Elder pulls out of feds' ADR process

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Flora Merrick, an ailing 88-year-old woman, has decided that the federal government's process designed to allow residential school survivors to seek justice outside of the court setting is not the way to go.

Ted Hughes, the chief adjudicator for alternative dispute resolution (ADR), was informed of Merrick's decision to pull out of the process on Oct. 14 through a letter authored by Winnipeg lawyer Dennis Troniak and sent to the Office of Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada (OIRSC).

Merrick had been awarded $1,500 for a severe strapping she received after running away from school to attend a parent's funeral. That small award made headlines when it was appealed by the deputy minister responsible for the OIRSC, Mario Dion. Merrick will now take her claim for compensation through the courts.

"Mrs. Merrick feels strongly that the process has not been of benefit to her," Troniak wrote. She hoped she would receive some form of justice and closure. She, however, feels that she has been victimized again. I have therefore received instructions from Mrs. Merrick to withdraw her claim from the ADR process. There is therefore no need to have the review proceed and I will not be filing a submission on [her] behalf."