The lawyer heading up a class action lawsuit on behalf of former students of the Timber Bay Children’s Home says a recent decision against the Lac La Ronge Indian band won’t affect his case.
Tony Merchant was commenting on the Court of Queen’s Bench ruling which went against Timber Bay being including in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
Merchant says his class action takes a different approach than the one taken by lawyers for the First Nation.
“In our case which is different we are seeking certification for a different class action,” he says. “We don’t have to meet the test of showing that its an Indian Residential School Agreement case, which includes that the child resided at the school and include that the child had been sent to the school by the federal government.”
Merchant says students who attended Timber Bay can still be a part of his class action, along with people who attended Metis schools and day schools.
Two days of hearings on the Merchant Law Group class action were held in Saskatoon in the spring.
It is not known when a ruling will be handed down.