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Settlement sealed for survivors of residential schools

$4b deal approved by Canadian courts

CanWest News Service

Published: Saturday, December 16, 2006

OTTAWA - A historic deal worth about $4-billion for former native residential school students was given a final seal of approval yesterday by courts across Canada, ending years of litigation and paving the way for che= ques to start flowing next summer.

About 80,000 former students of the defunct schools, believed to be all living survivors, should receive $24,000 on average, based on the amount of time they lived in the schools.

Up to $1.9-billion will go to all survivors in common experience payment= s of $10,000 per student for the first year he or she attended a school, plus $3= ,000 for every subsequent year.

Those who suffered sexual abuse or serious physical abuse or psychologic= al damage are eligible for additional payments ranging from $5,000 to $275,000. Phil Fontaine, grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations, predicted the "vast majority of former students will ratify the deal within a six-mo= nth deadline.

"The settlement agreement represents our future as much as it speak= s to the past in our communities," said Mr. Fontaine, who attended a residential school in Manitoba. "We have in this agreement recognition that harm was done to our people and that those who harmed our people are p= repared to accept their responsibility."

Judge Warren Winkler, of the Ontario Superior Court, describing resident= ial schools as a "seriously flawed failure," said the deal is "f= air, reasonable, and in the best interests of those involved."

Judges in six other provinces and territories --British Columbia, Albert= a, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and the Yukon also approved the deal -- and = the Northwest TerriTories and Nunavut have yet to release decisions.

About 130 schools operated across Canada until the last one was shut dow= n in 1996.

As of last week, the government had already settled more than 3,000 clai= ms as a result of litigation, paying out $114-million in settlements -- some of them ordered by the courts and others reached in out-of-court settlements.<= /p>