Manitoba to apologize to aboriginals adopted into white families in ’60s Scoop

WINNIPEG — Manitoba is set to apologize to aboriginals who were taken from their parents and placed with white families decades ago.

The apology, thought to be the first in Canada, is directed at victims of the so-called ’60s Scoop which many see as an extension of Indian residential schools.

Premier Greg Selinger says the apology, expected next week, will acknowledge the damage done to those taken from their homes and their culture.

He says Manitoba was one of the provinces most affected by the policy so it is appropriate for it to be among the first to apologize.

Adoptees have been calling for a federal apology and many want compensation for their experience that they say was as traumatic as that suffered by residential school survivors.

Selinger says he hopes the apology prompts the federal government to do the same.