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Six Nations woman seeking Indian Day School application deadline extension DONNA DURIC
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A Six Nations woman has filed legal action against the federal government to extend the deadline for Indian Day School settlement applications, saying the original deadline was unrealistically short. Audrey Hill filed the action in a federal court on Dec. 21. Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Council says although there are no official statistics, there are a number of community members who have not yet filled out their claims. The deadline was July 13, 2022. Most of the application process was open during the pandemic, which advocates say impeded the ability of many to fill them out. “Evidence we’ve gathered tells us that there are a number of SNGR members who have not filled out claims, and our motion asks for an order that the claims deadline be extended and the claims take up rate be formally reviewed,” SNGR spokesperson Katie Montour said in an email. Audrey Hill is a class member of the Indian Day School Settlement, which seeks to compensate
Indigenous children who attended “day schools” across the country until 1997, where many suffered abuse of all manner. Montour said under federal court rules, Hill has the right to petition the court on concerns about the class action, officially referred to as the Mclean Class Action. If Hill is successful in court, it will help all other First Nations people across the country who have not yet filed claims. All Day School attendees are guaranteed a minimum of $10,000 in the settlement, with incrementally increasing monetary compensation depending on the severity of abuse claimants can prove. The claims deadline was originally July 13, 2022. The class action settlement agreement, however, has a discretionary extension provision to Jan. 13, 2023. Claimants are not yet out of time, but they are without a further extension (which is being resisted by the parties to the class action) and they will be out of time on Jan. 13, 2023, unless Hill’s filing is successfully argued. A hearing date has not yet been launched. Class action members
have called the deadline unrealistic. Hill, along with Six Nations Elected Council, assert that the class action agreement’s timeline, notification and support process for survivors to seek compensation is "unrealistically short, culturally insensitive and re-traumatizing.” In addition, they note, the process took place almost entirely within the Covid-19 pandemic. To give class members a true opportunity to seek compensation, Hill and Six Nations filed a Notice of Motion on Dec. 21, arguing that the deadline should be extended to Dec. 31, 2025. “IDS survivors endured physical, sexual, and emotional abuse at the day schools, and were separated from their culture and identity,” said Elected Chief Mark Hill. “Many IDS survivors continue to suffer from intergenerational trauma as a result of the abuse experienced in these schools. The class action settlement has favoured speed and cost efficiency over providing the trauma-informed and culturally appropriate assistance that our people needed.” The claims process opened January 2020 and almost immediately
afterwards, the pandemic hit. "This exacerbated challenges with the short timeline and the plan for notifying and assisting class members, which needed to be done in-person given two-thirds of households in First Nations communities do not have access to high-speed internet,” noted a press release from Six Nations council. Since the pandemic began, approximately only 28 community sessions have been held in 26 of the approximately 700 affected communities (less than 4 percent). “To this day, a significant number of class members have not yet made a claim because of limited claims assistance, a lack of cultural sensitivity and unfair timelines,” said Hill. “We know that trauma survivors are often only able to recall or disclose trauma in stages, and most importantly, with time. Because of the lack of reasonable and culturally sensitive assistance provided, I felt compelled to voluntarily assist others with their claims. It should not have come to this.” Chief Hill said, “The Government of Canada has ignored public statements from First Nations communities noting that
their members will be unable to make a claim within the Claims Period. As Six Nations of the Grand River, we support other IDS actions and are watching closely to see the outcomes. It is disheartening that we now must file another motion with the courts to move towards reconciliation.” Systemic abuse was suffered by generations of First Nations children attending Indian Day Schools run by the Government of Canada for over a century. IDS survivors launched a class action lawsuit against the federal government and in 2019, a settlement agreement was established to compensate class members. The claims period was set at two and a half years, compared to five years for the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement. Hill and SNGR say class action settlement members have not received the necessary notice and assistance to complete their claims and the process did not account for First Nations cultural sensitivities, adding that the claims period was too short for trauma-based case, particularly in light of the pandemic. PM42686517