10 years after apology, '60s Scoop survivors call for support beyond 'grossly inadequate' payout
Lorraine Sinclair and Cindy Munro are grateful they reunited. The sisters say they're from a family of 11 children — nine of whom, including them, were separated and adopted out during the Sixties Scoop.
"We're learning about each other. Our other extended family and our other brothers and sisters, we don't really know them," said Munro. "I don't know who they are. That's not fair — that's not fair to my children, my grandchildren, my siblings."
The sisters were among a group of survivors and supporters at an event at St. John's Park in north Winnipeg on Wednesday to mark a decade since then premier Greg Selinger apologized to families caught in the Sixties Scoop.
The once legal and systematic practice removed thousands of First Nation, Métis and Inuit children from their birth families from the late 1950s into the 1980s. Most were adopted out to non-Indigenous families in Canada and abroad.
Coleen Rajotte, an advocate for Sixties Scoop survivors, said the 2015 apology was an important part of reconciliation but doesn't go far enough.
"It recognizes that we were through genocide, we were taken away from our families and placed far away from our culture and language," she said.
"It's now 2025, and we're asking the federal government and provincial government: what has really been done for us?"
The federal government announced a $800-million settlement for survivors in 2017, though some waited years for payments due to various delays. Over 34,000 claims were submitted by the 2019 deadline.
The sum eventually doled out to those deemed eligible amounted to about $25,000 per survivor.
Rajotte, who served on a Manitoba committee that asked for the 2015 apology, campaigned against that amount. She calls it "pathetic" and "grossly inadequate" compared to similar settlements reached for residential school and day school survivors.
"Not that money is going to fix everything, but we really feel like Sixties Scoop survivors have often been forgotten about," she said. "We don't really have the strong political voices that we need to move our issues forward."
Rajotte said beyond inadequate financial restitution, there are also issues that remain in terms of repatriating Canadian-born survivors that were adopted out internationally.
"Many of our survivors are still out in this world somewhere — Europe, United States, New Zealand, Australia," she said.
"Our children were placed far away, and we don't even know how many more of our Sixties Scoop survivors are still out there."
WATCH | Premier Greg Selinger apologizes for Sixties Scoop in 2015:
RAW: Premier Selinger apologizes for Sixties Scoop
10 years ago
Duration 2:35
Sinclair and Munro say two of their siblings have died. One of their sisters remains in a locked mental health institution in Minnesota, and they want help repatriating her.
"I want a family picture. I don't know what that is," said Sinclair.
Late last month, advocates convened a group of survivors at Anish Healing Centre, which supports Sixties Scoop survivors, to ask them for input on what more needs to be done to support them.
Rajotte said the group penned a letter with recommended supports that they sent to Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew's office. They're hoping to meet with him.
Among other recommendations, Rajotte would like to see governments fund the creation of a centre devoted to helping survivors seek guidance should they wish to repatriate, and to help them access financial and mental health supports for all survivors.
"I stand here as a proud Cree woman who has gone through her own healing journey," said Rajotte. "I feel blessed that we have a voice and I am using our voice today to say more has to be done."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
13 minutes ago
- CTV News
Remote work for Ontario Public Service workers to end in 2026: province
More than 60,000 Ontario Public Service workers will be required to return to the office full time starting in January 2026, the province announced Thursday. Minister Caroline Mulroney, who serves as the president of the Treasury Board, made the announcement in a news release and said the transition 'represents the current workforce landscape in the province.' Ontario Public Service workers had previously been mandated to work from the office a minimum of three days a week. The province said that, based on the nature of their work, over half of all public servants are already required to attend the office in-person full time. 'As the government delivers on our plan to protect Ontario, we will continue to drive public service excellence for the people of Ontario. Effective January 5, 2026, the Ontario Public Service and its provincial agencies, boards and commission public bodies will return to the office full time,' Mulroney wrote. Employees currently working in the office three days a week will need to increase their in-person attendance to four days a week starting on Oct. 20, before remote work comes to an end in January, the province said. Mulroney said that the transition is an 'important step' that supports the government's efforts to build a 'more competitive, resilient and self-reliant Ontario.' Ontario's public servants were first called back to the office for a minimum commitment of three days per week back in 2022. At that time, roughly half of them had been working remotely for part, or all, of the two years that followed the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CTV News
43 minutes ago
- CTV News
As Canada wildfires choke U.S. with smoke, Republicans demand action. But not on climate change
The Statue of Liberty is visible through haze due to Canadian wildfire smoke during sunset Aug. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) The sternly worded statements and letters are filled with indignation and outrage: Republican U.S. lawmakers say Canada has done too little to contain wildfires and smoke that have fouled the air in several states this summer. 'Instead of enjoying family vacations at Michigan's beautiful lakes and campgrounds, for the third summer in a row, Michiganders are forced to breathe hazardous air as a result of Canada's failure to prevent and control wildfires,' read a statement last week from the state's GOP congressional delegation, echoing similar missives from Republicans in Iowa, New York, North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. They've demanded more forest thinning, prescribed burns and other measures to prevent fires from starting. They've warned the smoke is hurting relations between the countries and suggested the U.S. could make it an issue in tariff talks. But what they haven't done is acknowledge the role of climate change — a glaring and shortsighted omission, according to climate scientists. It also ignores the outsized U.S. contribution to heat-trapping gases from burning fossil fuels like coal and gas that cause more intense heat waves and droughts, which in turn set the stage for more destructive wildfires, scientists say. 