Aidan Jaager, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
It’s a day Michelle LeClair worried she may never see.
The Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MN-S) vice president has been involved in the Île-à-la-Crosse residential school survivors’ class action lawsuit for many years.
The Île-à-la-Crosse survivors’ committee came together two decades ago to fight for justice alongside the MN-S. Last week, it was announced that a Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench judge certified the lawsuit and approved the settlement agreements reached last year.
It marked the single largest class action settlement by the Saskatchewan government, according to an MN-S spokesperson.
“There have been difficult moments for the survivors sharing their stories with others in the quest to be heard. This is a monumental time for them and their families. We truly hope they can now find some semblance of meaningful closure,” LeClair said in a news release after last week’s decision.
Under the proposed federal settlement, survivors will receive $27.3 million in experience payments and a $10 million Legacy Fund for abuse claims, legal fees, and potentially additional experience payments for survivors who lived in residence.
The settlement also includes up to $10,000 provided to those who attended the school for less than five years, and up to $15,000 for those who attended longer than five years.
Saskatchewan’s settlement of $40.2 million includes payments ranging from $50,000 to $235,000 for survivors who experienced sexual or physical abuse.
“While it is not appropriate for the court to rubber stamp settlements, there is a strong presumption of fairness in matters where a proposed final settlement has been negotiated by experienced counsel at arm’s length and presented to the court for approval,” Justice Rochelle Wempe wrote in her decision.
Committee member and residential school survivor, Antoinette Lafleur, was just four years old when she was taken from her home to Île-à-la-Crosse residential school, located on a peninsula in northwest Saskatchewan.
“I suffered unspeakable abuse but have shared my experience in the hope that the survivors would be believed,” Lafleur said.
“I have faith this court ruling will allow our entire survivors’ community and their families to move forward.”
The school operated from the 1860s until 1976. Approximately 1,500 students attended, most of them Métis children from northern Saskatchewan.
They were forced to assimilate, with many suffering abuse by staff for speaking their native language.
One of the representative plaintiffs on the class action, Louis Gardiner, said, “the people of our community have been through so much over the years and the residual effects are still felt today.
“This has been a long time coming and we have lost so many of our survivors at this point. I only hope their families can join with us as this long-awaited decision sinks in and we take our next steps together.”
Survivors and their families will now move into the compensatory phase of the settlement.
— with StarPhoenix files
