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“We’re losing our children. They’re growing up not knowing who they are and that void is killing them.”

This is Barbara McDonald’s assessment of how Quebec’s youth protection system affects Indigenous families. She says this as someone who has fostered Indigenous children for nearly 50 years.

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“I’ve seen (Inuit) babies at the hospital and then, once they’ve been through the system, I see them on the streets years later, hooking,” McDonald said. “That’s how fast we’re losing them.”

McDonald, who is Mohawk, was at a roundtable in Montreal Wednesday offering testimony to the Laurent Commission looking into Quebec’s youth protection system.

Her biggest concern is that so many Indigenous children wind up in state care and — once that happens — they begin to lose their identity. She isn’t hopeful her voice will lead to change.

“I think it’s a lot of talk,” McDonald said. “I think they’re in the hot seat since Granby.”