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Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services
The Roman Catholic Church in the North, however, say a recent federal announcement is not what it seems.
On Oct. 29, the federal government announced it would take on 70 per cent of the monetary compensation packages on 4,500 out-of-court settlements dealing with residential school abuse in Canada.
Nine out-of-court -- alternative dispute resolution -- claims have been settled in the Northwest Territories and about 20 remain.
Some have said the government ignored ongoing talks with churches and made the announcement unilaterally.
Sister Marie Zarowny, chair of the Catholic organization task force on the subject, said a previous British Columbia court case ruled the government should pay 75 per cent.
That ruling was made in June.
"We were very disappointed," she said. "If the Catholic diocese in Yellowknife were to go bankrupt then the government would be solely responsible for the rest of the complainants (without settlements), but now the government says it will only pay 70 per cent."
Before the announcement and precedent-setting court case, churches and government were each responsible for 50 per cent of compensations.
Zarowny said the "interim" measure will only apply to a portion of the cases, those under alternative dispute resolution.
"It applies to less than 1,000 of the total 9,000," she said. "It is in no way a solution."
According to Cindy Clegg, communications advisor to the office of Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada, the United, Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Presbyterian Churches met with deputy prime minister Herb Gray last month and verbally agreed to the proposal.
Zarowny said the churches were simply told of the announcement.
According to Norman Yakeleya, chair of the Grollier Hall Residential School healing circle, the 70-30 proposed split is good news.
"The guys feel it is about time the federal government put a number on the table, saying this is what they are willing to offer," he said. "It is a good sign."
Many churches feel the announcement is a way for the federal government to score some positive publicity unilaterally.
The men seeking compensation in the Northwest Territories were victims of either sexual or physical abuse while attending school in Inuvik and boarding at Grollier Hall.
Four former supervisors in Inuvik were convicted of sex crimes in the last decade, for crimes committed between 1959 and 1979. Grollier Hall closed permanently in 1996.
Clegg said the money victims receive from the federal government is based on the severity and length of time the abuse occurred. So far, it has ranged between $15,000 and $300,000 throughout Canada.
The federal government currently faces about 8,500 claims related to residential school abuse. About 20 of those stem from Grollier Hall.
About 450 cases in Canada have been settled. Nine of them stem from Grollier Hall.
Of the 130 residential schools that existed in Canada, about 100 of them are involved in claims.
Most residential schools ceased to exist by the mid-1970s. The last federally-operated school shut in 1996. The GNWT took over Grollier Hall in 1987 and closed it down in 1996.
The Office of Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada was created last June, 2001 and is overseen by deputy prime minister Herb Gray.
On Oct. 29 the federal government agreed to pay 70 per cent of the compensation to victims. Previously it was prepared to settle at 50 per cent, sharing the other half with churches.
A court ruling in British Columbia in June ruled both the federal government and churches were responsible to pay compensation through "vicarious liability," meaning they are responsible for the actions of those employed by them at residential schools.
It also ruled the federal government pay 75 per cent of settlements and churches pay the remaining 25 per cent. The federal government is currently appealing that ruling.
