Indigenous leaders call on Justin Trudeau for redress on Sixties Scoop

Indigenous leaders are calling onPrime Minister Justin Trudeaufor redressof the Sixties Scoop, a government policy under which child welfareofficialsremoved Indigenous children from their homes and placed them with non-Indigenous families.

"Commit your government to resolving this issue without more delay andsupport our call to recognize and right an immense wrong with both words and deeds,"saidOntario Regional Chief Isadore Day and four other Indigenous leaders in an open letter to Trudeau on Tuesday.

The lettercomes a week ahead of a scheduled court date for survivorswhofiled a class-action lawsuit seven years ago on behalf of anestimated 16,000 children taken away from their parents.

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"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," the letter to Trudeau said.

Asked about the lawsuit during an event in Winnipeg on Wednesday, Indigenous Affairs Minister CarolynBennett said she would prefer to settle the matter 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 theway forward," Bennett told reporters.

"I think we want to work together with all of the litigants that are presently in court and try and get to the table."

But First Nations advocates have complained that the federal government has been slow to respond to a landmark ruling by theCanadian Human Rights Tribunal.

The tribunal ruled in January that the Canadian government discriminated against First Nations children in its funding of child welfare services.

The Sixties Scooplawsuit is scheduled to be heard at theSuperior Court of Ontario in Toronto on Aug. 23.

Carolyn Bennett on the call for redress of the Sixties Scoop

8 years ago

Duration 0:36

Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett says the government wants to come to agreement on Sixties Scoop outside of court.

On Tuesday, the National Indigenous Survivors of Child Welfare Network organized a pipe ceremony and community feast on Victoria Island in Ottawa in support of Marcia Brown, the lead plaintiff in the case, and the other survivors.

The letter to Trudeau wasco-written by:

• Phil Fontaine, the former national chief for the Assembly of First Nations, who was not immediately available for an interview.
• Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations and Family Caring Society.
• Colleen Hele-CardinalandDuane Morrisseau-Beck, organizerswith theNational Indigenous Survivors of Child Welfare Network.
• Jesse Wente,CBCRadio pop culture critic.

The prime minister's office declined to comment on the letter, referring CBC News to the office for the minister of Indigenous affairs.

The letter was issued on the same day as Bennett formally apologizedto Manitoba'sSayisiDeneon behalf of the Canadian government for its role in forcibly relocating the First Nationsome 60 years ago.

Saskatchewan apology delayed

The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission published last December noted that "the effects of the residential school experience and the Sixties Scoop have adversely affected parenting skills and the success of many Aboriginal families."

According to a2011 Statistics Canada study,14,225 or 3.6 per centof all First Nations children aged 14and under were in foster care, compared with 15,345 or 0.3 per centof non-Aboriginal children.

"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 final report of the TRC said.

"In 1977, Aboriginal children accounted for 44 per centof the children in care in Alberta, 51 per centof the children in care in Saskatchewan, and 60 per centof the children in care in Manitoba."

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wallsaid last summerhis government would issue an apology for its role in the Sixties Scoop, but scheduling difficulties appearto have delayed the promise.

Kathy Young, aspokeswoman for Wall, told CBC the government of Saskatchewan still intends to issue an apology.

The Manitoba governmentissued a formal apologylast June.