Sept 19 DEADLINE for Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement fast approaching
A very significant date for the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) is approaching. September 19, 2012 is the deadline to apply for the two financial components of the IRSSA:
(1)
the Independent Assessment Process (IAP); and
(2) the Common Experience
Payment (CEP) process in
situations where former students can establish that they were unable to submit
their application by the September 19, 2011 deadline due to disability, undue
hardship or exceptional circumstances.
September
19, 2012 also marks the fifth anniversary of the day that implementation of the
IRSSA began. With this important day fast approaching, please find
attached an update on progress.
Common Experience Payment
As you are likely aware, September 19,
2011 was the CEP application deadline. CEP applications continue to be
accepted until September 19, 2012, in cases of disability, undue hardship and
exceptional circumstances, provided they include a written reason for the
delay. As of June 30th, 2012, 105,032 applications had been received (571
as exceptional circumstances) and 97% (102,031) had been processed with a total
of $1.614 billion paid. Under the terms of the IRSSA, an audit must be
conducted to determine the balance held in the CEP trust fund. It is
anticipated that this audit will be conducted by March 2013.
Personal Credits
It is likely that there will be more than
$40 million remaining in the CEP trust fund once all Common Experience Payments
have been processed. If this is the case, further to the IRSSA, a maximum
of $3,000 in the form of Personal Credits for educational purposes will be paid
out to each eligible CEP recipient who applies. In January 2012,
the Courts approved a governance model for personal credits proposed by Canada
and the appointment of three education experts (Madeline Dion Stout for the
Assembly of First Nations, Blair Stevenson for the Inuit representatives and
Mike DeGagné for Canada). The expert in Class Action Settlement
Administration is pending confirmation. The experts have been meeting
with educational institutions across the country, and aim to have completed terms
and conditions by September 2012. It is anticipated that once these terms
and conditions have been approved by the courts, implementation would begin by
the fall of 2013.
Independent
Assessment Process
The deadline to file an IAP application
is September 19, 2012. The IRSSA specifies that no IAP applications
will be accepted after this deadline. In light of this, an IAP notice
plan was drafted by Hilsoft, the court-approved firm responsible for the 2006,
2007, and 2011 IRSSA notices. Completed in June 2012, this notice
plan reached 82% of Aboriginal adults over the age of 25 and, combined with the
previous notices in 2006, 2007, and 2011, over 98% of the target population has
been reached an average of 14 times.
In terms of progress in implementing the
IAP, as of June 30, 2012, the Government of Canada had received 27,353 IAP
applications and 13,491 hearings had been held, of which 959 were held during
the first quarter of 2012-13. For the next two fiscal years, the target
for hearings will be increased to between 4,200 and 4,500 annually.
Efficiencies and improvements implemented in the Negotiated Settlement
Process means that processing time has been reduced by more than half, from 128
days to 62 days, which has resulted in 158 negotiated settlements in the first
quarter of 2012-13. These changes should allow us to meet our target of
624 negotiated settlement hearings in 2012-13. In addition, a pilot
project has been launched in an effort to resolve the claims of applicants who
are age 65 and older, with the goal of resolving these claims in a more timely
manner.
Addition of new schools
Further to a decision of the Ontario
Superior Court of Justice, Stirland Lake and Cristal Lake Schools have been
added to Schedule "F" of the IRSSA. In order to ensure that former
students of these schools are aware of the application deadline for both CEP
and IAP, the Government of Canada initiated a court-ordered notice plan.
Information about the upcoming application deadline has appeared in local
newspapers, been broadcast on the radio and sent by mail to known students who
attended these two schools.
The enclosed fact sheets provide
additional information about the status of the CEP, IAP, the Resolution Health
Support Program, and the addition of schools to the list of recognized Indian
Residential Schools pursuant to Article 12 of the IRSSA. These statistics
are current as of June 30, 2012. They are updated quarterly at http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1315320539682/1315320692192.
If you have any questions regarding the
CEP fact sheets, please contact: Ms. Marielle Doyon (marielle.doyon@aandc-aadnc.gc.ca),
Director General, Settlement Agreement Operations, for more information.
If you have any questions regarding the
IAP fact sheets, please contact the IAP Toll-Free Information Line at (877)
635-2648 Monday to Friday, between 8am - 8pm (Eastern Time).
