Two days of hearings have concluded in Saskatoon in a class action lawsuit involving former students of the Timber Bay Residential School, near Montreal Lake.
The class action was started about twelve years ago in an effort to obtain compensation for students who do not qualify for the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
Regina Lawyer Tony Merchant is heading up the class action.
He says the class action provides an opportunity for former students to tell their stories.
“Everybody who resided in the Timber Bay home is included in this class action,” he says. “We’ve had a lot of people contact us, hundreds of people, and we encourage others who were in any of the residences to give us information because we hope that we will be able to recover for them.”
Merchant adds a recent federal court ruling may have an impact on the class action.
“As a result of the decision a few months ago, Métis and non-status are supposed to be treated the same way as Indians, Indian is a defined word in legislation, so that was an important case and we want to build on that case to get proper compensation for people who were in the residency,” he says.
Merchant says he expects to hear back from the judge in about two months.
Lawyers for the Lac La Ronge Indian Band are also representing former Timber Bay students and final presentations in that case will be made next month in Saskatoon.