Question Period Note: McLean – Federal Day Schools

The mistreatment of Indigenous children is a tragic and shameful part of Canada’s history.
The Federal Court approved the Federal Indian Day Schools settlement in August 2019.
The settlement includes individual compensation for harms associated with the attendance at a day school and an investment of $200 million to support healing, wellness, education, language, culture and commemoration.
Canada is committed to reconciliation and we will continue to work with survivors.

McLean is a certified national class action on behalf of Indigenous peoples (and their families) who attended a Federal Indian Day School, as defined by the Indian Act, between 1920 and ending on the date of closure of any particular Indian Day School, or the date on which management was effectively transferred from Canada.
An Agreement- in-Principle was reached on November 30, 2018. On March 12, 2019, Minister Bennett, along with representative plaintiffs, announced that a proposed settlement agreement has been reached.
On August 19, 2019 the Federal court approved the settlement.

On October 31, 2019 a Motion for Leave to Appeal the Federal Indian Day Schools Settlement Agreement was filed with the Federal Court of Appeal by David Schultz on behalf of Chief Paul Émile Ottawa of the Atikamekw of Manawan. The appeal raises a number of issues including: deficiencies in the evidences filed by the parties to support the settlement agreement, that the claims period is too short, that the agreement lacks appropriate health supports and that class members have no right to specific legal counsel. Mr. Schultz’s appeal was filed after the October 30, 2019 appeal deadline.

Duck Bay Special School

Our government believes that all Indigenous children who have been harmed by past government policies deserve compensation.
The McLean settlement agreement compensates victims of physical and sexual abuse suffered while attending a federally-run Indian Day School.
As the Duck Bay School was administered by the Province of Manitoba, financial compensation for these students falls under the purview of the province.
However, our government is providing health and wellness supports to through various federal programs.

Health Supports

Canada has health supports available including:
• The Hope for Wellness Help Line, which offers immediate access to experienced and culturally competent Help Line counsellors to all Indigenous peoples across Canada.
• Counsellors can help those that want to talk, are in distress, having a strong emotional reaction or are triggered by painful memories.
• The Hope for Wellness Help Line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for those who need it, either by phone or online.

Legal Fees

The settlement agreement includes legal fees as well as funding for class counsel to continue to provide legal support to class members during the claims administration process.
Canada has agreed to pay future legal fees to plaintiffs’ counsel with the condition that they will not attempt to seek additional fees from payments made to class members.

Appeal

On October 31st, David Schulze, Partner at Dionne Schulze, S.E.N.C., filed a challenge to the Federal Indian Day Schools Settlement on behalf of his client, a class member.
Gowling WLG, counsel for the class, and Canada are assessing this challenge and are committed to pursuing all avenues to move the Settlement forward as quickly as possible.
It is unfortunate that the challenge to the Settlement may delay the opening of the claims process until this matter is resolved.

Changes to the Settlement Agreement

Based on concerns and objections raised by some class members, the parties agreed to the following changes to the agreement:
• Extending the opt-out period from 60 days to 90 days;
• Extending the application period from one year to two years and six months; and
• Precluding non-lawyer form fillers from taking remuneration from individual compensation.
These changes reflect our commitment to ensuring that this settlement brings a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of Indian Day Schools.

Claims Process

The claims process is paper-based and does not require survivors to testify. It minimizes the burden on survivors and avoids the re-traumatization associated with a hearing.
The claims process will not put day school survivors on trial. No one will be cross-examined or asked to defend their story.
The process is designed to be quick and require minimal documentation that should already be in the possession of survivors or their family members.
Survivors who require assistance with the claims process will be able to seek advice from the administrator, Deloitte, or class counsel, Gowling LLP, without charge.

Translation

The court-approved Notice Plan provided details about the settlements in both officials languages.
The official Indian Day Schools class action website provides information in both French and English. Class counsel is available to provide information and support to survivors in both official languages.

Other Claims

Our government is deeply committed to advancing reconciliation and healing.
We are committed to righting past wrongs through negotiation rather than litigation and the proposed settlement agreement brings us one step closer to lasting and meaningful resolution to the legacy of Federal Indian Day Schools.
We know that there are other Childhood Claims and we are actively working with parties, including the provinces, territories and Indigenous leadership, to resolve litigation in a respectful, compassionate and fair manner.