Indigenous groups urge Ottawa to extend deadline for day-schools settlement

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With a crucial deadline approaching, a coalition of Indigenous groups is pressing Ottawa and one of Canada’s biggest law firms to reopen the federal Indian day school settlement so that eligible former students don’t get excluded.

The day school system ran from the 1860s to 2000, when the last school was closed or transferred to the community. Unlike residential school students, the estimated 200,000 pupils who attended day schools returned home each night. Both systems suppressed Indigenous languages and culture, had religious affiliations with various churches, and were sites of frequent physical and sexual abuse.

Former day school students have until July 13 to apply for compensation from the $1.47-billion settlement. Indigenous leaders say thousands of people will be left out unless the deadline is extended by at least one year.

“There are thousands of survivors out there who are still coming to terms with putting in an application,” said Travis Boissoneau, the Huron Region Deputy Grand Council Chief for Anishinabek Nation, a political advocacy group for 39 Ontario First Nations. “And now time is running out. Both the federal government and class counsel are ignoring calls for a deadline extension.”

For their part, both Ottawa and the class legal firm representing former day school pupils, Gowling WLG, say they are aware of the concerns. They point out that the settlement includes a six-month deadline extension. It requires anyone filing claims beyond July 13 to submit an extension request form.

“We will continue to monitor and consider the number of claims filed by July 13, 2022, as well as the number of extension forms and claims forms filed during the extension period,” said Cam Cameron, lead Gowling lawyer on the settlement, in a statement.

Any new extension, he said, would require Ottawa’s consent and Federal Court approval. Around 150,000 claim forms have been filed already, exceeding actuarial estimates of the class size by around 20,000, he added.

Approved in 2019, the $1.47-billion settlement granted abused day school students at least $10,000 each for attending any of roughly 700 day schools funded by the federal government from 1920 onward.

The 2006 Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement excluded day school students. In 2016, Gowling WLG launched a class-action lawsuit seeking compensation. Ottawa settled in 2019.

Under the settlement terms, former day school students must complete and submit a 16-page claims form available online. The form varies in its degree of difficulty depending on what level of compensation the applicant is seeking.

Anyone who experienced verbal or physical abuse at a day school is entitled to Level 1 compensation of $10,000 without providing supporting documentation. A single instance of kissing, fondling or physical assault causing temporary injury is a $50,000 Level 2 claim.

Students who endured Level 5 abuse – the most severe grade – are entitled to $200,000. Level 5 is defined as repeated serious sexual assault, such as masturbation or penetration, or any sexual assault leading to long-term disability. But Level 5 applicants have to provide a list of their abusers, medical records and any photographs, diaries or narratives from family members and friends that might support the claim.

Locating all those supporting records at a time when pandemic restrictions barred face-to-face interaction and closed some government offices has proven onerous for some.

“A lot of people are confused about the whole process,” said Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Third Vice-Chief Aly Bear. “It’s been happening during COVID, and people haven’t been able to get support they need to do applications property. It’s quite heartbreaking.”

There is an option to provide a sworn declaration in place of documents, but Kelsey Anger, reconciliation manager for Anishinabek Nations, says they’re often rejected.

“I have not met anyone who submitted a Level 5 application with just sworn declarations who then receives Level 5 [compensation],” she said. “These individuals get letters saying their claims have been evaluated at Level 2 instead and that they’re only eligible for $50,000.”

Anishinabek Nation and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan, have issued a joint statement demanding an extension. The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke, Ontario Council of Chiefs and umbrella groups across the Prairies and Maritimes have echoed the position.

The groups say they have had to hire or redeploy staff just to assist former students with claims. The settlement provides free legal and mental-health assistance, but Ms. Anger said applicants would rather get local cultural support.

Ms. Anger has worked on claims with countless survivors and says that many are elderly with limited access to various Internet resources attached to the settlement.

Countless applicants have told her that they found the compensation grid degrading and simply threw out the application. Still others have opted for level one compensation to avoid reliving a traumatic childhood event. Once a claim is submitted, it can’t be amended, she said.

“If Canada is committed to truth and reconciliation, this is the truth, this is survivor’s truth,” Ms. Anger said. “The way to reconcile this is to enter into discussions and to make amendments before the settlement closes.”

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Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly named the law firm representing former day school students. It is, in fact, Gowling WLG.