Representatives of the three first nations leading a class action lawsuit on behalf of residential school day scholars say they’ve signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the federal government.
The shíshálh and Tk’emlúps nations launched the suit in 2012, and were joined by the Grand Council of the Crees as lead plaintiffs.
Day scholars were not included in the major settlement for residential school survivors in the early 2000s, although they suffered many of the same abuses. The suit seeks compensation for survivors, their families and communities as well as acknowledgement of Canada’s failure to protect Aboriginal language and culture.
Shíshálh Chief Warren Paull was not available for comment before Coast Reporter’s deadline, but according to Jo-Anne Gottfriedson, chair of the executive committee for the plaintiffs, the MOU commits the government and the First Nations involved in the suit to finding a resolution without going back to the courtroom and “to keep working in the spirit of reconciliation to find a fair settlement in a timely manner.”
The effort to find an out-of-court settlement has been going on since late last year.
“This has been an intense period, but we are confident the next steps will proceed rapidly towards true reconciliation,” said Gottfriedson, a member of the Tk’emlúps Nation. “We are committed to seeing this through to a settlement that recognizes the importance of culture and language to our peoples, and that leads to healing and wellness for both the people who attended residential schools as day scholars, their families, and their communities.”
