- Canada denies apology to mistreated “British Home Children”
- UK and Australia issued formal apologies; Canada has not
- Critics demand recognition and redress for historical injustices
Approximately 115,000 British children were sent to Canada between 1869 and 1948. They were commonly employed as domestic servants or as inexpensive labour on plantations.
The Canadian government has denied the most recent apology request from British children who were subjected to maltreatment within the nation.
Protesters for children who were transported to Canada during the 19th and 20th centuries have submitted a petition to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau requesting an apology for the maltreatment they endured.
According to activists, a decision that his administration has rejected “compounds the historical injustice.”
Between 1869 and 1948, approximately 115,000 children, known as “British Home Children,” were transported from the United Kingdom to Canada.
As domestic servants or as inexpensive labour on farms, the majority of them were subjected to mistreatment and violence.
The United Kingdom and Australia have both issued formal apologies to the petitioners for their involvement in the transportation of British children to cruel conditions abroad. The petitioners have requested that Canada do the same.
The Canadian government issued the following statement in response: “It is widely acknowledged that the living and working conditions of the children were inadequately supervised in Canada, thereby exposing them to the risk of maltreatment and discrimination.”
However, the absence of repentance in the response has infuriated the petition’s organisers.
“By declining an apology, the government not only disregards the lasting trauma endured by these individuals and the intergenerational trauma that their approximately four million descendants have been subjected to but also fails to exhibit a dedication to redressing past injustices,” stated Lori Oschefski of British Home Children Canada.
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For a country to progress, it is crucial to acknowledge and learn from its past errors. The present stance of not offering an apology for the mistreatment of the British Home Children demonstrates a discouraging lack of development in this crucial facet of Canadian historical awareness. Furthermore, it reinforces the historical injustice by perpetuating a narrative that portrays the victims of this horrendous period as neglected and indifferent.
In its reply to the petition, the Canadian government emphasised its efforts to acknowledge the plight of Home Children, which included the ratification of an apology by its House of Commons to the British Home Children and their descendants in 2017.
Critics argue that it fails to provide the level of formal apologies that they require, such as those issued by the United Kingdom and Australia.
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