Two men in northern Manitoba say they were switched at birth.
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The men, who are to share their story publicly Friday, were born at the Norway House Cree Nation hospital in January 1975.
DNA tests revealed just a few days ago that the men are not biologically related to their parents.
The revelation comes after two men from Garden Hill First Nation discovered last fall that they were switched at birth at the Norway House hospital in the same year.
Former Manitoba Aboriginal Affairs Minister Eric Swanson says an investigation needs to be done into how this happened, whether something criminal occurred, and the possibility that there are other cases. Robinson says that both families have always been subject to rumours and gossip in their isolated community.
“Let me just say this: there are some lingering questions out there”.
“These two gentlemen are not the only victims”.
“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”, Canadian Health Minister Jane Philpott said in a statement Friday. We have families who are deeply hurt by this.
Health Canada called the mix-ups “unfortunate incidents” and promised counselling and other support to the affected families. Both men still live in Norway House Cree Nation, which is about 460 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
Tait’s true parentage was recently confirmed by a DNA test, Robinson said.
“We’ve been family from the beginning”, agreed Tait Jr.
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But there was always something unusual about the two friends: They each looked like the other’s parents more than their own.
