Two men discovered they had been switched at birth following a DNA test and have received an apology from the government, nearly 70 years after the swap happened.
Richard Beauvais and Eddy Ambrose, both 68 years old, were born on the same day in 1955, at the Arborg Hospital in Manitoba, Canada.
However, a grave error in the hospital led to them being taken home by each other’s biological parents and living almost their whole lives in the wrong family, as reported by the BBC.
Sitting side-by-side, Beauvais and Ambrose listened intently as Manitoba’s Premier Wab Kinew delivered a long-overdue apology in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, acknowledging the profound impact of the decades-long mix-up.
"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," Kinew declared.
Reflecting on the emotional toll of the ordeal, Beauvais, who spent his life believing he was indigenous, took a DNA test in 2020 that revealed his true heritage as a mix of Ukrainian, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Polish.
The revelation came about through a stroke of fate when Ambrose's sister, Evelyn Stocki, took a DNA test in Winnipeg, revealing Beauvais as her biological brother, despite the vast geographical distance between them.
Their first connection over a phone call marked the beginning of a journey to uncover the truth that had been concealed for decades.
According to the Globe and Mail, the two men started their conversation by discussing how they first met in 1955.
"Is this Eddy Ambrose?" Beauvais started the call, according to the outlet. "I don’t think you remember me, but we met a very long time ago. It was 1955 and we were side by side on the bed."
While efforts have been made to rectify the error, including a formal apology from the government, the consequences of the mix-up have profoundly impacted both men's lives, as explained by their lawyer, Bill Gange.
For Beauvais, forcibly separated from his indigenous family under Canada's "Sixties Scoop" policy, the revelation shattered his sense of identity and heritage.
Similarly, Ambrose, raised in a supportive Ukrainian family, faced the upheaval of discovering his true roots later in life.
"They both have had who they thought they were stripped away because of this," Gange emphasized.
Despite the decades-long mix-up, fate seemed to have intertwined their lives in subtle ways - from unknowingly interacting as children to sharing common interests in their youth.
Beauvais's daughters chose to commemorate their newfound connection by getting "Ambrose" tattooed on their arms, signifying the father they might have had under different circumstances.
Despite the ordeal that has forced the men to confront their true heritage, the apology from the Canadian government is a welcome one.
"[It is] the premier, on behalf of the province, saying out loud and to their faces, 'this should not have happened to you,' and I think that is an important acknowledgment," Gange said.