'If anything, Canada should be blaming the U.S. for their increased fires,' said Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. On Tuesday, the Canadian government announced almost $46 million in funding for wildfire prevention and risk assessment research projects. But Corey Hogan, parliamentary secretary to the federal energy and natural resources minister, said international cooperation is needed. 'There's no people that want to do more about wildfires than Canadians,' Hogan said. 'But I think this also underlines the international challenges that are brought on by climate change ... we need to globally tackle this problem.' The country has 'been fighting wildfires in this country at unprecedented rates since 2023,' when Canada saw its largest wildfire on record, said Ken McMullen, president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs. This year's first fire started in April, one of the earliest on record, and 2025 is now the second-worst year. As of Thursday, more than 700 wildfires were burning across the country, two-thirds of them out of control, with more than 28,000 square miles (72,520 square kilometres) burned in 4,400 wildfires so far this year, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. That's almost five times the surface area that's burned so far in the U.S. this year. Most wildfires are started by people, sometimes on purpose but mostly by mistake, though McMullen said lightning is the culprit in many of Canada's fires, especially in remote areas. McMullen said he has no interest in debating the role of climate change, but data show that something has changed. Sloughs and basins have dried up and water that once lapped at people's back doors in Canada's lake communities now is often hundreds of feet away. 'People can make up their own mind as to why that is,' he said. 'But something clearly has changed.' Denying climate change U.S. President Donald Trump has called climate change a hoax — a belief echoed by many in the GOP — and his administration has worked to dismantle and defund federal climate science and data collection, with little to no pushback from Republicans in Congress. He's proposed to revoke the scientific finding that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare — the central basis for U.S. climate change action. He's declared a national energy emergency to expedite fossil fuel development, canceled grants for renewable energy projects and ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, aimed at limiting long-term global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) above preindustrial levels. The Associated Press reached out to more than half a dozen Republicans who criticized Canada but none returned phone calls or emails. Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine said the wildfires are jeopardizing health and air quality in her state, too, but faulted Republicans for failing to meet the crisis head on — beginning by acknowledging climate change. 'Rather than accept this reality and work together to find proactive, common-sense solutions for preventing and mitigating these fires, Republicans are burying their heads in the sand,' she said. Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore, a Democrat, criticized her Republican colleagues' letter to Canada's U.S. ambassador, saying those 'who are in denial about climate change shouldn't be writing letters prescribing people's actions to try to contain it.' Difficult solutions McMullen, the Canadian wildfire expert, said battling the fires isn't as simple as many seem to believe. The country and its territories are vast and fires are often in remote areas where the best — and sometimes only — course of action if there are no residents or structures is to let them burn or 'it is going to just create another situation for us to deal with in a year or two or 10 or 20 years from now,' McMullen said. Prescribed burns to clear underbrush and other ignition sources are used in some areas, but aren't practical or possible in some forests and prairies that are burning, experts said. McMullen has advocated for a Canadian forest fire coordination agency to help deploy firefighters and equipment where they're needed. But as for stopping worsening fires, 'I don't think there's much they can do,' said University of Michigan climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck. He noted that hotter temperatures are melting permafrost in northern Canada, which dries out and makes the vast boreal forests far more likely to burn. Instead, the two countries should collaborate on climate change solutions 'because our smoke is their smoke, their smoke is ours,' Overpeck said. 'As long as this trend of warming and drying continues, we're going to get a worsening problem. 'The good news is ... we know what the cause is ... we can stop it from getting worse.' ___ Tammy Webber, The Associated Press The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
CTV News
43 minutes ago
- CTV News
Premier Danielle Smith, Alberta Next panel to get feedback at third town hall
Premier Danielle Smith is set to host another Alberta Next town hall, this one in Edmonton. Mason DePatie reports. Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual EDMONTON — A travelling panel collecting public feedback on Alberta's grievances with Ottawa is set to make its third summer town hall stop tonight. Premier Danielle Smith and 15 other members of her Alberta Next panel are scheduled to be in Edmonton to brainstorm with people about possible future referendum questions. The premier has said one of the reasons for the panel is to address concerns that are inspiring separatist sentiment in the province. Its agenda focuses on six policy ideas, including pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan and creating a provincial police force to replace the RCMP. Earlier events were held last month in Red Deer and Edmonton. At those town halls, some Albertans offered support for the proposals, some protested at the gates and others dismissed the panel as a self-serving political exercise meant to stir up discontent and division. It is set to host events in Fort McMurray and Lloydminster in two weeks. The panel has also faced criticism for presenting online survey questions that left no option to disagree. The government later added options to some survey questions. The changes were made after 32,000 people had already filled out the surveys. The premier's office has said the survey results for the different versions will be separated. Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has dismissed the panel as a way for Smith to curry favour with extreme elements of her United Conservative Party to keep them from splintering off. He's also said the government is using it to conjure up unreliable data to support things it already wants to do. Alberta public opinion pollster Janet Brown has said the government's effort is not a polling exercise but a public engagement exercise and that changing the survey questions midstream underscores that. She has said the survey will offer a good idea of who participated in the process but it's not a random representative sample that reflects public opinion. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025. Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