If you are aware of anyone who has yet to
fill out their CEP or IAP application, please remind them to do so before the
upcoming September 19, 2012, deadline. More information on the application
process is available as follows:
CEP:
(866)
879-4913 or by visiting the Service Canada website
IAP: (877) 635-2648
Before closing, I
would like to take a moment to mention another significant day for former
students of Indian residential schools and all Canadians. June 11, 2012 marked
the fourth anniversary of The Right Honourable Stephen Harper's historic
Apology to former students of Indian residential schools and their families on
behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians. On this historic
day, The Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern
Development, unveiled the very moving artwork designed by renowned Métis
artist, Christi Belcourt, which will be translated into stained glass and
installed in Parliament this fall to commemorate the legacy of residential
schools. To learn more about this important project, which will encourage
Parliamentarians, as well as visitors to Parliament for generations to come, to
learn about the history of Indian residential schools and Canada's
reconciliation efforts, please visit: http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1332859355145.
Thank you for your
support in sharing this important information with former Indian residential
school students.
Élisabeth Châtillon
Assistant Deputy
Minister
Resolution and
Individual Affairs Sector
Aboriginal Affairs
and Northern Development Canada
Information Update on the
Common Experience Payment
(From September 19, 2007 to June 30, 2012)
The Common Experience Payment Application deadline was
September 19, 2011
- Latest statistics about the Common Experience Payment:
98% of the 80,000 estimated former students eligible for the Common Experience Payment (CEP) under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) have received payment. A number of applications for the CEP are still under review.
|
PROCESS SUMMARY |
Apr 1 - Jun 30 2012 |
TOTAL |
|
Projected number of Applications at launch of process |
|
110,000 |
|
Projected number of Eligible Applications at launch of process |
|
80,000 |
|
Actual number of Applications Received at Service Canada Applications Received under Exceptional Circumstances* |
247 180 |
105,032 571 |
|
Applications Resolved at Service Canada (% of received)
|
460
341
119 |
102,031 (97%) 78,338 (77%)
23,693 (23%) |
|
Original amount of the CEP Designated Amount Fund |
|
$1.900B |
|
Total Amount Approved for Payment (including Advance Payments) |
$6,192,000 |
$1.614B |
|
Average Payment (including Advance Payments) |
|
$20,603 |
|
Total Applications for Reconsideration Received
|
193
72
208
|
27,047
9,476 (35%)
17,423 (65%) 148 |
|
Average Payment for Reconsideration |
|
$8,363 |
|
Total Appeals to the National Administration Committee (NAC) Received
|
144 319 71 248
|
4,699 4,248 (90%) 1,381 (33%) 2,867 (67%) 451 |
|
Average Payment for Appeals to the NAC |
|
$7,655 |
|
Total Appeals to the Courts Received
Appeals to the Courts Remaining in Process |
50
0 120
|
567 0 120 447 |
|
Average Payment for Appeals to the Courts |
|
$0 |
* Previously the number had appeared that it might be higher, however, many of the files that were received after September 19th, 2011 had been postmarked on, or prior to, the application deadline.
** This number includes applications where an appeal was requested and did not proceed to the NAC Panel because AANDC recommended payment.
Applicants' Information
- The deadline for applying for the CEP was September 19, 2011. CEP applications can be considered for up to one year after September 19, 2011, in situations where former students can establish that they were unable to submit their application due to disability, undue hardship or exceptional circumstances. No application will be accepted after September 19, 2012. Application forms or information can be found by contacting 1-866-879-4913 or on Service Canada's website.
- If your address has changed since you applied for the CEP and you have not received correspondence since submitting your application, it is important that you advise the CEP Response Centre of this change by calling 1-866-565-4526. With your permission, they will also ensure the change is noted at Service Canada.
Overall guiding principle
- As the Administrator and Trustee of the CEP Designated Amount Fund, Canada is subject to the principles negotiated by the parties and ratified by the supervising courts for the validation of all applications. Canada has adhered to those principles in the assessment of all applications received to date.
Eligibility
§ To be considered eligible, one must have been a resident at a recognized Indian residential school under the IRSSA.
Assessment Principles
- All CEP applications are reviewed to ensure that those entitled to receive CEP are compensated.
