Settlement reached on residential school 'day scholars' class-action lawsuit
Diena Jules was just seven years old when she was forced to attend the Kamloops Residential School, but she was considered one of the lucky ones because she got to go home every night.
She doesn't remember feeling so lucky. In fact, she calls the period the "dark ages" of her life.
Jules attended the school as a "day scholar" for her first five years as a student, and another year as a resident.
During that time, she was physically and verbally abused by priests, by the Catholic brothers and nuns who ran the school and by other students, jealous that she got to keep her hair long and wear her own clothes.
She still recalls how they called her traditional spirituality "devil worship" and how they systematically tried to forcibly take away her language and her culture.
"They called me a pagan and 'dumb Indian' and told me that I needed to become more white," Jules said.
"I became disconnected with my family and community. I lost language, my cultural pride and my own identity."
Jules is among several representatives in a class-action lawsuit against the federal government involving hundreds of First Nations people left out of residential-school compensation.
The lawsuit, which was certified in 2015, was brought by Indigenous students known as day scholars, who attended the notorious Indian residential institutions but returned to their homes at night.
On Wednesday, Jules and other class action representatives took part in a joint announcement with Ottawa declaring the parties had signed a proposed settlement agreement.
It would see survivors receive compensation of $10,000 each -- an amount that would go to the estates and descendants of those who did not live long enough to see this settlement come to fruition.
Ottawa is also pledging to invest $50 million into a Day Scholars Revitalization Fund aimed at rebuilding language, culture and community among the First Nations whose children were forced by Canadian authorities to attend the schools.
Day scholars were excluded from the 2006 Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, which compensated students $10,000 for the first year in a residential school, followed by $3,000 a year thereafter.
All students who were physically or sexually abused regardless of status at the schools were entitled to compensation under a separate legal agreement.
But the day scholars were not compensated for the "common experience" of attending the schools, as resident students were.
"They were not given a safe place to learn and grow. Instead, they were stripped of their culture, language and traditional knowledge," said Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett.
"While today's announcement has come too late for many survivors, the settlement will ensure that their estates and their descendants will be able to access compensation on their behalf."
The proposed settlement must still be approved by the Federal Court to ensure it is fair and equitable for the parties. That hearing will take place Sept. 27.
Charlotte Gilbert, another day scholar survivor, says the settlement agreement was reached after a 14-year legal battle that has simply "worn down" the remaining day scholar survivors.
"This has been a real long, long process. Fourteen years. It's not been easy. Every time we went to court, it seems like living, regurgitating the same trauma that I endured as a child," she said.
The survivors were recently presented with two options by their lawyers: go back to court or accept the settlement offer on the table from Ottawa. Given that a number of day scholar survivors have passed away in the intervening years since work on the lawsuit began, the decision was made to settle, Gilbert said.
"Those federal lawyers, boy, they really try and rip you right up hard. And we had to be strong and stand up to them, and we did a good job," she said.
The class action sought damages for three separate streams of those harmed by the residential institutions: former day students, their descendants and bands impacted by members who attended residential schools as day students.
In order to speed up compensation to aging survivors and their descendants, the parties have agreed to separate the band class claims.
An official apology to the day scholar survivors, their families and their communities, which has also been long called for, is still being worked on, Bennett said
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.