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Courts Take on Sixties Scoop

November 13, 2010 permalink

An Ontario court has allowed a class-action lawsuit for victims of the 60's scoop, large-scale removal of Indian children from their families. Leader John Fox, mentioned in the article, has been in these columns before: [1] [2] [3].

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Aboriginal kids form legal class

TORONTO -- An Ontario court ruling means a class action suit by aboriginal children placed in foster care would be the first time a case based on loss of culture as a wrongful act will be litigated in western legal history.

Activist John Fox, from Wikwemikong and currently living in Ajax, is one of an estimated 16,000 victims of the so-called Sixties Scoop in Ontario that saw the Children's Aid Society place aboriginal children up for adoption or in foster homes with non-aboriginal families.

On Oct. 18, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice certified a class action against the Attorney General of Canada for the impact of the practice that made aboriginal children Crown wards between Dec. 1, 1965 and Dec. 31, 1984.

This is a major victory for aboriginal CAS survivors everywhere," said Fox. We are now asking survivors to register with this class action."

Toronto lawyer Jeffrey Wilson said Canada will likely appeal the lower court decision, but plans are going ahead to establish a website and Facebook page to inform possible plaintiffs.

Fox said the case will benefit all First Nations future generations.

My next goal is to have CAS off all reserves and we run our own child welfare authorities in our communities; this includes the urban areas."

Anishinabek Nation Deputy Grand Council Chief Glen Hare says that he's supportive of this class action suit.

It's unfortunate that we're having to go down this road," said Hare. Hopefully we can take care of our own and come out in big numbers."

Source: North Bay Nugget

Raven Sinclair
Dr Raven Sinclair

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