The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations says it is joining a class action lawsuit that was recently filed in British Columbia on behalf of day school survivors.
The statement of claim includes thousands of students who were left out of the $1.9-billion compensation deal with the government.
FSIN Vice-Chief Dutch Lerat says the survivors suffered many of the same abuses done to kids attending residential school.
He puts the total number of former students who attended day schools in Saskatchewan at 4,000.
The FSIN also estimates that 30 schools in Saskatchewan were left out of the compensation agreement with Canada.
Students who attended the day schools have been allowed to file claims for specific abuses, but not for the Common Experience Payment.
Meantime, an Opposition politician says she wishes the federal government would just settle with the survivors instead of dragging them through the courts.
NDP Aboriginal Affairs critic Jean Crowder says the issue is the same — and the only difference is the day school survivors were able to go home at night:
“So they had the same teachers and the same caretakers and the same conditions in terms of culture and language — but because they went home at night the government says they weren’t subjected to the same kinds of abuses.”
Crowder says the Conservative government should settle if it hopes to build a new relationship with First Nations on the heels of the residential school apology.