Ottawa Ontario – Easter is a time to think of family and share time together. For most of us it is one of the most enjoyable days of the year. Some however have not been that fortunate.
For that reason while I don’t usually advocate for the signing of petitions on this page; in this case I will make an exception. The story of the “British Home Children” is a very tragic one and few survivors are still alive today. Their story has been largely hidden from view and few Canadians know about this issue and it is not taught in most school systems here.
In this day and age it is hard to imagine that over a hundred thousand young children were shipped out from Britain to Canada by various child service organizations. This lasted from 1869-1948. Originally well intentioned, it often had tragic results.
Many Canadians are descended from these Home Children; yet don’t know about it because the children themselves kept it a secret out of shame.
.
The sad part is that while this was happening the Canadian government knew what was going on.
The attached petition seeks an official apology as has already happened in Australia and Britain (another destination for children in the same time period).
Today there are few survivors left and it would be fitting that they receive a full “official apology” from the Canadian government, a government that knew what was happening during this time period.
Attached is a link to the petition, please take a few minutes out of your day to sign it. The attached video is a bit long, but well worth watching. It will educate, shock and disturb you; but every minute is worth watching.
Thank you, Happy Easter and give your children a hug; they are fortunate to have a family that cares for them.
Petition and video link: https://www.change.org/p/open-letter-to-the-right-honourable-prime-minister-trudeau
I worked with a woman in the federal government who was one of our short term employees and her father was one of those British kids who were sent over to Canada to live during WWII. Yes this is a very true story indeed. I read a book here in Ottawa many years ago about this and I cannot remember the title.
I just remember the name of that book “Les Enfants d’Ailleurs” by Arlette Cousture who is a French Canadian author.