B.C. premier apologizes to Doukhobor sect whose children were taken from their families in the 1950s

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From the seats in the public gallery of the B.C. legislature, dozens of voices joined in a mournful Russian hymn in memory of the children who were torn from their families over their religious beliefs 70 years ago.

The impromptu singing on Tuesday followed a long-awaited formal apology delivered by Premier David Eby for the government policy that sent 200 children to a residential school in the 1950s because their parents, as members of the Doukhobor sect known as the Sons of Freedom, refused to send them to public school.

“The province of British Columbia recognizes the hurt and the trauma experienced by the Sons of Freedom and by the broader Doukhobor community. Today, on behalf of the province of British Columbia, we acknowledge and apologize for these past injustices,” Mr. Eby said.

Parents were fined and jailed, and the children placed in a former tuberculosis sanatorium where they were mistreated physically and psychologically, he noted.

“Parents and other adult relatives could only visit their kids through the barrier of a chain-link fence. As a father, I ache imagining that pain, where children paid the price for the conflicts of adults.”

Canada’s Doukhobor population was banished from Russia in the late-19th century for their radical pacifist views and rejection of the Orthodox Church. The Sons of Freedom are a breakaway sect, and many settled in B.C.’s West Kootenays, where their acts of dissent, including nude protests and arson, sparked tensions with authorities.

Members on all sides of the House offered unanimous support for Tuesday’s apology and commitment to a $10-million fund as restitution, though the latter has drawn criticism from the Doukhobor community for lacking individual compensation.

Todd Stone, House leader for the Opposition BC United, said the apology was an overdue response to a dark chapter in the province’s history.

“No apology can make up for what one has experienced and the intergenerational trauma that these families have carried since, but I hope that these families can see hope in the future for efforts to right this historical wrong,” he said.

In 1959, parents whose children had been incarcerated in the New Denver residential school wrote to B.C.’s premier of the day, W.A.C. Bennett, unsuccessfully asking for redress.

Since 1999, the provincial ombudsperson’s office has repeatedly called for both an apology and individual compensation. Based on interviews with survivors, the ombudsperson found that the government’s treatment of the children was “unjust and oppressive,” as they were alienated from their parents and their religion, and abused through neglect, harsh discipline, and a lack of love and nurturing.

This past summer, B.C. Ombudsperson Jay Chalke again rebuked the province for its continued inaction. Then, in the fall, Mr. Eby’s government was poised to deliver the apology, and members of the community were invited on short notice to watch a livestream of an apology set to take place on Nov. 28. But the event was abruptly cancelled, and Mr. Eby apologized for mishandling the file.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Niki Sharma travelled to Castlegar to begin the process of a formal apology on behalf of the government, paving the way for Tuesday’s official event in the legislature.

Dozens of members of the Doukhobor community travelled to Victoria to witness the apology in person. Lorraine Saliken-Walton, whose parents were detained at the New Denver institution, told the gathering that the residential school was designed to indoctrinate the children through the “utter effacement” of their religion.

“The 70 years since have haunted us,” she told the gathering. For those who did not survive to see the apology – including her parents – she said, “may they all fly free.”

She said the Sons of Freedom community accepts the province’s apology “with grace,” but she asked Mr. Eby to work with the remaining survivors of the residential school to allocate the $10-million provincial fund.

The province says the money is for “legacy initiatives to help provide a deeper understanding of the impact of historical injustices,” and to provide counselling services and other wellness services.

In an interview, Ms. Saliken-Walton said the fund should be provided for direct compensation to individuals.

“They don’t need therapy now, they need personal compensation so they can live their days with dignity and respect,” she said.