WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Nov. 13 (UPI) ─ Two men from Manitoba, Canada, are investigating the circumstances surrounding them being given to the wrong families after being born at a federal hospital.
Born on June 19, 1975, Luke Monias and Norman Barkman grew up as close friends and always had suspicions that they belonged in each other’s family. Forty years later, DNA tests confirmed these suspicions and now the men are investigating how such a critical error was made.
“Mr. Barkman and Mr. Monias are calling on the federal government to initiate an immediate investigation into the events surrounding this grievous error, and I support them in that endeavor,” Provincial Aboriginal Affairs Minister Eric Robinson said at a press conference Friday.
The men said that while they often questioned whether they were in the right family, neither suspected it of being anything more than a rumor until recently.
The news dealt a devastating blow to both men as Monias has still not been able to tell his children.
“I want the federal government to do an investigation why and how this happened to us,” Monias said. “I would like some answers for me and my family.”
The situation is further complicated by the fact that Barkman’s biological mother and Monias’s biological father are deceased.
In the end, both men simply want someone in the government to give them a clear explanation.
“I just want to know what happened 40 years ago,” Barkman said. “It’s hard. I just want to know what happened.”
