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Judges and national organizations continue to talk and meet about the residential school settlement as the survivors wait. Now the lawyers are taking over the settlement and further delaying the distribution of few thousand dollars for each survivor while they fight over the millions they are expecting. (see stories below). SHAME, SHAME, SHAME on the government, on the lawyers and on the organizations for making this happen!

Meanwhile, in a few short months Canada announces a $10.5 million settlement for a newcomer to Canada for being wrongfully sent to a detention centre. Residential school survivors, many of whom spent years in these forced school environments, suffering various unacceptable experiences are still waiting for even a little personal justice from Canada.

AFN press release ....

Residential School Survivors are One Step Closer to Compensation Following Judges Meeting in Calgary

OTTAWA, Jan. 26 - The final court approval for the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) is one step closer to reality after judges from across Canada met in Calgary yesterday.

"I am pleased to report that yesterday's meeting between the judges, who approved the settlement in principle last month, resolved a number of issues that will allow the administrative process to proceed as quickly as possible," said Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine. "As you know, the AFN was central to discussions with Canada that formed the responses to the judges concerns on the independent administration and related issues."

The judges also agreed to an unprecedented sitting of all the courts, in the very near future, in order to issue the final settlement approval.

"This certainly indicates that our judicial system realizes the urgency in approving this settlement as quickly as possible," noted the National Chief. "I am very pleased that our Elders have already benefited from the Advance Payment Program. To date, 13,400 have received their $8,000 cheques. This means a total of $74.8 Million dollars have been paid out to the elderly. I look forward to all survivors receiving their compensation due them in the very near future.

"AFN's continued involvement in this process will ensure that the IRSSA remains on track to get payments out to survivors as soon as possible," added the National Chief.

In the coming months, a Community Outreach Mobile Plan (COMP) will travel to as many communities as possible to conduct face-to-face information sessions with survivors.

The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada.

For further information: please contact: Bryan Hendry, A/Director of Communications, (613) 241-6789, ext. 229, cell: (613) 293-6106, bhendry@afn.ca;. Nancy Pine, Communications Advisor to the National Chief, (613) 241-6789, ext. 243, cell: (613) 298-6382, npine@afn.ca.

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From http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2007/01/26/residential-deal.html

Appeal means residential school deal on hold: Ottawa
Friday, January 26, 2007 - CBC News

A multibillion-dollar settlement for aboriginal students who attended residential schools is now stalled, a lawyer with the federal government says.

Earlier this month, the attorney general's office filed an appeal against the deal approved by nine judges across Canada. That appeal was against the $15 million to $40 million in legal fees approved for Regina lawyer Tony Merchant, whose firm represents thousands of former students.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine had hoped that the dispute over fees could be separated from the rest of the deal and the long-awaited payouts could proceed.

The situation became more complicated on Friday when Merchant filed his own appeal in Regina that replied to the attorney general's appeal and added other objections to it.

The effect, according to federal government lawyer Catherine Coughlan, is to delay implementation of the compensation package.

Under the law, the settlement is "stayed" during an appeal period, she said.
 
"It means that further steps in the matter cannot be taken unless a party applies to the court to lift the stay," she said.

However, in the cross-appeal he filed Friday, Merchant argued that it was Ottawa's appeal that triggered the stay and he wouldn't have appealed if Ottawa hadn't done so first.

The deal includes $1.9 billion for the roughly 80,000 aboriginal people who attended the schools in the 20th century. There's also more money for students who were abused physically or sexually in the schools, which were typically run by churches under the supervision of the federal government.

Money has also been set aside for memorial projects and various healing and reconciliation programs.

In total, it's estimated the deal could add up to between $4 billion and $5 billion, according to documents filed in a Regina court.

A new report by the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) highlights the challenges Aboriginal people face when trying to access learning opportunities taken for granted by other Canadians.

Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) press release ...

State of Learning in Canada: No Time for Complacency Report - Learning Measures Lagging for Aboriginal People

Report calls for approach to learning that reflects community values

VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 26 - While more Aboriginal youth are finishing school and entering post-secondary education than ever before, Aboriginal languages are endangered and the effects of persistent poverty are hindering progress among Aboriginal youth.

State of Learning in Canada: No Time for Complacency, the first in a series of annual reports to be published by the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL), is a comprehensive overview of key aspects of learning in Canada.

Using a wide range of research into learning among Aboriginal people, the report reveals that:

• Aboriginal children are less likely than their parents or Elders to speak an ancestral language
• Of Canada's 50 or so Aboriginal languages, half are considered at risk of extinction and only Inuktitut, Cree, and Ojibway are considered 'safe'
• While some immersion or bilingual programming in Aboriginal communities exists, there is no comprehensive research on the number of programs or their impact
• Nine in 10 Aboriginal children lack access to early childhood programming designed for them
• Aboriginal youth remain two-and-a-half times more likely than non-Aboriginal Canadians to drop out of high school.

"Although progress is being made, serious gaps remain with respect to learning among Aboriginal people compared to non-Aboriginal Canadians" said Paul Cappon, CEO of the Council. "Substantial action needs to be taken to repair what exists on the Aboriginal learning landscape and enhance it to better meet the needs of Aboriginal people of all ages."

The report makes a number of recommendations on approaches to learning that reflect the particular needs of Aboriginal people. In addition, CCL's Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre is developing new strategies to address the challenges.

In March, CCL is sponsoring a forum to bring together leaders, learners, practitioners and policy makers to look at the current state of Aboriginal learning in Canada and share best practices with the goal of improving learning outcomes across the country.

"Aboriginal communities have traditional, holistic views on how people learn in their societies. We need to work to integrate their perspectives with Western perspectives and models," said Cappon.

In addition to Aboriginal learning, the report also contains chapters on early childhood learning, learning in school, adult learning, and a special feature profiling the challenges low literacy levels pose to Canadian society.

The full report is available at www.ccl-cca.ca/solr.

About the Canadian Council on Learning

The Canadian Council on Learning is an independent, not-for-profit corporation funded through an agreement with Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Its mandate is to promote and support evidence-based decisions about learning throughout all stages of life, from early childhood through to the senior years.

NOTE: Additional State of Learning in Canada news releases are available on the report in general and on health literacy.

For further information: please contact: Bob LeDrew, Senior Media Relations Specialist, Canadian Council on Learning, (613) 782-2959, bledrew@ccl-cca.ca