(Quebec) Quebec is conducting research to clarify the death or disappearance of 55 Aboriginal children, including 24 Atikamekw and 23 Innu. These first official data come from the first report of the application of the new law 79, which aims to give answers to indigenous families who have been grieving for decades.
Posted at 12:27 p.m.
The Minister responsible for Aboriginal Affairs, Ian Lafrenière, tabled the first annual report of the An Act to authorize the communication of personal information to the families of Aboriginal children who have disappeared or died following admission to an establishment (Bill 79), which came into force last September.
From the stands, indigenous families and members of the Awacak group, which collaborates with the teams of the Secretariat for Indigenous Affairs, attended the moment. The special adviser to the minister and ex-investigative journalist Anne Panasuk was also on site. Minister Lafrenière and his teams must also travel to Pakua Shipi on the Lower North Shore on Friday to mark this significant milestone.
The Family Support Directorate (DSF) is carrying out searches to locate documents relating to the disappearance or death of 55 Aboriginal children, grouped under 35 official requests. Thirty of these files are currently considered active. The majority of these requests (18) come from Innu communities for 23 children. Ten requests come from the Atikamekw nation for 24 children.
It should be understood that in some cases, a family may be looking for several children.
The first elements of answers have also already been sent to certain families as research progresses. According to the report, at least nine death certificates have been traced. The Press reported in April the case of the Awashish family who obtained answers surrounding the birth of baby Joseph.
Requests addressed to the DSF, dated February 28, 2022
- Innu: 18 requests for 23 children
- Atikamekw: 10 requests for 24 children
- Anicinapek: 3 requests for 4 children
- Cris: 2 requests for 2 children
- Mig’maq: 1 request for 1 child
- Inuit: 1 request for 1 child
Furthermore, we learn that the majority of wanted children are girls (51%). A total of 38% are boys and in 11% the sex is not determined with certainty, it can be read.
It should be noted that most of the requests (71.4%) were made by members of the siblings, which the new law allows. This means that a sibling can request access to the missing child’s medical records, which was not possible before the law came into force. About 14.4% of requests come from the child’s mother and 8.6% from a third party representing the family.
The report reveals that the children targeted by the research were born between 1933 and 1978. Eleven cases date back to the years 1970-1979 and as many children to the years 1960-1969. Nine children are said to have disappeared or died between 1950-1959 and five between 1940-1949. In 18 cases, the year of death is unknown.
Twenty-five children were under 12 months old and nine others were between 1 and 5 years old. In three files, the child was between 5 and 18 years old. Again, in 18 cases, the age at the time of death was unknown.
This first report covers the first six months of the entry into force of Law 79.
Two appeals for review have so far been filed with the Commission d’accès à l’information by the Family Support Department for exceeding the deadline in the institution’s response. It should be remembered that Bill 79 also gives the minister the power to investigate when faced with a lack of cooperation from an institution, which has not happened so far.
At least 200 Indigenous children are said to have disappeared or died after being admitted to health facilities in Quebec, according to the most recent estimates.