I think it is important for us all to realize this genocide is not only recent (the last residential school closed in 1997) but ongoing. Systemic racism is rampant.
From The Tyee just today, July 16, 2026:
In B.C., birth alerts happened between 1980 and 2019. Child welfare workers with the Ministry of Children and Family Development, or a delegated Indigenous agency, reached out to hospitals ahead of a pregnant person giving birth, flagging the child as potentially needing protection after delivery.
Many infants, especially Indigenous infants, were apprehended from their parents shortly after being born because of this practice. In many instances the parents were never told they were subject to a birth alert.
In 2019, when B.C. ended the practice of birth alerts, about 65 per cent of the 6,365 children in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development were Indigenous, mostly First Nations.
As of June 30, 2026, just over 68 per cent of the 5,030 children in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development are Indigenous, according to the ministry.
B.C. was the first province in Canada to end the practice of issuing birth alerts.
— Michelle Gamage, The Tyee, "People Subject to BC Birth Alerts Can Now Apply for Compensation"
The last sentence alarmed me, making me think this system might still be in practice in other provinces or territories. Wikipedia says the last province to end birth alerts was Quebec in 2023, with citation. But also goes on to say:
However, the abuse of Indigenous women in Canada's healthcare system, and furthermore the apprehension of Indigenous children immediately after birth has continued in an unofficial capacity across multiple provinces.
No citation, but I don't expect there to be documentation easily available. I find it perfectly credible.
Please support indigenous liberation.
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