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Individual compensation announced for Indian Day Schools survivors

Mar 12, 2019 | 11:48 AM

OTTAWA — Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett says the government has reached a proposed settlement agreement with former Indian Day School students, including $10,000 in individual compensation.

The federal government says those who experienced physical and sexual abuse at the schools are also eligible for additional compensation of between $50,000 and $200,000 based on severity.

Bennett says the proposed agreement marks a historic step forward, adding Canada is committed to righting historical wrongs in the spirit of reconciliation.

The proposed settlement follows discussions between the government and parties in a legal battle originally filed in 2009 on behalf of Indigenous people and their families who attended Indian Day Schools.

Nearly 200,000 Indigenous children attended more than 700 federally operated Indian Day Schools beginning in the 1920s, where many endured trauma including, in some cases, physical and sexual abuse.

Indian Day Schools operated separately from the Indian Residential Schools system and were not included in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement approved in 2006.

The Canadian Press

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