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January 12, 2022|Article
Written by Hammerco Lawyers

Residential school day scholars can now apply for compensation

A new claims process has been launched to compensate individuals who attended Residential Schools as day scholars.

As reported in a recent CBC News article, “The residential school survivors — who attended during the day, but were able to go home at night — suffered the same destruction of language and culture as other students at residential schools but were left out of the 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and were not eligible for the settlement’s common experience payments; $10,000 for the first year of living at a residential school and $3,000 for every year after.

The day scholars settlement approved by the Federal Court last October includes individual compensation of $10,000 and a $50 million Day Scholars Revitalization Fund to support healing, linguistic and cultural reclamation. The settlement stemmed from a class-action lawsuit filed in 2012 by Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc and shíshálh Nation.”

Who is Eligible to Apply?

Each day scholar who attended a residential school on the list in the settlement during the day (and did not sleep there overnight) is able to apply for compensation.

As stated on the Justice for Day Scholars website, “In cases where a Day Scholar has died on or after May 30, 2005, a claim can be submitted on behalf of a deceased Day Scholar by the estate Executor/Administrator/Trustee/Liquidator, or if there is no estate Executor/Administrator/Trustee/Liquidator, the highest priority living heir.

Survivor and Descendant Class Members (the natural or adopted children of Survivor Class Members) are also eligible to apply for funding from the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund to support healing, wellness, education, language, culture, and commemoration.”

About the Claims Process

The Claims process is currently open, and the deadline to submit a claim is October 4, 2023.

The Claim form can be filled out online, or a paper version can be mailed to the claims administrator.
According to CBC, “Survivors are not required to share their experiences at the schools as part of the process.”

More information, including Frequently Asked Questions, is available at the Justice for Day Scholars website or the Claims Administration website.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for survivors and others who may be affected. Emotional and crisis referral services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-866-925-4419.

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