Interim payments to be issued to ’60s Scoop survivors
REGINA — After a series of delays including those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, approved claimants of the ’60s Scoop settlement will receive interim payments in the coming weeks.
On June 1, a Federal Court Justice approved interim payments of $21,000 to the 12,500 survivors whose applications have been approved, with newly approved applicants to be paid on an ongoing basis.
All parties are expected to return to court at a later date to discuss the remainder of the compensation.
The administrator of the fund, Collectiva, was waiting on the Ontario Superior Court to approve a similar motion. The matter was before both courts because the original class action lawsuit was filed in Ontario before expanding nationally.
With that taking place June 2, Collectiva can start issuing the payments.
Katherine Legrange, Director of the ’60s Scoop Legacy of Canada, said she’s hesitant to say whether there will be any more delays but is happy to see progress being made.
“Survivors were counting on this money before the pandemic hit and the delay was just triggering for some folks and retraumatizing,” she said. “This whole process has been retraumatization for some people, and pretty frustrating.
“So I am incredibly grateful that the court heard us.”
The settlement, signed November 2017, includes up to $750 million to be dispersed to survivors, with the amount of compensation each receives dependent on the number of class members deemed eligible.
Amid concerns around processing delays caused by COVID-19, on March 27 Justice Michael L. Phelan agreed with a motion made by ‘60s Scoop Legacy of Canada to begin payments even though not all claims had been processed.
That motion would have seen payments of $25,000 distributed to approved members once over 4,767 applications had been fully rejected, but the process of denying them was put on hold as a result of the pandemic.
A few days after the April 23 update from Collectiva that the payments were on hold, 60s Scoop Legacy provincial partners The Sixties Scoop Indigenous Societies of Alberta and Saskatchewan drafted a letter to the court proposing the $21,000 payment and asking for greater oversight from Collectiva and regular progress updates.
Legrange said more transparency and communication could have gone a long way in alleviating their concerns. The organization has called for greater oversight of the administrator and regular updates.
A court order that appointed a PR firm to provide thorough updates is a step in the right direction, she said.