Saskatchewan premier to apologize to Sixties Scoop survivors in January

Premier Scott Moe will apologize to Sixties Scoop survivors early in the new year, but there will be no monetary compensation.

The apology is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 7, at 10 a.m. CST in the Rotunda of the Legislature Building.​ It will be preceded by a pipe ceremony.

The announcement comes following a series of six sharing circles across the province that were held to inform the Government of Saskatchewan's apology.

These sharing circles were co-ordinated by the Sixties Scoop Indigenous Survivors of Saskatchewan (SSISS), with support from the Government of Saskatchewan.

SSISS board member and survivor Rod Belanger said he was surprised with the early January date.

"I thought it was very short notice because we did have a different date in mind," said Belanger.

He said early January will be tough for many survivors to get to Regina to see the apology in person.

Belanger said the sharing circles helped move this process forward.

"I think the talking circles were a great impact on the people that we were able to reach," he said, but added they wanted to reach many more and hope there will be more sharing circles in other communities.

"It's part of our process in allowing survivors to regain their voice with what happened to them during this time."

The Sixties Scoop saw thousands of Indigenous children taken from their homes from the 1960s to the 1980s and placed mostly with white families.

Earlier this year, Saskatchewan's social services minister said the province hoped to apologize to Sixties Scoop survivors by the end of this year.

While getting an apology is significant it is just one step, Belanger said.

"As a survivor personally it is just the tip of the iceberg.

"People are just starting to recognize that there is a group of people out there standing with them and standing behind them."