Residential schools settlement reached

By DEBORAH GYAPONG

OTTAWA (CCN) – An offer by 41 Catholic religious orders and dioceses is included in a historic Nov. 23 agreement-in-principle to settle Indian residential schools abuse claims.

“This is a total, complete, comprehensive settlement of everything involved with residential schools,” said Saskatoon lawyer Rod Donlevy, who represented the 41 Catholic entities in the negotiations. “This is a good thing for everybody.”

“Residential schools is an issue that’s been tearing up people for years,” he told CCN in a telephone interview from his office after the announcement.

Described as an “historic milestone” by Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, the estimated $2 billion package addresses the “longstanding tragedy of Indian residential schools,” according to Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan.

“This is the largest and most comprehensive settlement package in Canadian history,” said Fontaine.

Negotiated by former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci, the agreement will give $10,000 to each of 86,000 residential school survivors, plus $3,000 for each year spent at a school.

An advance payment of $8,000 will go to survivors 65 and over. The average age of former students is 60.

The agreement also includes an alternative dispute resolution mechanism to expedite additional compensation for those who suffered sexual or physical abuse, five-year funding of the Aboriginal Heath Foundation, a process for truth-telling and reconciliation, and a method for memorializing the schools’ legacy.

Attorney General Irwin Cotler described the residential schools as the “single most disgraceful, harmful, and racist act in our history.”

“Money can never compensative for the harm and damage,” said Iacobucci, who rejected any charges the announcement was made to enhance Liberal fortunes in the upcoming federal election.

Donlevy said the October news release by the 41 Catholic groups demanding a response from McLellan to their settlement offer and the ensuing media coverage prompted McLellan’s deputy minister to bring them into the process.

Their original offer has been accepted, and they will not be on the hook to pay a portion of the $10,000 compensation to every surviving residential school student.

“The 41 entities’ position was if there was compensation to be paid for former students it was the responsibility of the federal government,” Donlevy said. “Our proposal was dedicate funds for healing and reconciliation.”

The proposal of the 41 groups was accepted. They will contribute $29 million in cash and real property, $25 million in “in kind” contributions for programs such as Returning to Spirit, programs on self-esteem, programs for healthy mums and healthy babies, and other works the groups do in aboriginal communities.

The agreement settles the liability of the 41 groups in various class-action suits, though Donlevy expects more to be filed, because the agreement to settle with surviving school students will be monitored by the courts to ensure accountability and consistency.

“It’s a national tragedy if you were 6 years old and coming from a community that was so different, into a structured school and you didn’t understand English,” said Donlevy. “It’s a transformation, a time warp, a different planet.”

However, Donlevy said characterizing everything about residential schools as bad was hurtful to the men and women who ran the schools.

“When you spend 40 or 50 years taking care of kids and the accusations and the premise that everything was bad about it, it’s pretty hurtful to some of the 70-, 80-, and 90-year-old sisters, priests, and brothers,” he said.

“I think the sisters and the priests did the best that they could with what they had and in the understanding of the times,” he said. “There was no malice in the hearts of the religious. They thought they were doing what was best for the former students.”

“A lot of them have really close relations with former students today,” he said.