Wait a little longer, survivors told

Page 11

Rumors that a federal government announcement on a compensation deal for students who attended Indian residential schools was imminent turned out to be true on May 30, sort of.

Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, Indian Affairs Minister Andy Scott and Assembly of First Nation (AFN)National Chief Phil Fontaine appeared together during a nationally televised press conference to announce that retired Supreme Court of Canada Justice Frank Iacobucci has consented to serve as the federal government's special mediator in the matter. Iacobucci was given until next March to make recommendations to the government.

McLellan reversed the stand she took recently before the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs in making the announcement. She told the committee the government's current strategy was adequate. It was a different message in May 30.

"We need to make important changes to our approach in order to resolve the often tragic legacy of Indian residential schools, and to settle the outstanding claims of former students in a more timely way" said McLellan. "The work of the Assembly of First Nations, in particular, has been instrumental in helping to highlight the need to recognize the residential school experience of all former students. We have today signed a political agreement with the Assembly of First Nations that sets out its key role in the discussions to be led by Mr. Iacobucci."

The ministers said the AFN proposal that each student who attended a residential school should be compensated $10,000, plus $3,000 per year attended, and that the government of Canada should apologize and strike a truth and reconciliation commission, will be the guiding document as details are finalized over the next six to 10 months.

An internal AFN document that was leaked to Windspeaker reveals that the national chief was losing patience with the federal government in the days before the announcement. In the memo, written by Quebec Regional Vice-chief Ghislain Picard to Quebec chiefs, he mentions the discussion of residential schools by the AFN national executive on May 20. The word "deception" is used three times. Picard said a couple of those uses were the result of bad translation from French to English.

"I wish to stress the great deception shown last Friday by the national chief on this issue," Picard wrote, "and this prompts me to be very cautious in the overall relations with the federal [government]."

Picard said the message he was trying to send was that the national chief was greatly disappointed that the federal government kept postponing the widely rumored announcement that it would accept the AFN plan to compensate all residential school survivors simply for being at the schools.

Picard noted in his memo that the government "is constantly beating around the bush and does not make public its decision which was apparently so imminent... when the time comes to deliver it does not materialize and there is a feeling of deception."

After the announcement, Fontaine said that Iacobucci may have a March 2006 deadline, but the hope is to complete things well before that date.

The Justice minister said Iacobucci has a mandate "to lead discussions towards a fair and lasting resolution of the residential school legacy with legal counsel for former students, the Assembly of First Nations, and legal counsel for church entities."

"In addition to exploring ways to recognize the residential school experience so that true reconciliation can be achieved," he added, "these discussions will also focus on ensuring that former students have options for pursuing their claims of sexual and serious physical abuse, and on finding ways to support the healing that needs to continue."

Fontaine began his remarks by paying tribute to the Elders and survivors.

"This day marks a turning point. The emphasis is on fair and just compensation, but most important on healing and reconciliaton," he said. "I attended residential schools, as did many of my generation. I have spoken many times about my experience. My experience fueled my passion to give voice to this issue. Our people are resilient by nature. But the trauma of the residential schools consumes our present; we cannot carry this burden into the future."

He asked for patience while the last phase of the process is completed.

"With this agreement, there will be a better resolution process for survivors, a national dialogue on truth-telling, reconciliation and commemoration, and a payment for all former students for loss of language and culture," he said. "I ask all of you to be patient as we enter into negotiations. The Assembly of First Nations will play a key role, and I commit to you, as a survivor myself, that our foremost responsibility at all times will be to act in the best interests of the survivors."

Several survivors groups criticized the deal and challenged the AFN's right to make a deal on their behalf. The response of Ray Mason, chairperson of Spirit Wind, a survivors group in Manitoba, was typical.

"Many survivors in Manitoba have contacted Spirit Wind raising questions and concerns about a reported deal between the government of Canada and the Assembly of First Nations that is expected to be announced soon," he wrote to McLellan just before the announcement. "I want to make it clear that individual survivors were not consulted or asked for input in the development of the proposal the AFN presented to the government in November 2004, or the subsequent negotiations between the AFN and the government of Canada. Without such consultation and input, a deal between the AFN and Canada would be unacceptably flawed."

Even those people who profess their admiration of the AFN plan raised questions.

Tony Merchant of Regina's Merchant Law Group reluctantly raised several points that have not been addressed in the AFN talks with the federal government.

"I'm a great fan o the national chief and I congratulate him for bringing this together. It's a great accomplishment. And it's easy after the fact to pick away at something like this, but some questions have to be asked," he said.

Merchant said he's come to believe, after dealing with so many former residential school students who are suing for compensation, that "those who stayed the longest were those best able to take it, who perhaps were not picked on as much. That means those who stayed for five, six or eight years will, under the present proposed system, get more money than those who ran away sooner."

He said a system driven by a formula may be easier to implement "but it may be unfair."