End of residential school system didn’t end disparity
Indigenous people are disproportionately impacted by adverse health effects linked to government care systems, according to a newly released Statistics Canada study.
The study, titled Socioeconomic and health outcomes among Indigenous people aged 15 years and older who were under the legal responsibility of the government as children, noted childhood family separation through government intervention has long been linked to adverse health and socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood.
This is particularly concerning for Indigenous populations given the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, as well as the ongoing over-representation of Indigenous children and youth in child welfare and youth justice systems, the study’s authors said.
Sixteen per cent of First Nations people, nine per cent of Inuit, and six per cent of Métis report having been under the legal responsibility of the government during childhood.
The study found little variation across age groups, suggesting the closure of residential schools and the end of the Sixties Scoop—in which many children were removed from their families and placed predominantly in non-Indigenous homes—did not decrease the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children under government care.
Indigenous leaders and advocates have repeatedly referred to the foster care system as “the new residential school system.”
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