TORONTO -- In a year of reckoning for the legacy of Canada鈥檚 residential schools, a new class-action lawsuit is exposing the alleged torment Indigenous people faced at medical facilities specifically built for them.
According to the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at the University of British Columbia, these so-called 鈥淚ndian hospitals鈥� formally began in the 1930s as a way of tackling high rates of tuberculosis (TB) among Indigenous people, but were chronically understaffed and ended up using 鈥渆xperimental treatment鈥� on their patients.
Ann Hardy is the lead plaintiff in a $1.1-billion class-action lawsuit against the federal government alleging 鈥渨idespread and common sexual abuse鈥� by hospital staff at these facilities, relating to her time at Edmonton鈥檚 Charles Camsell Hospital.
鈥淚 think that people need to know that this happened in our hospitals, it happened recently and we need to acknowledge it,鈥� Hardy told 麻豆影视.
鈥淚 know that sometimes Canadians think they're just hearing too much of it, and 鈥榃hy can't we just get over it?鈥� and I think we're not going to be able to, in my case, until we fully expose that this happened.鈥�
The Charles Camsell Hospital, the largest such hospital in Canada, began treating Indigenous people for TB in 1945 and ultimately closed in 1996. There is currently a radar search for possible unmarked graves on the property, similar to those investigations at the sites of former residential schools across the country.
Hardy was transported 700 kilometres from her home to the facility when she contracted TB in 1969. While at the hospital, Hardy said hospital staff sexually abused her and she witnessed the sexual abuse of other patients.
鈥淭he medical staff that would come in that was rooming this child would just pull the curtain across to separate us,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 could hear everything that was going on.鈥�
鈥淚t was horrifying, just horrifying and I had to lay there and listen.鈥�
According to the statement of claim, filed on behalf of survivors from 31 Indian hospitals across Canada, the patients were segregated from the rest of the population in 鈥渟ubstandard, ill equipped, overcrowded and inadequately staffed鈥� facilities that did not compare to other medical facilities of the time. The claim also alleges 鈥渨idespread, common and systemic physical and sexual abuse,鈥� including food deprivation, beatings with sticks, physical restraint for months at a time and requiring patients 鈥渢o eat their own vomit.鈥�
In addition, the claim alleges that patients were not given access to an antibiotic TB medication that became available in the 1940s, which would鈥檝e allowed them to be treated at home.
鈥淭his case was commenced to bring to light the awful experiences thousands of Indigenous people who were segregated from the rest of the population and allegedly subjected to horrific treatment,鈥� said Jonathan Ptak, a lawyer with Koskie Minsky LLP in Toronto who filed the claim.
While the hospital is closed now, Hardy says the memories from her time there still haunt her.
鈥淭he sexual abuse that I carried with me for so many years, without being able to talk about it to anybody,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat had the most lasting impact on my life and probably coloured my judgement in so many ways.鈥�
Maureen Lux, a history professor at Brock University who authored a book on Canadian Indian hospitals, said plenty other patients at these facilities faced similar torment.
鈥淭hey would take children who wouldn't stay in bed and put plaster casts on both legs with a bar in between, so that they could not move,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ther children were physically restrained in their beds and this -- of course -- made children particularly vulnerable to staff.鈥�
Lux added that patients were arrested if they tried to leave.
鈥淚ndigenous people were required to see a doctor, they were required to go to a hospital, and they were required to stay in hospital against their will until they were discharged,鈥� she said.
The allegations listed in the lawsuit have not been tested in court.
In a statement, Carine Midy, a spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, said the government is 鈥渨orking collaboratively鈥� with Hardy and her legal team to find a 鈥渕eaningful resolution鈥� to the matter and that the discussion are ongoing.
鈥淭he mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples is a tragic and shameful part of Canada鈥檚 history, whose impacts are still felt today,鈥� she added in the statement. 鈥淐anada deeply regrets past actions and policies that harmed Indigenous children, their families and communities, and is committed to reconciliation and laying the foundation for intergenerational healing.鈥�
鈥淐anada is committed to resolving claims of this nature outside of the courts. Negotiated agreements and outcomes are preferred wherever possible as it allows the parties to go beyond the remedies that can be granted by the courts and explore concrete ways to address past harms.鈥�
