Update on Indian Boarding Schools

June 29, 2023 — Ottawa, ON — Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

Today, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, and court-appointed representative plaintiffs Reginald Percival and Kenneth Weistche announced that a proposed settlement agreement has been reached in the Federal Indian Boarding Homes (Percival) class action. The Indian Boarding Home Program was a program in which the Government of Canada placed children from First Nations communities and Inuit villages in other communities (usually non-Indigenous) to stay with private families for their education.

  • Individual compensation of $10,000 to recognize the losses caused by placement in a boarding home by Canada for the purpose of attending school. Placements from September 1, 1951, to June 30, 1992, will automatically be included, with provisions made for those placed by the federal government after that date.
  • Additional individual compensation, ranging from $10,000 to $200,000, for incidents of physical and sexual or other abuse while residing in a boarding home placement, based on severity of the abuses suffered;
  • $50 million to be invested to support the commemoration, healing, language, and culture;
  • Funding to support class members who require assistance from legal counsel and other forms of support on their abuse claims.

From the ISC website:

The classes are defined as:

     Primary Class - Individuals who were placed in private homes, during the period of September 1, 1951 and June 30, 1992, for the purpose of attending school, not including placements for post-secondary education. Individuals placed after June 30, 1992, are also included if Canada was responsible for their placement.

    Family Class - Members of the individual’s family who lost the guidance, care, or companionship they could expect from the individual. (NOTE: The individual being referred to here is the person placed in a home. (A detailed breakdown of classes and the nature of compensation for classes can be read here: https://mchigeeng.ca/indian-boarding-homes-class-action//

 For further certainty, the primary class includes, among others, placements for the purpose of attending elementary school and high school.

 An individual who was placed in a private home without government involvement is not included in this settlement; individuals who were placed by Indigenous governing bodies after June 30, 1992, are not included.

To be eligible for compensation, the Primary Class Member must have been alive on July 24, 2016.

If you want more information about your rights and options, information about the settlement and details about the settlement approval process in the Indian Boarding Homes Class Action, please read the Long Form Notice or consult the Settlement Agreement. You can read more about the Crown-Indigenous Relations statement here: https://www.canada.ca/en/crown-indigenous-relations-northern-affairs/news/2023/06/final-agreement-reached-to-resolve-percival-class-action.html.