OTTAWA — The commissioner of the RCMP says her force is trying to get names of potential victims of coerced sterilization procedures.
Brenda Lucki tells the House of Commons health committee that the RCMP is willing to meet with victims, adding it would be helpful if lawyers could convince complainants to come forward.
MPs asked Lucki to testify today as part of a study about ongoing concerns from women, who are predominantly Indigenous, who allege they were coerced or forced into tubal ligation procedures during childbirth.
A proposed class-action lawsuit is also underway in Saskatchewan naming the Saskatoon Health Authority, the Saskatchewan government, the federal government, and a handful of medical professionals as defendants.
In 2017, an external review of complaints about coerced tubal ligations in the Saskatoon Health Region prompted a formal public apology.
Dr. Judith Bartlett, who co-authored the external review, tells the committee that Indigenous women interviewed for the report often felt invisible, profiled and powerless.