A Memorandum of Understanding between the federal government and a steering committee has the Métis and survivors hopeful of recognition and compensation in the decades old battle of the legacy of the Ile-a-la-Crosse Boarding School.
A former student says the signing of the MOU is a historic day, with optimism that healing and reconciliation will come.
“It’s not only about the compensation that we will receive, it’s about the recognition and the healing and the truth and reconciliation that will follow,” said Leonard Montgrand. “The legacy and the explaining to our children of this is where we went to school and these are the things that happened. So, that has to be shared also.”
The Métis Nation Saskatchewan welcomes the MOU saying that survivors and their families were left out of a negotiated compensation agreement in the 1990’s and were not compensated for loss of culture, language and traditions, nor the abuse they suffered while attending the school.
“For decades, survivors and their families have advocated passionately and fiercely for recognition of the students who attended that school,” MN-S President Glen McCallum said. “We have had promise after promise by federal governments to address this issue. We can finally say the issue has been discussed in an open and honest manner and that our people will be properly recognized.”
The school operated from the 1880s to the mid-1970s before it was closed and became a treatment centre.
“We also want to ensure that as we move forward, we’re not forgotten. That it’s always remembered that what happened at the Ile-a-la-Crosse residential school should never be forgotten and that the tales should be shared with future generations,” explained Montgrand.
The MOU is expected to address a class action lawsuit against Ottawa and the province currently before the courts.
With files from Fraser Needham.
(Photo:Leonard Montgrand (left) and Glen McCallum (right). By Fraser Needham)