Premier David Eby makes formal apology to Doukhobors at B.C. legislature [Video]

British Columbia Premier David Eby has officially apologized in the Victoria legislature to members of the Doukhobor religious community, including children who were forcibly taken from their parents more than 70 years ago.

He says those children were physically and psychologically mistreated after being placed in educational facilities, including a former tuberculosis sanatorium in New Denver, in B.C.’s southern Interior.

Eby says it should never have happened and the province recognizes it caused harms that have “echoed for generations.”

He says this is why the province is allocating $10 million to “help people hurt by these historical wrongs and will help prevent similar occurrences in the future.”

That funding was announced by Attorney General Niki Sharma earlier this month.

BC Ombudsperson Jay Chalke called Eby’s apology a “meaningful and essential step forward,” but says the province should also provide individual compensation to victims.

“Such compensation would allow survivors and their families to, …