Premier Wab Kinew apologizes to men switched at birth in Manitoba hospital

Premier Wab Kinew stood in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly on Thursday and formally apologized to Edward Ambrose and Richard Beauvais for the mistake that sent them to the wrong homes after their births in 1955.

"I rise today to deliver an apology that has been a long time coming, for actions that harmed two children, two sets of parents and two families across many generations," Kinew said.

"We sincerely apologize for our failure to care for you, to protect you, to ensure that you would grow up with the love of the families who welcomed you into this world."

The two men, who were both born at an Arborg, Man., hospital on June 28, 1955, sat in the House as they received the apology their lawyer first requested in April 2022.

Ambrose is Métis but grew up believing he was Ukrainian; Beauvais is Ukrainian, Jewish and Polish, but always thought he was Métis.

The mistake wasn't discovered until recently, and both have said the shocking discovery has been difficult to handle.

"We are sometimes asked to understand empathy and compassion by considering what it's like to walk a mile in another person's shoes," Kinew said at the start of his speech.

"Our honoured guests here today will perhaps understand compassion and empathy on a level that very few of us will ever be able to approach."

Kinew, who met with the men before the apology, laid out some of the facts of their lives.

Both of Ambrose's parents died by the time he was 12, and Beauvais was taken from his home and lived with foster families, too, Kinew said.

He also outlined coincidences that cropped up during their lives.

Ambrose once asked his biological sister — who he didn't know was his sister at the time — to play on his baseball team at recess as a child, Kinew said. He also lived just a few blocks away from his biological sister in Winnipeg.

Beauvais once fished next to his own biological sister on a shoreline in B.C., and another time stopped for a drink at a bar she worked at.

"Both men have parents that they've never met, family members they forever lost the opportunity to forge relationships with," Kinew said.