i “Society seems like it doesn’t even know...”: Archival records regarding people labelled with intellectual disability who have been institutionalized in Manitoba by Mary Horodyski A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of History (Archival Studies) Joint Master’s Program University of Manitoba/University of Winnipeg Winnipeg, Manitoba Copyright © 2017 by Mary Horodyski ii Society seems like it doesn’t even know the wrong they are doing with institutions. I don’t believe it. I think they know. — Scott Klassen, Institution Watch. ii Table of Contents List of Tables ......................................................................................................... iii Abstract .................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgments ................................................................................................... v Dedication ............................................................................................................. vii Introduction: “How can anyone say the institution is good?” ................................ 1 Chapter One: “Society seems like it doesn’t even know…:” Reviewing the literature about institutions ........................................................... 13 Chapter Two: “It’s easy to get in there but it’s hard to get out.” A short history of Manitoba’s institutions ............................................................ 40 Chapter Three: “It was completely structured.” Types of institutional records ................................................................................ 61 Chapter Four: “Too much secrets.” Freedom of Information legislation and eugenic records ..................................... 86 Chapter Five: “They told me never say nothing.” Research ethics .................................................................................................... 112 Chapter Six: “They’re still with their secrets.” Government responses to access requests ........................................................... 134 Chapter Seven: “I won’t forget what happened, never.” Institutional case files ......................................................................................... 162 Conclusion: “Let’s get the message out. Let’s free our people!” ....................... 191 Appendix A: Sample data collection sheet for a clinical file ............................ 211 Bibliography ....................................................................................................... 212 iii List of Tables Table 1: Summary of government responses to my Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) requests. .................................................................. 137 Table 2: Records received from Education and Advanced Learning. ............................ 142 iv Abstract This thesis examines issues surrounding access to records relating to people labelled with intellectual disability who have been institutionalized in Manitoba. It argues that the devaluation of people labelled with intellectual disabilities, together with the failures and difficulties in acquiring, preserving, describing and accessing records that describe the historical experiences of people labelled with intellectual disability who have been institutionalized, allows society to continue to seem like it does not know “the wrong they are doing with institutions.” In conclusion, this thesis advocates for means by which the experiences of people who have been institutionalized could be created, archived and more broadly available to the public. v Acknowledgments The views, opinions and conclusions of this thesis are only my own and no official endorsement by Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living, Manitoba Families, Manitoba Infrastructure, the Manitoba Civil Service Commission or other data providers is intended or should be inferred. Much of the work of this thesis was undertaken during times of family concern, grief and mourning. I thank all those who offered support during these times and apologize to those I neglected while focussing on this thesis. Special thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Thomas Nesmith. His commitment to archives and to human rights has been an inspiration and his ability to make me laugh has given me many moments of respite. I’ve appreciated Dr. Greg Bak’s enthusiasm as a professor and as a thesis examiner. Thanks also to the other members of my examining committee, Dr. Zana Lutfiyya and Dr. Esyllt Jones. Any errors or omissions in this thesis are entirely my own. Much gratitude to Dr. Kiera Ladner, Dr. Shawna Ferris, and Dr. Mary Jane McCallum for providing me with meaningful work experience during my time as a student. I am also indebted to Dr. McCallum for her guidance. Thanks to all the Manitoba Privacy and Access and Ombudsman staff who helped me during this long process. Special thanks to Janelle Reynolds in the Information and Privacy Policy Secretariat. I appreciate the help of all the Archives of Manitoba staff, especially Scott Goodine, Kathleen Epp, and Rudy Martinez. Many thanks at the University of Manitoba to Karen vi Meelker, Access and Privacy Officer; Barbara Crutchley, Director of Research Services; and Lynne Hiebert, Office of Legal Counsel. I always appreciated the pep talks from Rod Lauder at Inclusion Winnipeg. The patience, kindness and dedication of Lea Westra in Document Delivery at the Elizabeth Dafoe Library and Sylvie Winslow in the Department of History helped keep me moving toward the finish line. And last, but never least, my heartfelt gratitude to my husband Sandy and my son Hayden for their unwavering support and love. One does not simply walk into Mordor – or a graduate degree – without companions such as these. vii Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the participants of The Freedom Tour. 1 Introduction: “How can anyone say the institution is good?” Scott Klassen lived for twenty-one years in a Winnipeg institution. Since leaving the institution twenty-five years ago, Klassen lives and works in the city. He is a disability advocate who sits on boards and speaks at local, national and international events on the right to live in the community. Comparing his life inside the institution to the life he leads outside in the community, he asks “How can anyone say the institution is good?”1 In 1995, during the publicity surrounding Leilani Muir’s legal action against the Alberta government for her forced sterilization and institutionalization, the Canadian public began learning about the eugenic practices of our not-so-distant past.2 The court awarded Muir almost $1 million in damages, including $250,000 specifically for the “damages connected with the detention” of Muir in Alberta’s Provincial Training School for Mental Defectives. The court said that her confinement in the institution resulted in many travesties to her young person: loss of liberty, loss of reputation, humiliation and disgrace, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of normal developmental experiences, loss of civil rights, loss of 1 Klassen, 3. See also, Community Living Winnipeg, “Board of Directors,” accessed August 1, 2016, http:// communitylivingwinnipeg.com/about-us/board-of-directors/. 2 Muir received widespread newspaper as well as television coverage during the legal trial. After her death, media attention was again prevalent. For example, see “Woman who successfully sued Alberta over sterilization dies,” CTV News March 16, 2016, accessed June 26, 2016, http://www.ctvnews.ca/ health/woman-who-successfully-sued-alberta-over-sterilization-dies-1.2819243. In this article, Muir is recognized for opening “a floodgate of claims” from other sterilization victims and for bringing public attention to the historical eugenic practices of Alberta. See also Tu Thanh Ha, “Leilani Muir made history suing Alberta over forced sterilization,” The Globe and Mail March 16, 2016, accessed June 26, 2016, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/woman-who-made-history-suing-alberta-over-forced- sterilization-dies/article29256421/. 2 contact with family and friends, subjection to institutional discipline.3 Through this 1996 award, the Alberta court recognized the damages wrought to individuals through institutionalization, but thirty years later large institutions still continue to be run by provincial governments in Alberta and Manitoba. Scott Klassen argues that “society seems like it doesn’t even know the wrong they are doing with institutions. I don’t believe it. I think they know.”4 This thesis examines issues surrounding access to records relating to people labelled with intellectual disability who have been institutionalized in Manitoba.5 It argues that the devaluation of people labelled with intellectual disabilities together with 3 “Summary,” Muir v. Alberta, 1996, accessed June 26, 2016, http://www.canlii.org/en/ab/abqb/doc/ 1996/1996canlii7287/1996canlii7287.html. Dr. J.C. Clarkson, in his commissioned report on institutions in the province of Manitoba, noted that not only were the institutions isolated and so promoted schisms within relationships, “the general population rejects institutional living for other environmental reasons—noise, regimentation, and a feeling of anonymity. These add to the disadvantages inherent in their existence.” J.C. Clarkson and M.D.T. Associates, Mental Health and Retardation Services in