Talla Naytowhow, LLRIB Councillor Hillary Cook, AFN Grand Chief Phil Fontaine, and Philip Morin at the Indian Residential School Conference in Saskatoon on November 13 & 14, 2006, which provided information on the IRS Settlement Agreement that is currently being reviewed by courts in several Canadian provinces and territories. JANICE MORIN PHOTO

FSIN Chief Lawrence Joseph, Vice-Chief Lyle Whitefish and National Chief Phil Fontaine welcomed and addressed the 120 or so delegates – frontline workers, counselors, leaders and former residential school students. The National Chief thanked those people whose hard work resulted in the agreement and the former students for their continued support and patience.

The main focus during the two-day conference was on the IRS Settlement Agreement, which sounds simple enough but is very difficult to fully comprehend, given the foreign language and legal terminology.

In any case the conference was able to provide valuable information, and the frontline workers will be better equipped to provide support for IRS survivors.

Many questions were raised regarding the Agreement, including the judges’ involvement, new application form, approved IR schools, appointment of commissioners, etc.

According to the FSIN IRS Unit, many former residential school students filled out the FSIN residential school form in recent months. That FSIN form was strictly for information purposes only and was NOT the application form for compensation. The FSIN would still like to hear from you if you had not sent your form yet.

The AFN and FSIN officials advise all former IRS students that the application form for compensation has NOT been released by IRS Resolution Canada, and that you not fill out any other application form.

If you are in doubt or need additional information, former IRS students should contact their Band, Tribal Council or the FSIN office.

A briefing note prepared for FSIN on the IRS file provides that many former IRS students eligible for the early payment for those 65 years and over as of May 30, 2005 had difficulty filling out the application form, and requested the assistance of FSIN.

Many former students over 65 have experienced long delays in receiving their early payment cheques. Often, it is due to lack of records verifying attendance at residential school.

According to FSIN, as of October 23, 2006:
The government has received 12,184 early payment applications:

8,744 have been verified and paid
835 applications are incomplete
379 unable to confirm residency
1117 do not meet criteria (not yet 65 or deceased)

There are an estimated 17,000 – 19,000 former IRS students in Saskatchewan.

There are still a number of critical processes that need to be completed.

The Settlement Agreement has to be approved in 9 jurisdictions, with court hearings scheduled between September 8 and October 23 (the hearing process is over) in: QC, ON, MB, SK, AB, BC, Nunavut, NWT and the Yukon.

Approval is required from all nine court jurisdictions before the agreement can be implemented. All of the courts have reserved decisions with the understanding that the judges will be consulting with each other before rendering decisions.

Following the court approval, there will be a 5 to 6 month mandatory notification period. This period is intended for survivors to review the merits of the settlement agreement and determine whether it is acceptable or not. There is also a provision in the agreement that if there are more than 5000 survivors who “opt out” or reject the settlement agreement, the agreement will be rendered null and void (and nobody gets their expected payments).

If the settlement agreement receives court approval and the “opt out” numbers are less than 5000, it is expected that the application forms for the Common Experience Payment will be released (and not before) and former students can begin applying for their payments early in the new fiscal year.

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