Almost one in four claims for physical and sexual abuse at Indian Residential schools comes from Saskatchewan. The province leads the nation in the number of claims as well as the number of unsettled claims.
The total payout nationwide will be in excess of 5 billion dollars. There are two main parts to it. The common experience payout will total about 2 billion. It went to all former students based on the number of years they attended residential schools. The compensation was for lost language, culture and being removed from their homes. The average payout was about 26 thousand dollars.
Then there is the payout for physical and sexual abuse, it will reach about 3 billion dollars. An independent assessment panel reviews the cases and approves the settlements. The chief adjudicator, Dan Shapiro says nearly 9 thousand of those claims have come from Saskatchewan.
“It is interesting to note that Saskatchewan has the largest number of claims as well as the largest number of claims remaining.” He says.
There is also a growing sense of urgency to find about 400 people who have started the process but their claims have gone dormant. Shapiro says a major push is underway to find them and finish the process.
His aim is to wind down the work of the Independent assessment panel by next spring, but he says no deadline has been set.
“People do need support to prepare for the hearings, “ He says. “ And also legal support to help them gather the information and the records they need to prove their claim and these things do take some time and that is why we are launching the campaign at this point.”
The average payout for physical and sexual abuse has been about 87 thousand dollars. About 19 hundred of those claims are still outstanding in Saskatchewan, representing about 32% of all outstanding claims in Canada.
These victims are also eligible for the common experience payout, which averaged about $ 26 thousand dollars.
For more information on the process you can contact the independent assessment panel at 1-877-635-2648.