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The Duplessis Orphans
During the reign of Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis in the 1940s and 1950s, an alarming number of healthy children living in sanctuaries were hastily diagnosed as mentally incompetent, psychotic patients. The diagnoses were always swift — the children went to bed orphans and woke up psychiatric patients. The reason? Shrewd fiscal planning; federal subsidies paid out more to hospitals than to orphanages. Some children allegedly endured lobotomies, electroshock, straitjackets and abuse. For the rest of their lives they would struggle to bring attention to their story and demand compensation. They called themselves the Duplessis Orphans.
Last updated: April 19, 2012
Page consulted on April 17, 2013
All Clips from this Topic
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The Duplessis Orphans organize and protest some four decades after the...
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The religious orders respond to charges of abuse.
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Duplessis Orphans demand a public apology and prepapre their class-act...
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The Duplessis Orphans publicly challenge the Catholic Church with thei...
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Quebec premier offers an apology and compensation to the Duplessis Orp...
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Quebec ombudsman Daniel Jacoby calls premier Bouchard's reconciliation...
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When the church says it can only offer compassion, the Duplessis Orpha...
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The Roman Catholic will not offer an apology or compensation for hundr...
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A new drama about a Duplessis Orphan debuts.
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Sixty-three high-profile Canadians file a petition in support of the D...
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A Duplessis orphan and a five-year-old child form an unlikely partners...
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The Duplessis Orphans at long last accept an offer of compensation.
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The Duplessis Orphans demand a further investigation into alleged medi...
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During the reign of Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis in the 1940s and ...