MMF launches pair of lawsuits against Manitoba and Canada for Red River Métis Sixties Scoop Survivors and the Red River Métis collective

December 8, 2025

Winnipeg, MB, in the National Homeland of the Red River Métis - The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), National Government of the Red River Métis, has commenced two legal actions in the Manitoba Court of King's Bench for the Sixties Scoop: A class action against the Province of Manitoba on behalf of Red River Métis Survivors - with Representative Plaintiff Albert Beck - and a claim on behalf of Red River Métis as a collective against both Manitoba and Canada.

These cases demand that Manitoba and Canada answer for a system that forcibly removed Red River Métis children from their families - often sent out of province and even out of the country - robbing them of their identity, culture, language, and community.

"This is about more than the past. It is about the future of Red River Métis children and families," said David Chartrand, President of the MMF. "While Canada acknowledged its role in the Sixties Scoop and reached a settlement with some people in 2017, the Red River Métis were excluded from the settlement. Manitoba apologized in 2015 for its role in the Sixties Scoop, with its own inquiry from decades earlier acknowledging that the mass removal of Indigenous children amounted to cultural genocide. Despite this, our Survivors have never received compensation from Manitoba or Canada for the harms they endured, and the collective wounds to the Nation remain unaddressed."

The MMF is acting to close that gap and ensure both Manitoba and Canada finally meet their obligations to our Citizens and our Nation. The collectivity claim seeks recognition and compensation from Manitoba and Canada for the irreparable cultural, linguistic, and social damage inflicted on Red River Métis as an Indigenous People. The class action against Manitoba - brought with Representative Plaintiff Albert Beck - seeks justice for individual Survivors who suffered the trauma of being taken from their families and community, and placed with non-Red River Métis foster and adoptive families. The MMF is represented by Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb and MN Trachtenberg Law Office.

"We are honoured to support the MMF and Mr. Beck in these landmark actions," said lead counsel Rahool Agarwal. "The MMF has long been at the forefront of holding the Crown to account for historic and ongoing abuses against Red River Métis. These cases seek acknowledgement and compensation for Survivors and for the Red River Métis Nation - and they affirm a simple truth: reconciliation demands accountability."

For generations, Red River Métis Survivors have carried the burden of loss - of family, language, identity, and opportunity - without recognition or remedy. Tired of waiting for justice, the MMF launched the Bridge to Justice Fund for living Survivors in 2024 to provide immediate compensation while the court cases were put forward.

Through these legal actions, the MMF is advancing a comprehensive path to justice, restoring dignity to Survivors, and ensuring Manitoba and Canada are finally held accountable for the damage done to the Red River Métis.

"Too many of our children were taken, their names changed, their language silenced, and their connection to our people severed," said President Chartrand. "This was not an accident of history - it was a policy that targeted our Nation and attempted to erase who we are. Our message to Survivors is simple: You are not alone, and your Red River Métis Government stands with you. The MMF will always look after its people and make sure past wrongs are addressed. We are committed to seeing this through so our children and grandchildren inherit a future where their identity is honoured and protected. Never again will we allow it to be put at risk."

Read the full statements of claim here:

Statement of Claim (MBKB) - Class Proceeding - Beck and MMF against Manitoba filed 12.05.25

Issued Statement of Claim - Collective Action Against Manitoba and Canada - 2025.11.18

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For more information, media may contact:
Kat Patenaude
Media Relations Advisor
Manitoba Métis Federation
204-801-7710
Kat.Patenaude@mmf.mb.ca

Believe in Yourself; Believe in Métis.

The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) is the democratically elected National Government of the Red River Métis, also known as the Manitoba Métis. The Red River Métis are a distinct Indigenous Nation and People and Canada's Negotiating Partners in Confederation and the Founders of the Province of Manitoba.

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