Canadian Centre for Home Children
Welcome to Our Website!
The Canadian Centre for Home Children was opened in 1999 and is located in Cavendish PEI the home of Canada's world famous orphan Anne of Green Gables, just a short distance up the road and just across the road from Avonlea Village.
In the past the Centre has tried to get those responsible for the continuing problems of the Home Children community to accept their moral, ethical and legal responsibilities and to provide help and solutions to those problems. Many promises were made few were kept and so the Centre after much thought discussion and consideration has decided a new approach is required.
The Centre has been trying since the early 1990's to find a better and quicker way to solve the problem of obtaining thee personal and family information that is still being sought by thousands and thousands of families. In 1998 it appeared a real break through had been achieved with both the Canadian and British governments. Sadly we have now concluded that was nothing more than political spin doctors at work to control the findings and the report of the British Parliamentary enquiry. The subject is complicated and a detailed outline is available later in this site. By now the Canadian Home Children community should be well aware that there is help and assistance available for any group except the Home Children family.
Chairman David Hinchliffe,
Chairman UK Health Committee
and John Willoughby
New methods are now being implemented and others are planned watch this site for developments and regular reports and breaking news.
The organization was founded in 1991 by John H Willoughby of Charlottetown P.E.I. It was incorporated as a non profit foundation shortly thereafter. The founding arose out of frustration with Canadian and U.K. government departments refusing to cooperate in any way with his and other Home Children families in trying to identify and locate documents and actual living family members so families could be re-united. In the previous 7 years John and other volunteers here and the U.K. were encountering all kinds of problems in trying to provide some help to an ever growing number of requests. No help or cooperation was forthcoming.
In 1997 Tony Blair became Prime Minister of the U.K. and that same year announced an enquiry into Child Migration would be held in May 1998. This was the first sign of a possible change in attitude. The Centre had many discussions and letters with the Health Select Committee in the months leading up to the enquiry. Our chairman and Vice Chairman flew to London and met with and submitted a report to the Committee. There was much hope that good things would happen but in the end as far as Canada was concerned our needs were ignored and all the help and attention was directed at Australia and New Zealand. Since then the Centre has been trying to obtain better treatment for the Canadian Home Children family without much success. But our efforts will not only continue but will increase. Canadians do not deserve to be treated like this by the U.K. government .
Shortly after the hearings in the U.K. were announced lo and behold a meeting with Sheila Copps then Minister of Heritage and Parks was arranged. This took place in Charlottetown in February 1998. Many promise were made to help the Home Children community but only one was kept. That was to provide a property in Cavendish P.E. I. For the use of as the home of the centre. Once the report of the U.K. Committee was presented to the Canadian Government in December 1998 the promises she made disappeared like the snow in spring. In spite of many efforts the Government of Canada hasn't changed it's position. SO that is why the Centre is changing it's attitude and approach. That change is long overdue. Other groups have found help and solutions and we intend to do the same whatever it takes. It is our intent to follow this new direction once and for all obtain the justice for the long suffering Home Children community.
Status of Canadian Government
The government of Canada has done almost nothing to help or assist the Home Children community with any problems since the program to bring young British children to Canada in 1869.
Over and over when we contacted various federal government departments prior to 1998 we got the same answer “Sorry, we have programs to help this group of people”, end of discussion. In February we met with the minister of heritage and Parks Canada, Sheila Copps. We were astonished to learn that she had no prior knowledge of the Home Children and had never been briefed by anyone in her department. We had a good meeting with Mrs. Copps and were promised much help with the Home Children’s problems. Her main statement was we will do for the Home Children as what we did for the Irish at Gros isles P.Q.
Status of UK Government
The U.K. governments through the years basically ignored the child migration problems. The last Conservative Prime Minister John Major when asked a question in the House of Commons answered "Any concern about the treatment of children in another country is essentially a matter for the authorities of that country." 2 Nov 1993 Hansard.
This was generally the attitude of all U.K. governments prior to 1997.Even though the children were still British citizens they were out of sight out of mind and someone elses problem.