Churches, government still squabbling over school issue

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Windigo Tribal Council (Ontario) chairman Wally McKay is part of a national group that's planning a residential school survivors conference for May in Ottawa. Their objective is such as form "pressure groups" and develop other strategies that will help move claims along, especially those of elderly survivors.

"It's good that the residential school file is under the deputy prime minister," McKay told Windspeaker from Sioux Lookout. "The only problem is the residential school file is probably at the bottom rung of his priorities at this particular time."

John Manley is new in the job and has more responsibilities than his predecessor, McKay said. Manley is the third different appointee given the responsibility to negotiate resolution of abuse claims for the federal government.

Last Oct. 29, Manley's predecessor, Herb Gray, announced the government would pay 70 per cent of the compensation found to be owed jointly by the federal government and church organizations to survivors of physical and sexual abuse at Indian residential schools. Claims for loss of culture would not be accepted by the government. That is still its position.

McKay said the approach the federal government has established to settle legitimate claims "that they see they have no way out of" creates hardship for claimants, who are told they must seek the other 30 per cent from the churches through the courts.

Lawyer Tony Merchant, who represents many survivors across Canada, doesn't think they can do that.

"No lawyer's going to touch that," he said. "Mainly it's because if the survivor has settled with one party (the government), he may be deemed by the court to have settled, period."

McKay said churches might not be able to address the liability issue anyway. If a high number of litigants go after the churches, it increases the likelihood they will declare bankruptcy.

"That's going to put us in a very bad light because now the public will point a finger at the litigants," he said.

In any case, the 70 per cent offer was and remains "an interim measure," according to the federal government. It was supposed to settle out-of-court claims for compensation while the government and the four church denominations (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian and United) negotiated an agreement on how compensation should be paid.

No one can say what will happen now that the Ecumenical Group on Residential Schools, a group comprising the four churches, has disbanded. That was announced in Vancouver the end of January. The breakup occurred when the Anglican Church accepted the government's offer to enter bilateral negotiations.

According to a United Church of Canada press statement issued Feb. 4, although the four churches want residential school claims settled as soon as possible, they have concluded that "there is no longer a basis for ecumenical negotiations with the federal government to resolve the legacy of Indian Residential Schools."

Before Christmas, the Ecumenical Group had written to the former deputy prime minister requesting a response to "three conditions to be met when negotiations are resumed." They asked him to say by Jan. 18 if he would establish a timetable "aimed at an agreement by March 31, 2002;" if he would appoint a "mutually agreeable mediator/facilitator to assist in the negotiations;" and whether he would accept "the basic elements" of a proposal put forward by the churches last fall.

That proposal included "cash and in kind" solutions and an alternative dispute resolution mechanism.

Tony Whittingham, a spokesman for Archdeacon Jim Boyles of the Anglican Church of Canada, said a letter the Ecumenical Group received from Manley around the time the group disbanded, indicated he would like to meet with the group. But it did not refer to the group's letter to Gray, nor did it propose a date the group and government should meet.

The deputy minister's office said Feb. 25 that a spokesman would contact Windspeaker to apprise u of Manley's schedule and agenda for resolving residential school issues. No one did.

Another call to the Indian residential schools unit of the Department of Indian Affairs brought a rehash of old news.

Nicole Dakin in the communications division was asked to explain what the government planned to do to expedite claims now that a new mediator (Manley) is at the helm. She said Manley had not met with the churches, but Jack Stagg, the government's chief federal negotiator with the churches, has.

In fact, Stagg's team met with Anglican church representatives in December, January and again Feb. 4 and 5 in Vancouver, and they will meet again in March.

"The details about the negotiations aren't shared, due to prior arrangements with the church organization," said Dakin. "So progress has been made, but, you know, ideally we're trying to resolve the issue of apportionment" for which the government and the churches "are legally responsible."

The government blames the churches for delays and the Anglican church blames delays in part to the fact the government "changed its lead personnel three times in three years," referring to Manley's job.

On its Web site, the Anglican Church of Canada has placed details of its position on residential school issues and explains why it moved away from joint negotiations with the other churches. It states Anglican officials have been concerned about the lack of progress in ecumenical talks since last July.

"There has been actually no negotiation, but a process of each party stating its position, without much dialogue."

In addition, the Anglicans took note that Stagg stated that "the benefits of an agreement with one church would be available to the other churches, so we would hope that resolution with the Anglicans would serve as a model." They hoped bilateral talks would be faster.

Even so, the Anglican church also states that "expectations are quite low" with respect to its relationship with the federal government. It reiterates is objection to the 70-30 split proposed by the federal government unilaterally. The Anglicans say such a split is unfair and it will bankrupt their church.

They claim, based on economics, the federal government "has been the major force in these discussions" and "holds much of the power."

"The government is prepared to negotiate either collectively or individually to seek a fair settlement for claimants," Dakin said, "and we've always . . . kind of had an open door policy . . . to continue the work on the issue of apportionment."

"The positive thing is, since that offer (to pay 70 per cent) the church has come forward and paid 30 per cent when we have settled out of court," she added. Dakin clarified that means whichever church is involved in a particular claim.

"When out-of-court settlements have been made, post-Oct. 29, and there has been a church involved, the church has come forward and paid their 30 per cent.

"Regardless of how the churches approach the management of their corporations, and because we're hoping that they'll do it nationally . . . because in a claim you only have a diocese named . . . the cost of compensating victims of abuse would cost between one and four per cent of their annual revenues over a period of 10 years. And at these rates, we're saying no denomination should suffer any financial hardship," she also said.

Dakin said the government is "currently in contact with" but not negotiating with, the United and Presbyterian churches.

The Roman Catholics apparently are not part of the equation. But Dakin points to the Catholic Church in Ireland's decision to compensate victims of clergy abuse to the tune of $110 million U.S. as a positive step and an example of "how the Catholic church came together and worked with the government to compensate victims of abuse."

She said despite the fact the Roman Catholic church has taken the stance that it is not all one entity, but separate and individual bodies in the various countries in which itoperates, the church in Ireland found a way "to do exactly what the Catholics in Canada say they cannot do."

Although Dakin said there is no indication yet that the Catholic church in Canada intends to copy the Irish Catholic church, she said if they took the corporate approach referred to above "that would be wonderful," and, she said, "they would have that number of one to four per cent, which is very manageable."

She said that when the government was previously negotiating with the Ecumenical Group, "part of it was having to know what each church, what their finances were," so they could prepare the financial forecasts that led to the one-to-four per cent determination.

She skirted questions about the state of relations between the federal government and the Roman Catholic church. "There has been contact," Dakin said, but she couldn't say who or when, specifically. The Catholics are "aware the deputy prime minister wants to ensure that there's transparency" and that the government will negotiate collectively or otherwise to "seek a fair settlement," she said.

The Indian Residential School Survivors Society based in West Vancouver, formerly known as the Provincial Residential School Project, hails the Irish church's decision to compensate abuse victims and hopes the Catholic church in Canada will follow suit.

"The recent announcement that the Catholic Church in Ireland has chosen to acknowledge it exists as an 'entity' and therefore accepts responsibility as a total church for abuses committed by its clergy, is an example that must be followed in Canada," said executive director Chief Robert Joseph in a media release.

Wally McKay wants to keep the spotlight on the federal government.

"I've always believed that most of the First Nations survivors want to hold the federal government totally accountable for the whole damages. They shouldn't be allowed to walk away with 70 per cent. And they're dividing the litigants against different groups by doing that."

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