Eligible Sixties Scoop survivors to get interim settlement payments of $21,000

SASKATOON The federal court has approved interim payments of $21,000 for eligible Sixties Scoop survivors.

A lawyer for the class action members said the payments keep the “process of justice moving.”

The Federal Court of Canada on Monday approved an order allowing the administrator of the class action to issue the payments to the more than 12,500 people whose applications were approved for a national settlement between survivors and the federal government.

“Class members deserve and are owed justice,” said Doug Lennox of Klein Lawyers, one of the four law firms that helped negotiate the settlement. Regina’s Merchant Law Group is another.

“The interim payment is about keeping that process of justice moving. It’s the right thing to do,” Lennox said.

A federal judge announced in late March that compensation payments to Sixties Scoop survivors could be dispersed immediately, even though not all claims have been processed. Originally, the money was to be withheld until all claims were processed; Collectiva, the administrator of the trust fund, had provided a final approved number to the federal government.

In a March 27 decision, Justice Michael Phelan ordered Canada to transfer $500 million to Collectiva to be paid to the survivors who had submitted approved applications.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, all parties agreed with the motion on the basis of supporting the people affected.

At the time, Betty Ann Adam, co-chair of the Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Saskatchewan, a grassroots organization that provides support and information to survivors, said the move was a “compassionate” one.

Some claim applications have been delayed due to circumstances caused by COVID-19 restrictions. Several provincial archives that contain information needed to verify some people’s claims have closed.

Work is still being done to approve claims, but “those efforts may be more difficult because of the pandemic,” Lennox said. No claims are being denied at this time, he added.

“We recognize the huge emotional toll this process and delay has had on applicants.”

Lennox said the decision to issue interim payments means it will take longer to determine the number of eligible applicants and, ultimately, the final payment amount each person will receive.

Lennox said it’s not yet clear when eligible survivors will receive a second and final payment.

“All the parties will return to court at a later date to seek an order that will answer that question,” he said.

According to Klein Lawyers, 34,767 claims had been submitted as of March 16.

Of those, 12,551 claims — 36 per cent — have been determined eligible, while approximately four per cent have been determined not eligible.