- In each stage of the CEP process (initial application, reconsideration or appeal) and when necessary, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) will contact applicants to gain clarification or additional information surrounding their residential school experience to help with the research assessment.
- The process accommodates the reality that some case records may be incomplete; and when information is ambiguous or incomplete, interpretation favours the applicant.
- Applications are not approved based on the applicant's declaration of residence alone.
- In all stages of the CEP process, the elderly (65+) and seriously-ill applicants receive priority.
- Challenges
Challenge # 1 - CEP applicants are being assessed as ineligible due to missing records.
CEP applications are not determined to be ineligible due to missing records; there are several internal processes which uphold the CEP assessment principles and favour the applicant.
Current breakdown of ineligible CEP applications:
|
Category |
Number |
Percentage of total ineligible applications |
|
Applications received for schools not included in the IRSSA: |
9,136 |
39% |
|
Applications received for students not residents of recognized IRS: |
4,301 |
18% |
|
Applications received for schools in the IRSSA that were closed during requested period: |
2,634 |
11% |
|
Applications received for claimants deceased before May 30, 2005: |
211 |
1% |
|
Applications received from day school students: |
1,708 |
7% |
|
Applications received that contain more than one of the above noted reasons for ineligibility: |
5,703 |
24% |
|
Total: |
23,693 |
100% |
- CEP Remainder
- Once all Common Experience Payments are made, if there is more than $40 million remaining in the trust, a maximum of $3,000 in the form of Personal Credits for educational purposes will be paid out to each eligible CEP recipient who applies.
- CEP recipients can choose to transfer their Personal Credit to certain family members as per the Settlement Agreement.
- Terms and conditions will be developed by Canada and the Assembly of First Nations to determine which programs and services and which educational institutions are eligible. A similar set of terms and conditions will be developed by Canada and Inuit Representatives.
- Any amount remaining in the trust on January 1, 2015 is to be paid to the National Indian Brotherhood Trust Fund and the Inuvialuit Education Fund to be used for educational programs.
- If less than $40 million remains in the trust after all Common Experience Payments are made, there will be no entitlement to Personal Credits, and the balance will be divided between the National Indian Brotherhood Trust Fund and the Inuvialuit Education Fund.
- In January 2012, the Courts approved a governance model and appointed three education experts, Madeline Dion Stout for the Assembly of First Nations, Blair Stevenson for the Inuit Representatives and Mike DeGagné for Canada. The expert in Class Action Settlement Administration is pending confirmation.
- The experts have begun meeting with educational institutions across the country, and aim to have completed terms and conditions by September 2012. It is anticipated that once these terms and conditions have been approved by the courts, implementation would begin by the fall of 2013.
Information Update on the
Independent Assessment Process
(From September 19, 2007 to June 30, 2012)
Independent Assessment Process applications accepted until September 19, 2012
(No application will be accepted after that date)
1. Latest statistics about the Independent Assessment Process:
§ As indicated in the table below, the Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariat (IRSAS) and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) are making good progress in resolving claims under the Independent Assessment Process (IAP).
|
PROCESS SUMMARY |
Apr 1 - Jun 30, 2012 |
TOTAL |
|
Current projected number of applications |
1940 |
29,700 |
|
Applications Received |
1,548 |
27,353 |
|
Applications Admitted (% of received applications) |
1,159 |
24,933 (91%) |
|
Document Disclosure by Canada to the IRSAS |
1,130 |
20,814 |
|
Hearings Held |
959 |
13,491 |
|
Claims resolved (% of received applications)
|
1,239 834 137 158 5 105 |
16,097 (59%) 11,015 860 1,781 727 1,714 |
|
Hearings Currently Scheduled / In Scheduling Process as of Jun. 30 2012 |
|
1,984 / 712 |
|
Total Payments Issued |
$71.1M |
$1.557B |
|
Current Average Payment, including Legal Costs |
|
$117,613 |
|
IAP Decision Reviews Requested |
|
425 |
|
IAP Decision Reviews Processed |
|
335 |
|
IAP Appeals to the Chief Adjudicator |
|
51 |
Note: Statistics include Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) claims
Overall guiding principles
§ The IAP is one of five components of the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) established to compensate former students who choose to come forward to make a claim of abuse at residential schools. The IAP is a claimant-centered, non-adversarial, out-of-court process designed to resolve and compensate claims of sexual abuse, serious physical abuse, or other wrongful acts which caused serious psychological consequences.
