Support NeoGAF

[CazTGG]

Source: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...-800m-to-indigenous-victims-of-60s-scoop.html

The federal government has agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to survivors of the ‘60s Scoop for the harm suffered by Indigenous children who were robbed of their cultural identities by being placed with non-native families, The Canadian Press has learned.

Confidential details of the agreement include a payout of between $25,000 and $50,000 for each claimant, to a maximum of $750 million, sources said.

In addition, sources familiar with the deal said the government would set aside a further $50 million for a new Indigenous Healing Foundation, a key demand of the representative plaintiff in Ontario, Marcia Brown Martel.

The settlement would be worth at least $800 million and include Inuit victims, the sources said. The final amount is less than the $1.3 billion Brown Martel had sought for victims of the Ontario Scoop in which at-risk on-reserve Indigenous children were placed in non-Aboriginal homes from 1965 to 1984 under terms of a federal-provincial agreement.

For those that don't know, the Sixties Scoop saw (and still sees, unofficially) the federal and provincial governments of Canada separating indigenous children from their families and putting them up for adoption or in foster homes for decades, often involving propaganda that portrayed indigenous mothers as irresponsible as a means of justifying the actions of the respective governments.

 

[Beartruck]

What...the...fuck?!...is what I would say, but here in the US we're even shittier to the Native Americans. At least ya'll are course correcting.

 

[Walter White Walker]

I hadn't heard of this before. Reading up on it online that's really, really fucked up.

 

[CazTGG]

I hadn't heard of this before. Reading up on it online that's really, really fucked up.

The messed up part is that it technically has yet to stop, just in an unofficial capacity known as the Millennium Scoop, as John Beaucage coined it.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

oh, CANADIAN government.

Why not just say 'Canada', guy?

Spoiler

it's about time though

 

[DyslexicAlucard]

Good on them. It's about time the Canadian government took responsibility that results in more than "Sorry, our bad." The only thing I'm worried about is that racists and diet racists will take this as an excuse not to vote Liberal in the next election -- claiming it's a waste of federal resources or something. It's disgusting that I should worry about such a thing, but that's reality...

What...the...fuck?!...is what I would say, but here in the US we're even shittier to the Native Americans. At least ya'll are course correcting.

There's large swaths of Canadians that are totally ignorant of how brutal we were (and still are) to indigeneous people. The amount of abuse our government and people are responsible for has been hidden in the background for decades and decades. No one wanted to (or even want to, presently) confront it all, because:

a) It was in the past, so no one today should feel "responsible" or make amends
b) It was all done with "good intentions"
c) They don't want to admit how much we fucked up, and that our country doesn't always act justly
d) They just don't give a fuck about non-whites
e) For politicians, it's not politically savvy to admit to it and take the actual steps to correct it

Usually, it's some combination of all of these horrible excuses -- a mix of racism/prejudice, cowardice, and willful ignorance.

 

[TemplaerDude]

A good step in the right direction.

 

[grumble]

Wow, that's a lot of reparation money.

 

[Maximus.]

Wow, that's a lot of reparation money.

Yea, but when you break it down by victim, it isn't really that much in the grand scheme.

 

[BlueBadger]

Good on them. It's about time the Canadian government took responsibility that results in more than "Sorry, our bad." The only thing I'm worried about is that racists and diet racists will take this as an excuse not to vote Liberal in the next election -- claiming it's a waste of federal resources or something. It's disgusting that I should worry about such a thing, but that's reality...

Unfortunately, that is the reality we live in, indeed. I'm absolutely terrified that this will happen in Canada as well for the next election . All I can do for now is have faith I guess.

 

[DyslexicAlucard]

Unfortunately, that is the reality we live in, indeed. I'm absolutely terrified that this will happen in Canada as well for the next election . All I can do for now is have faith I guess.

I totally get that idea, and please do not take this as an accusation/attack. But in my situation, I've begun confronting friends and family about the issue, and why it's important. Too often I hear "I wish CBC would shut up about these issues. I get it already, it happened, get over it." Or any variation of my above "arguments." If you actually take the time to explain why everything we did/do is devastating, why it needs actual action, and how it will benefit everyone in the country, many times they actually listen and take it to heart. You obviously can't reach everyone, but I try not to lose hope. I try to do what little I can.

Wow, that's a lot of reparation money.

Yea, but when you break it down by victim, it isn't really that much in the grand scheme.

And it's not nearly all that's owed to aboriginals either. This was just for one specific issue, not the totality of the country's criminal treatment of minorities.

 

[BlueBadger]

I totally get that idea, and please do not take this as an accusation/attack. But in my situation, I've begun confronting friends and family about the issue, and why it's important. Too often I hear "I wish CBC would shut up about these issues. I get it already, it happened, get over it." Or any variation of my above "arguments." If you actually take the time to explain why everything we did/do is devastating, why it needs actual action, and how it will benefit everyone in the it, many times they actually listen and take it to heart. You obviously can't reach everyone, but I try not to lose hope. I try to do what little I can.

Oh trust me, I do. I'm not shy about it at this point. I'm too anxious about us becoming a remixed version of the land below us.

The issue, though, is that it's really, really hard to change someone's mind when it comes to political topics. People hold on to those views, and they hold on to them stubbornly.. particularly the older generation. All we can do is keep trying.

 

[Flambe]

Good step in the right direction.

 

[CazTGG]

Yea, but when you break it down by victim, it isn't really that much in the grand scheme.

Yeah, that's my one main issue with the settlement: It's pretty low per person, significantly lower than what they intended to receive.

The final amount is less than the $1.3 billion Brown Martel had sought for victims of the Ontario Scoop in which at-risk on-reserve Indigenous children were placed in non-Aboriginal homes from 1965 to 1984 under terms of a federal-provincial agreement.

 

[shadowkat]

Good step.

The way we've treated our Indigenous people is shameful.