WINNIPEG — Two men from northern Manitoba were brought to tears Friday morning as they tried to put into words how it felt to discover they were switched at birth.
On Jan. 31, 1975, Leon Swanson was born at what was then known as the Norway House Indian Hospital. Three days later, David Tait Jr. was born in the same remote hospital located about in Norway House, Man., about 800 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
More than forty years later, a DNA test shows Tait went home with the wrong parents. While the results of a second test are still pending, there is a likelihood that it will reveal that both men are not the biological offspring of their parents, according to a press release sent Friday.
“I cant describe this matter as anything… less than criminal,” said former Manitoba Aboriginal Affairs Minister Eric Robinson in a media conference Friday.
READ MORE: Another switched-at-birth case from same northern Manitoba hospital
Swanson and Tait were also at the conference held in Winnipeg, with their parents. Both men were in tears as they described what happened.
“We want answer. We want answers so bad.”
This discovery comes less than a year after two other men discovered they were switched at birth at the same hospital.
In November 2015, Luke Monias and Norman Barkman came forward with news and held a media conference.
READ MORE: Two northern Manitoba men discovered they were switched at birth
They were born on June 19, 1975 at the Norway House hospital.
They grew up in the same remote first nation community of Garden Hill and said they eventually began to notice they resembled each other’s family more than their own.
WATCH: Two Manitoba men learn they were switched at birth
The results of a DNA test proved they were taken home by each other’s families 40 years ago.
“We can live with one mistake. Two mistakes of a similar nature is not acceptable,” Robinson said.
Robinson is calling for an investigation and said all four families will be pursuing legal action.
The federal government sent out a statement Friday.
“I was deeply troubled to learn of this second case of two men who claimed to have been switched at birth at Norway House Hospital,” Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott said.
“Health Canada has been working to review files and historical documents from the hospital during the time period in question. Given these latest developments, the department will be moving quickly to engage the services of an independent third party to do a dedicated and thorough investigation of all available hospital records from the period to determine what happened and whether there is any other cause for concern beyond the two cases identified. The results of this review will be made public.”
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