Below is the Salvation Army's response to W5's interview request for this story:
The Salvation Army is unable to participate in an on-camera interview at this time, but I can provide you with the following information. I hope this context is helpful.
For many decades following the Second World War, The Salvation Army was part of a system which provided care for unmarried mothers as a direct response to a societal need. The Salvation Army was one of many organizations involved in providing these services. This involvement by The Salvation Army was in:
(1) the operation of several homes throughout Canada which provided safe housing, meals and structured activities to women during their pregnancy, and
(2) the provision of health care in hospitals during labour and immediately following the birth of the child.
The homes run by The Salvation Army were designed to give pregnant women a safe and supportive place to live throughout their pregnancy during a time when there was a tremendous social stigma attached to being an unmarried mother. At that time, adoption was considered, by the government and society in general, to be an optimal solution to the concerns raised by pregnancies outside of marriage. It wasn’t until the 1980s that other options began to gain wider acceptance and public funding was made available for long-term housing for women and their children, in addition to other support services, such as child care and family resource centres.
An internal review was conducted in 2013 in order to gain a better understanding of The Salvation Army’s role as part of the system that was in place during this period of four decades. The material reviewed through this process included documents publicly available in government archives, as well as material retained by The Salvation Army concerning the operation of these homes.
The review demonstrated that The Salvation Army had no legal or practical role in the adoption process itself. Instead The Salvation Army provided safe housing, meals and structured activities to meet the immediate needs of the women housed, followed by health care during and immediately after the birth of the child. As The Salvation Army was not involved in the adoption process, the review does not substantiate whether "forced adoption" existed. The review also showed that all of The Salvation Army homes being operated during this time were supported by the government, operated in accordance with government requirements and subject to government review and monitoring.
The Salvation Army appreciated the opportunity to submit a Brief in March of 2018 to the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology as part of its consideration of adoption practices in the decades immediately following the Second World War. Our Brief (attached below) was based upon our earlier review in 2013. Our Brief recognized and expressed our regret for the societal prejudices and harsh attitudes that resulted in:
(i) families, friends and others convincing unmarried women that they must place their children for adoption; and,
(ii) the absence of adequate support programs that would have provided these women with a meaningful opportunity to ignore these societal pressures and raise their children.
The Salvation Army welcomed and supports the recommendation contained in the Report from the Standing Senate Committee entitled “The Shame is Ours: Forced Adoptions of the Babies of Unmarried Mothers in Post-War Canada” (released in July 2018), that government consider how it can best make available counselling for those who have suffered from these societal prejudices and attitudes which resulted in the system which pressured women to surrender their children for adoption against their will.
It has always been the mission of The Salvation Army to serve our community with compassion, and The Salvation Army remains committed to giving hope to those we serve.
John McAlister,
National Director of Marketing and Communications
Headquarters for Canada & Bermuda
Toronto, Ontario
