Residential school cases could take years to settle

It could take several more years before the process to compensate students who suffered the worst abuses at residential schools wraps up.

The independent assessment process (IAP), established in 2007 as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, was created to resolve an anticipated 12,500 claims from survivors who were physically or sexually abused. The initial budget for compensation was $960 million.

It was a massive underestimation. To date, more than 38,000 have applied for compensation and $3.1 billion has been paid out. Combined with another payment that went out to all former residential school students, more than $4.7 billion has been paid to survivors.

Ten years on, more than 96 per cent of the IAP claims have been resolved, according to a report to be released Wednesday. But the remaining claims and outstanding legal disputes could drag on.

Of the original claims, there are 1,151 yet to be resolved, of which 647 have yet to go to a hearing. Most of them never will. They’re the most difficult claims — cases where the survivor has died, or where claimants are representing themselves.

Another source of uncertainty is that four schools could still be designated residential schools, and their combined 2,300 former students could also qualify for compensation. If that happens the secretariat might not shut down until 2023.