There have been many articles in the past week about the Sixties Scoop.  But almost nobody has attempted to answer the question - why were these kids "scooped".  The word itself conjures up images of sneaky social workers kidnapping children from otherwise happy lives.  But why?  Were 1960s social workers all sadistic, racist psychopaths?  Seems unlikely.  Were the kids moved because there was demand from white people to adopt first nations kids that the government wanted to meet?  Were the social workers trying to better the lives of the kids from a socio-economic/education perspective without giving due regard to breaking up families.  Or were the kids in real danger due to neglect, violence, or substance abuse in the home?

Recall what this settlement is for.  It relates to Brown v. Canada where the judge did not find that the removals were unjustified, but rather that the Ontario government had not taken reasonable steps to prevent these kids from losing their aboriginal identity.