§ The IAP aims to bring a fair and lasting resolution of the legacy of Indian residential schools. The court-approved IRSSA was negotiated by representatives from various Aboriginal organizations, church representatives, legal representatives for former students, and the Government of Canada.
§ The IRSAS remains committed to implementing and administering the IAP under the direction of the Chief Adjudicator in an independent, objective and impartial manner.
§ The Chief Adjudicator is supported by five Deputy Chief Adjudicators and more than 100 Adjudicators who preside over hearings. IRSAS is a neutral office that operates independently from the parties to the IRSSA, including the Government of Canada.
§ All parties to the IRSSA encourage claimants to be represented by legal counsel.
2. Current service standards for processing IAP claims (June 2012)
- Initial Admissions Review (all cases) by Crawford:
- Objective: 90% within 10 days from reception
- Current processing time: 94% within 10 days from receipt of application
- Secondary Admissions review (20% of cases not admitted at initial
review) by the IRSAS:
- Objective: 22 business days from reception
- Current processing time: 14 business days from reception
- Submission of documents by AANDC:
- Objective: 165 days
- Current processing time: 151 days average
- Hearings scheduled by the IRSAS:
- Current: inventory of 263 "ready to schedule" files
- Objective: offer hearing within 40 calendar days after file readiness, depending on party availability
- Current: 69% offered hearing within 40 calendar days subject to party availability
- Decisions by Adjudicators:
- Objective: 90% of regular form decisions issued within 51 calendar days following final submissions
- Currently 86% of regular form decisions are issued within 51 calendar days following final submissions
- Objective: 90% of short form decisions issued within 14 calendar days following the last claimant hearing.
- Currently 88% of short form decisions are issued within 14 calendar days.
- Payment of awards by AANDC:
- Objective: 80% paid within 20 days after the review period
- Current (Quarter 1): 96% paid within 20 days after the review period
3. Challenges
Challenge #1 -Mandatory Document Delays
- The largest source of delay in the hearings process is the submission of mandatory documents by the parties (claimant/claimant counsel & Canada). Currently, 2,899 claims have been in the document collection stage for more than nine months. Of these, 2,264 files are with legal counsel or claimants that are self-represented, 33 are with Canada and 602 are on hold for other reasons.
- The IAP commonly relies on medical, workers' compensation, income, corrections and educational documents to support the claims and these documents must be submitted before a hearing date is offered. The IRSAS continues to examine ways to help the parties improve their document production.
Challenge #2 - High Volume of Applications
- On average, 430 applications are received each month.
- The projected number of IAP applications has increased from 12,500 to close to 30,000.
- The IRSAS and AANDC are taking steps to ensure that all files are processed in a timely manner. All claims admitted into the IAP by September 19, 2012 will be processed.
Challenge #3 -Decision Delays
- The Chief Adjudicator and the IRSAS are working together to reduce the delays in release of decisions. The Short Form Decisions are released quickly and there have been improvements to the release of decisions in cases that do not require psychological/medical assessments or witness hearings.
- Claims that require psychological/medical assessments or witness hearings require much more time to move from the claimant hearing stage to the decision stage. For example, a medical assessment (which requires a report to be written) can add 150 days or more. While these processes are being streamlined, the time required will continue to be significant.
Challenge #4 - Scheduling Delays
- Cancellations and postponements: requests by parties to postpone scheduled hearings affect other hearing-ready files waiting to be scheduled. The IRSAS has recently introduced new policies and procedures aimed at reducing the number of hearing postponements.
- Availability of parties: if one or more party is not available or does not respond to requests for availability, this results in a delay for scheduling hearing-ready files.
- High volume of expedited files: at times a high volume of expedited requests for ill claimants, which take precedence over scheduling other hearing-ready files, can add to delays.
- Location of requested hearing: every effort is made to schedule hearings in blocks; when the preferred location for a hearing cannot be blocked, it can affect how quickly a hearing can be scheduled.
Other Updates on the Implementation of the
Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement
From September 19, 2007 to June 30, 2012
Requests to add new Indian residential schools to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA):
- To date, 9,402 people have asked for 1,501
distinct institutions to be added to the IRSSA. The following six institutions have been
added to the IRSSA by the Government of Canada.
