Posted on 08/29/2016 11:50:30 AM PDT by nickcarraway
DNA tests confirm both were given to wrong mothers after being born at Norway House Indian Hospital
Leon Swanson and David Tait Jr. are both 41 years old and have just learned they're not exactly who they thought they were.
Both wept Friday in Winnipeg as Eric Robinson, a former NDP member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly for Keewatinook, told media that the two men were switched at birth more than 40 years ago at a hospital in Norway House Cree Nation.
"What happened here is lives were stolen," Robinson said. "You can't describe it as anything less than that."
Swanson and Tait were born three days apart — Swanson on Jan. 31, 1975, and Tait on Feb. 3, 1975 — at Norway House Indian Hospital in 1975, which was then run by the federal government.
SWtiched at birth: David Tait Jr. David Tait Jr. tears up at the news conference where he and Leon Swanson were identified as having been given to the wrong mothers in 1975. (CBC)
Both men know each other and were raised and continue to live in the remote northern community, about 460 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
DNA tests have confirmed that each man was raised by the biological mother of the other.
Tait said everyone affected wants answers as to how such a switch could happen.
"We don't have words," he said. "Forty years gone … just distraught, confused angry."
News of the switch first surfaced Thursday.
This is the second case of infants at the Norway House Indian Hospital being switched at birth in 1975.
Last November, Luke Monias and Norman Barkman from Garden Hill First Nation came forward after DNA results confirmed they were not the biological children of their parents. They were born in 1975, five months after Swanson and Tate, at the same Norway House hospital.
Leon Swanson, left, sits next to former NDP member of the legislature for Keewatinook Eric Robinson and David Tait Jr., right, at a news conference in Winnipeg Friday. (Cam MacIntosh/CBC)
Suspicion for years
That case prompted Swanson, Tait and their families to get DNA tests done too. They had long-standing suspicions the men could have been switched at birth based on similarities they shared with each other's parents.
Robinson said Norway House has always been the "birthing centre" of northern Manitoba because it was the only northern community that had a hospital in the 1970s.
Charlotte Mason, who is actually believed to be David Tait's birth mother, ended up raising Leon Swanson instead, while Francis Tait, who is believed to be Swanson's birth mother, ended up raising David.
Mason said she was transported to hospital in Winnipeg after giving birth due to complications during delivery. Three days later, Francis Tait gave birth to a baby who they believe was wrongly sent home with Charlotte Mason's mother.
"I can't describe this matter as anything less than criminal," Robinson said. "We can live with one mistake, but two mistakes of a similar nature is not acceptable, so we can't simply slough it off as being a mistake, indeed it was a criminal activity in my view."
'We don't have words': Identities of 2 Manitoba men switched at birth revealed1:54
Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott released a statement Friday confirming a third-party investigation will be undertaken to try to get to the bottom of what happened.
"Given these latest developments, the department will be moving quickly to engage the services of an independent third party to do a dedicated and thorough investigation of all available hospital records from the period to determine what happened and whether there is any other cause for concern beyond the two cases identified," the statement reads.
"The results of this review will be made public. Cases like this are an unfortunate reminder to Canadians of how urgent the need is to provide all Indigenous people with high-quality health care. The government of Canada remains deeply committed to renewing a nation-to-nation relationship with all Indigenous peoples. I offer my sympathy to the families in this difficult time."
'Deeply troubled'
Philpott said she was "deeply troubled to learn of this second case," adding officials with the health ministry have offered to meet with families and provide counselling services to help them cope with the revelation.
Robinson said despite the serious trauma experienced by the families, news of the third-party review should be considered a win.
"They have every right to know why this has happened to them," Robinson said. "It's going to be challenging, there's going to be ups and downs, and there's going to be a lot of hurt and pain as the story unfolds more."
But...did the parents who raised each boy love him as their own? Or did they let their suspicions stop them short of loving the son they raised? Did the sons grow up thinking of and loving the resident parents as their own? Not quite sure where "40 years wasted" is coming from. Did they live those 40 years? Did they go to school, learn, love, date, marry, have careers or jobs, have children of their own? Then the years were not wasted, IMHO.
"...which was then run by the federal government."
Need I say more?
That’s why put it in government tab.
What happened here is lives were stolen
Think of it as acquiring another family, and kwitcherkikken.
Years wasted, a classic left wing party meme.
Yes. It seems like a very difficult thing to learn, but there’s nothing to be done now. Just ‘pick up and move on’ - and enjoy learning about your other family.
-JT
Yeah really, and they all still live in the same Canadian hick town. It’s not as if one of them went home to a life of privilege that the other should have enjoyed. They’re pretty much in the same boat they probably would have been in anyway.
Some things are better left alone and undiscovered. What good could possibly come from this discovery?
agreed - abortion steals lives. Both of these men lived.
that’s why I left kanadastan. The nurses and doctors from coast to coast are all union leftards and they dont care which baby is which.
It is not the same by a long-shot, but I recently found out my dad’s father was not who we thought he was - that my grandmother was either raped or fooled round, 81 years ago. I cannot imagine what these men feel, but the feelings I have are so profound and unsettling I have a glimpse of their distress.
The worst is my dad (dead 10 years) had a sister (she is still alive) he never knew about... I feel very badly for these men...
“You were perfectly happy with the life you had”
How do you you know it was PERFECT? Were they both married to supermodels, and rich billionaires?
“Oh, baloney. You were perfectly happy with the life you had until you learned about the switch.”
Exactly! If I got swapped I would want to shape the nurses hand, because I am happy with how it worked out.
Don’t be so hard on these guys, it has to be a blow, to find out you’re not even related to the only parents you’ve ever known, and for such a stupid reason. I’m sure they’ll come to realize that they had loving parents and still have them.
Does money make for a perfect life?
Check you assumptions.
Some things are better left alone and undiscovered. What good could possibly come from this discovery?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Diggin’ up bones
exhumin’ things, that’s better left alone
tonight I’m sittin’ alone diggin’ up bones
Not quite sure where “40 years wasted” is coming from.
= = =
Let’s see ... 40 * $100,000 = $4 Mil.
That will ‘help’ buy back my life.
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