A forum for survivors of the residential school in Ile a la Crosse will be held tomorrow in the northern village.
The boarding school — which was in operation from 1884 to 1976 — is not recognized as such by the federal government, which means former students have not been able to claim for compensation.
Metis local president Brennan Merasty says he hopes some sort of plan will come out of this weekend’s gathering.
“We’re hoping to have good discussion on Saturday here in Ile a la Crosse from survivors, from leadership and from people who have been involved in the past work. So we look forward to listening in and seeing how we can brainstorm and come up with some action.”
Merasty says no government can deny that the Ile a la Crosse boarding school had the same effect on its students as other residential schools — and he wonders how much his own family has been impacted.
“We need to gear towards healing in our communities. My late father, Allan Merasty, passed away two years ago and I look back at his life and I reflect on why did my dad make some certain choices. And I reflect and I think about and, you know, did the boarding school play a role in that? Who’s to know now that he’s passed on, and you start to wonder.”
During the 2006 election campaign, Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised the former students of the Ile a la Crosse boarding school they would be compensated — but has since argued it is not Ottawa’s responsibility.