- St. Paul's Hostel, Yukon (Sept 1, 1920 to June 30, 1943)
- Anahim Lake Dormitory, British Columbia (Sept 1, 1968 to June 30,1977)
- Cote Improved Federal Day School, Sask. (Sept 1, 1928 to June 30, 1940)
- Battleford Industrial School, Sask. (Dec 1, 1883 to May 31, 1914)
- Fort George Hostels, Quebec (Sept 1, 1975 to June 30, 1978)
- Wawanosh Home, Ontario (January 1, 1879 and August 5, 1892)
- An additional two have
been added by the Courts, bringing the total number of recognized
institutions to 138:
- Stirland Lake High School (Wahbon Bay Academy), Ontario (Sept 1, 1971 to June 30, 1991)
- Cristal Lake High School, Ontario (Sept 1, 1976 to June 30, 1986)
- Article 12 of the IRSSA sets out a two-part test that is used to assess each requested institution to determine if it should be recognized as an Indian residential school.
- Requesters not satisfied with Canada's decision can challenge the decision by applying to the appropriate court (one of the nine jurisdictions that approved the IRSSA).
Notice Plan:
- A fourth notice plan to remind former students of the September 19, 2012 deadline to apply for the Independent Assessment Process (IAP) was completed in June 2012. This notice plan reached 82% of Aboriginal adults over the age of 25 and, combined with the previous notices in 2006, 2007, and 2011 over 98% of the target population has been reached an average of 14 times.
- Pursuant to a decision made by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Stirland Lake and Cristal Lake Schools have been added to Schedule "F" of the IRSSA.
- The Government of Canada proceeded with a court ordered notice plan to target former students of these schools to ensure they are aware of the application deadline of September 19, 2012 for both IAP and the Common Experience Payment (CEP) process.
- This notice plan appeared in local newspapers, on the radio and in a mail-out to known students who attended these two schools.
Outreach:
- The Advocacy and Public Information Program (APIP) began in 2007 and, is a contribution funding program managed by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) to encourage the sharing of information and ensure that the Aboriginal community, particularly former students and their families, are aware of all aspects of the IRSSA, including CEP and IAP. Other objectives include supporting healing and reconciliation, with a particular focus on youth and intergenerational issues.
- In 2011/2012, AANDC provided $5.351 million in APIP funding to 30 partner organizations.
- APIP funding has been extended for 2012/2013 with an additional $3 million, bringing the total since its inception in 2007/2008 to $26.3 million.
- IRSAS has made every reasonable effort to reach former students of Indian residential schools.
- Under its outreach plan, IRSAS has held 314 information sessions across Canada since 2008. Staff have visited venues such as federal and provincial correctional facilities, friendship centres, elder centres and homeless shelters, and have attended meetings of various Aboriginal and legal organizations.
- IRSAS staff has attended a variety of events with claimants and other stakeholders to promote the upcoming September 19th, 2012 application deadline. These include Assembly of First Nations Annual General Assemblies, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) regional and national events, Aboriginal festivals and Pow Wows. At these events, staff present information and speak with current and potential claimants as well as members of the general public.
- The IRSAS's outreach strategy targets communities where a significant gap exists between the number of CEP claimants and the number of IAP claims. As well, the strategy targets populations with limited access to information and support, such as those in correctional and care facilities.
- In addition, IRSAS has produced a series of Public Service Announcements in four languages (English, French, Cree and Inuktitut) for distribution to Aboriginal community radio stations across Canada.
Resolution Health Support Program (Health Canada):
- The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program (IRS RHSP) provides mental health and emotional support services to former students and their families before, during and after their participation in Settlement Agreement processes, including:
- CEP
- IAP
- TRC events
- Commemoration activities
- The following services are provided:
- Emotional Support: Resolution Health Support Workers to listen, talk and provide support through all phases of the Settlement Agreement
- Cultural Support: Elders and/or traditional healers for teachings, ceremonies, dialogue and traditional healing
- Professional Counselling: Psychologists and social workers that are registered with Health Canada, for individual or family counselling
- Assistance with transportation may be offered when professional counselling and cultural support services are not locally available.
- For more information on the program and its services, please visit the Health Canada website: www.healthcanada.gc.ca/irs.