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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.
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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.
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Context: House Hansard - 104 - Sep/28/22
Mr. Mark Strahl (Chilliwack—Hope, CPC)
  • Sep/28/22 2:17:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, from 1896 to 1948 the British Home Child program saw over 100,000 boys and girls shipped from the United Kingdom to Canada to serve mainly as cheap labour for the families they were placed with here. While some of these children were treated well, many others were seen as no more than indentured servants and suffered horrible abuse at the hands of those who were supposed to care for them. In spite of this, many British home children would go on to serve Canada with distinction in the Canadian Forces throughout the 20th century. It is estimated that four million Canadians are descendants of British home children, including me. My great-grandfather, Sheriff Atcheson Thompson, came to this country as a British home child in 1915, at the young age of 12. I would like to thank people like my grandma, Carol Bateman, who continue to keep the stories of British home children alive and who continue to call upon the government to apologize for the program these children suffered under. Today, on British Home Child Day, let us pause to remember them and their legacy to our country.
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