What was the Day Scholars Settlement of 2021?
Answer
A class-action settlement reached on June 9, 2021 between the federal government and former 'day scholars' at Indian residential schools (children who attended residential schools during the day but returned home at night and so had been excluded from the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement); the settlement provided 10,000 dollars to each former day scholar plus a band fund.
Explanation
The Day Scholars Settlement was a class-action settlement reached on June 9, 2021 between the federal government and former 'day scholars' at Indian residential schools. Day scholars were children who attended residential schools during the day but returned home at night and had been excluded from the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA), which had compensated only students who had resided overnight at the schools. The settlement provided 10,000 dollars to each former day scholar (about 9,000 to 12,000 living former day scholars are estimated) plus a 50 million dollar Day Scholars Revitalization Fund for affected First Nations.
The class action (Gottfriedson v. Canada) was filed in 2012 by Charlene Gottfriedson (Tk'emlups te Secwepemc) and Garry Gottfriedson on behalf of about 12,000 former day scholars. The class action alleged that the federal Crown had operated the residential schools system with full knowledge that day scholars experienced similar physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, language and cultural loss, and educational deprivation as resident students. The IRSSA's exclusion of day scholars (about 80,000 surviving former students received IRSSA payments) was therefore arbitrary and unfair.
The Federal Court certified the class action in 2015 and approved the settlement on August 4, 2021 after mediation produced agreement on June 9, 2021. Justice Phelan's Federal Court approval allowed the settlement to proceed. The federal government's approval came on June 9, 2021 in a joint announcement by Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett and the class representatives. Class member registrations began in late 2021 and claims processing has continued through 2024.
Settlement terms included: 10,000 dollars to each surviving former day scholar; 50 million dollars for the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund (administered by a designated organisation to support Indigenous languages, culture, and healing in affected First Nations); federal acknowledgment of the harms suffered by day scholars and their communities; and access to additional supports through the existing federal Indian Residential Schools Health Support Program. The estimated total settlement value is about 1.45 billion dollars (assuming about 12,000 living day scholars at 10,000 dollars each, plus the 50 million dollar revitalisation fund and case-related costs). The Day Scholars Settlement is one of three major federal residential schools-related class-action settlements (the others being the IRSSA of 2007 and the Federal Indian Day Schools Settlement of 2019). The Settlement complete the compensation framework for the about 150,000 Indigenous children who attended the federal residential schools system.
Why this matters for your test
The Day Scholars Settlement closed the long-standing gap in residential schools compensation by including students who had not lived at the schools. Recognising the June 9, 2021 agreement and the 10,000-dollar individual compensation gives candidates two specific anchors.
Source: Federal Court of Canada; Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
