Residential school survivors continue to wait for justice from Canada
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.