1950s were subjected to “routine, tolerated, and perhaps even encouraged” physical abuse. , and was said to have been sexually and psychologically abused.
A federal lawsuit filed this month in Vancouver alleges that children across the country are forcibly removed from their homes and taken to “strangers, sometimes hundreds of miles from their families and Indigenous communities.” states that.
Attorney Doug Lennox said the lawsuit seeks compensation for those harmed by the country’s historic assimilation policies.
“This policy has been implemented in a variety of ways,” he said. “Boarding schools are the most obvious, but it is also true in other sectors, such as day schools such as boarding schools like the Sixties Scoop.”
From the 1950s to the 1990s, the Canadian government forced many First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children into group homes; children separated from their families under this program were sent to boarding schools, day schools, and boarding schools. has not been the subject of any legal settlement involving. Lennox said.
“I got a call from an Indigenous person asking, ‘Where do I fit in?’ My experience was similar, but I wasn’t in nursery school or boarding school. “I was in a group home,” he said.
“Unfortunately this group has been overlooked in the past, but I think that mistake can be rectified reasonably and fairly, and hopefully soon.”
group home program
Canada’s group home program, in place until the 1990s, involved removing First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children from their families and placing them in dormitories, hostels, and group homes that were “separate” from children’s homes and boarding schools. was included.
The class action lawsuit alleges that the program is part of Canada’s “policy of forced assimilation of Indigenous peoples” and systematically destroys “the culture, society, language, customs, traditions, customs, and spirituality of the plaintiffs and other class participants.” It is said that it will lead to eradication.
Some homes were run by church groups, while others were staffed by the Canadian government. Because they did not support indigenous languages and cultural practices, those who lived in the homes experienced “severe disruption and disconnection” from their families and communities.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from the Canadian government for breach of fiduciary duty and negligence.
No response has been filed to this lawsuit, and the allegations remain unproven and untested in court.
A statement from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada said: “Canada has taken significant steps to resolve allegations of historical harm committed against Indigenous children, to the extent possible, outside of court. ” he said.
“Canada recently received this request and is reviewing it to determine next steps.”
4 lead plaintiffs
There are four plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including Carol Smythe, a member of British Columbia’s Nisga’a First Nation. She claims she was placed in a group home in Ayyansh, British Columbia, in 1977 when she was 13 years old.
She claims she was verbally and physically abused at her home and witnessed other children being physically and sexually abused.
“The entire experience was terrifying for her,” the complaint states.
Another British Columbia-based plaintiff, Reginald Muller of the Cheshen First Nation, said he was removed from his community in 1969 at the age of 10 to stay in a hostel that “did not support Indigenous language and culture.” He claims he was abducted.
Plaintiff Donna Kennedy, a member of Manitoba’s Garden Hill First Nation, alleges that in 1966, at the age of 13, she was removed from her home and placed in a dormitory run by the United Church of Canada for four years. There is.
Plaintiff Toby Forrest from Lac La Ronge First Nation in Saskatchewan says the Canadian government removed him from his community and took him to the Timber Bay Children’s Home in 1968 when he was seven years old. claims.
The home contained a dormitory run by a religious organization contracted by the Canadian government as part of a group home program, where Forrest alleges he was physically abused.
“He attempted to flee the home or return to his family 11 times,” the complaint states. “On the 11th attempt, he was able to return to his parents in Thacker River, Saskatchewan. After that, he did not return to Timber Bay Children’s Home.”
“Canada had detailed knowledge of the violations of Indigenous and Treaty rights and the widespread psychological, emotional, sexual and cultural abuse of Plaintiffs and other members of the class,” the complaint states. There is.
“Despite this recognition, Canada did nothing to remedy the situation and continued to administer the group home program and allow serious harm to be carried out against plaintiffs and other class participants.”
Lennox said the lawsuit recognizes “additional forms of harm” inflicted on Indigenous peoples that go uncompensated. We aim to achieve further goals.”
