What was the Sixties Scoop class action settlement?

The Sixties Scoop class action settlement was a federal class-action settlement of about 875 million dollars announced on October 6, 2017. The settlement was designed to compensate about 20,000 First Nations and Inuit individuals who as children had been forcibly removed from their families and adopted into non-Indigenous families (typically white Canadian, American, or European families) between 1951 and 1991. The settlement included 800 million dollars in individual compensation (about 25,000 to 50,000 dollars per claimant) and a 50 million dollar Indigenous Healing Foundation. The Sixties Scoop is one of the most consequential Indigenous-rights settlements of the 21st century.

The Sixties Scoop refers to a federal child-welfare practice from the 1950s to the 1980s in which provincial child-welfare authorities (operating under federal-provincial agreements following 1951 amendments to the Indian Act) removed Indigenous children from their communities and placed them with non-Indigenous families. Estimates suggest that about 20,000 Indigenous children were removed and adopted out, often without their parents' consent. The practice peaked in the 1960s and 1970s but continued into the 1980s. About 70 per cent of removed children were placed with non-Indigenous families in Canada, the United States, or Europe. Many removed children lost their language, culture, family connections, and Indigenous identity.

The class action was filed on behalf of Marcia Brown Martel (Beaverhouse First Nation, Ontario) by Toronto lawyer Jeffery Wilson in 2009 in Ontario Superior Court. The Brown v. Canada (Attorney General) case proceeded through certification in 2009, an Ontario Court of Appeal decision in 2010, and trial in 2014. Justice Edward Belobaba's February 14, 2017 summary judgment ruled that the federal Crown had breached its common-law duty of care to Sixties Scoop children. After Belobaba's ruling, the federal government negotiated a national settlement covering all eligible Sixties Scoop survivors across Canada (rather than only Ontario claimants).

The October 6, 2017 settlement was announced by Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett with class representatives. Settlement terms included: 50 million dollars in legal fees; 800 million dollars in individual compensation (graduated by region and circumstances, typically 25,000 to 50,000 dollars per claim); a 50 million dollar Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation (established by the federal government in partnership with class members). The Federal Court of Canada (Justice Michel Shore) approved the settlement on August 23, 2018. Claims processing has continued through 2024. The Settlement is widely regarded as a significant federal acknowledgement of historic harm but has been criticised for excluding non-status Indians, Métis, and some categories of removed children. The Métis National Council has continued advocacy for a separate settlement for Métis Sixties Scoop survivors.