Young activist speaks for survivors

Page 9

A proxy from British Columbia squared off with the national chief on July 21 over the role being played by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in the compensation process for survivors of Indian residential schools.

The debate resulted in a public promise from Phil Fontaine to seek a "full and open apology from the prime minister" for Canada's residential school system and the abuses suffered by Aboriginal people who experienced it.

It all began after Fontaine presented a detailed report on residential school issues to the chiefs in assembly at the AFN's annual general meeting held in Charlottetown. After Fontaine's report, David Dennis, carrying the proxy for a Vancouver Island Nuu-chah-nulth Nation chief, got the floor. Dennis, well known in B.C. as an activist member of the Native Youth Movement, said the survivors are demanding to play a much bigger role.

"I'm not sure where you got direction to look into the [alternative dispute resolution] ADR," he told Fontaine. Dennis said the Nuu-chah-nulth survivors met in a longhouse and threw the ADR applications into the fire as a sign of their displeasure with the treatment they were receiving at the government's hands.

Dennis told Fontaine he had been directed to say that "any objections to the ADR should be developed in conjunction with survivors" and that survivors insisted on "overseeing the process."

He said the survivors also were dissatisfied with the so-called apology issued by the government of Canada in 1998. At that time, then minister of Indian Affairs Jane Stewart handed down a statement of regret for physical and sexual abuse experienced in the schools. The statement sought to limit the government's legal liability to just the physical and sexual abuse some students suffered in the schools, but others are suing for the loss of language and culture. Canada has so far refused to consider such claims, but if a national class action lawsuit is certified by an Ontario judge in the coming months the government will be forced to defend itself.

Dennis told Fontaine the survivors want the same apology the Japanese Canadian internees received from then-prime minister Brian Mulroney. Dennis also talked about a national monument to residential school survivors as a lasting symbol of Canada's true regret for its actions.

Fontaine justified AFN's involvement in the residential school issue, saying that when he and his executive and staff see something that is clearly wrong, they feel they are obliged to act.

Fontaine said that "only four" Aboriginal people have been hired to adjudicate ADR cases and that the Office of Indian Residential School Resolution Canada (OIRSRC) "should hire more."

Windspeaker has learned that OIRSRC will spend more than $5 million hiring adjudicators to work in the ADR process. Adjudicators hearing cases involving sexual or physical abuse that resulted in lasting injuries will be paid $1,000 a day. Adjudicators who hear cases involving physical abuse that resulted in no lasting injuries, or cases involving allegations of wrongful confinement, will be paid $600 a day. The request for applications to fill adjudicators positions closed on Aug. 17.

When new Indian Affairs Minister Andy Scott was in the audience at the AFN meeting on July 22, Dennis raised the subject of the ADR again.

Fontaine quickly moved to the microphone at the head table to respond.

"I'm prepared to apologize to your group," he told Dennis. "I'm prepared to go there at the first opportunity and I will do as requested. We will pursue a full and open apology from the prime minister if that is your wish."

In his report to the chiefs in assembly, Fontaine said the "snail's pace" of the compensation process has meant that about 22,500 survivors have died without receiving justice for their pain and suffering.

"When this issue first became public 14 years ago there were 110,000 survivors. Today, there are 87,500 and many are in poor healh and elderly," he said.

Fontaine said there have been 1,244 claims settled across the country for a total of $71 million. But the government has spent $200 million fighting against the claims in court so far. He pointed out that OIRSRC has a $1.7 billion budget but only $950 million-less than half-has been set aside to pay out settled claims. OIRSRC has budgeted $740 million for operations and $335 million for the ADR process set up for out-of-court settlements.

Fontaine also told the chiefs that OIRSRC had originally budgeted $280 million to pay lawyers who defend the government in disputed claims.

"And they've already spent $200 million to settle 1,200 cases," he said. "The litigation costs are already considerably higher than what they estimated."

The 1,200 cases represent only 10 per cent of the total number of anticipated residential school claims. That number could balloon if a court rules that survivors can seek compensation for loss of language and culture.

The national chief compared the situation in Canada, where people working for church-operated residential schools sexually and physically assaulted large numbers of Native people, with that of Ireland where similar events occurred in church-run boarding schools. Ireland is compensating a much smaller number of victims with a much larger sum of money, Fontaine said.

Ireland has set aside $1 billion to compensate 8,000 people. Canada has set aside $1.7 billion for 90,000 people, he said. Ireland's number is five times higher.

OIRSRC has accepted the AFN's offer to write a report on what's wrong with the alternative dispute resolution process currently in place. The national chief said the report will aim to "fix a very flawed process" and will be presented to the government in September.

Survivors complain that the 50-page application form just to apply for entry to the ADR process is intimidating and exclusionary. They also complain that compensation amounts are too low and the prcess takes too long.

Fontaine noted that in a similar situation, where Canada compensated Japanese Canadians who were placed in internment camps during the Second World War, the application form was one page long and 23,000 cases were settled in one year.

"But there are 300 lawyers working for the government fighting our claims," he said.

The national chief also took a shot at some of the lawyers who represent survivors.

"We know there are lawyers out there that have far too many clients," he said. "You have to wonder how some of them can possibly serve all their clients."

He also said the AFN had almost convinced the former federal government to continue funding the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, an organization that received (and spent) for healing projects $350 million at the time of Stewart's statement of regret.

"We were close to convincing them and now we'll have to start all over again with the new cabinet," he said.