A DNA-testing kit changed the lives of two Canadian men, Richard Beauvais and Eddy Ambrose, at a Christmas event when they received the shock news that they were switched at birth.

On Thursday, both received a formal apology from Manitoba’s Premier Wab Kinew regarding the trauma endured by the revelation. 

From the coastal town of Sechelt, British Columbia, Richard Beauvais believed that he was indigenous. However, he took a DNA test that showed that his lineage was a mixture of Ukrainian, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Polish.

On the other side, Winnipeg, Manitoba’s Eddy Ambrose, who was raised in a Ukrainian family, tested that he was not part of the family. 

This led to the life-changing revelation that they were brothers. 

Richard Beauvais and Eddy Ambrose were born on the same day at the same hospital in the same town of Arborg, Manitoba, in 1955. However, they were switched at birth.

“I rise today to deliver an apology that has been a long time coming for actions that harmed two children, two sets of parents, and two families across many generations,” Mr. Kinew said in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly.

He remarked that empathy and compassion should be there in person to analyze the situation. 

Kinew said that the two men’s lives have overlapped in recent years. 

“If that statement is true, our honored guests here today will perhaps understand compassion and empathy on a level very few of us will be able to approach,” he further stated.

Both men lived different lives. Beauvais was raised Métis (mixed of indigenous and European ancestry), whose father died at the age of three and was forcibly taken from his family in the Sixties Scoop, according to the policy in Canada where indigenous children were placed in foster care or were adopted.

Ambrose grew up on a farm in rural Manitoba with a Ukrainian ancestral family and was orphaned and adopted later at the age of 12, their lawyer Bill Gange told the BBC. 

“They both have had who they thought they were stripped away because of this,” Gange said.

Their lawyer opened up, saying that the men were happy with their previous lives and their new relationship as well. 

Ambrose has associated with his biological relatives and has become a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation. Beauvais has also contacted his biological family. 

The men sought legal representation through Gange to ask the province for an apology and financial compensation from Manitoba Province. 

The former leader of the province did not comment on this case. However, after the change in government and Kinew coming into power, the mistake was admitted. However, financial compensation was not promised. 

The lawyer implied that he would continue to push for financial compensation for the men. 

“This is just my guess, but I believe that as [at-home DNA test kits] become more prevalent, you will find other cases like this,” he stated.

Gange has represented other cases like this and sought out compensation for other Canadians who switched at birth.