SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 104

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 28, 2022 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 104 - Sep/28/22
Mr. Yvan Baker (Etobicoke Centre, Lib.)
  • Sep/28/22 2:05:34 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the fifth British Home Child Day in Canada. From 1869 to 1948, over 100,000 British children were sent to Canada from Great Britain. Some of the children were orphans, but most were from destitute families or from families who had fallen on very difficult times due to sickness or death. Some of the children were even sent to Canada without their parents’ consent. The children sent to Canada often found themselves in indentured servitude on farms or as domestic labourers. Many home children were very poorly treated and many faced cruel abuse. Many home children would go on to make significant contributions to Canada, including serving in our armed forces and fighting for freedom around the world. Today, it is thought that more than 10% of the Canadian population may be descended from British home children. That would mean that about four million Canadians today are descendants of the British home children. Today, I hope that we reflect on and commemorate the British home children, what they lived through and endured, and the contributions that they and their descendants have made to Canada.
192 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 104 - Sep/28/22
Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ)
  • Sep/28/22 2:08:56 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, September 28 is British Home Child Day. This day is dedicated to the memory of the more than 100,000 British children brought to Canada as indentured labourers between 1869 and 1932. The British home children, as they would come to be known, were under the age of 17. Most were between the ages of seven and 14, but some were just toddlers. These young children were sent to Canada, most of them without their parents' consent. As soon as they arrived in Canada, the British home children were sent to foster homes. Unfortunately, some of those children were abused and mistreated. Various heartbreaking stories have come to light. Most of the children were sent to Ontario, but others went to Manitoba, the Maritimes, British Columbia and Quebec. It is estimated that there are over four million descendants of these children living in Canada today. My great-grandfather John James Rowley was one of them. On this September 28, let us honour their memory.
168 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border