Politics
Breaking through bureaucracy Day school survivors now able to have individual legal representation in class action settlement by Patrick Quinn | Photo CC by Saforrest, GFDL/CC-by-SA 3.0
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June 17 Federal Court order means that that day school survivors will now be able to access legal advice from a lawyer of their choice when obtaining compensation in the federal class action settlement. The settlement process has been criticized for confusing and re-traumatizing claimants.
“I knew through my experience in representing residential school survivors how important it is for survivors to have a connection with their lawyer and the presence of someone to witness their stories of abuse,” said Saskatoon lawyer Nicholas Racine. “For many survivors, having a call centre staffed with non-lawyers and people without years of experience counselling victims of childhood abuse made it impossible to disclose.” Legal action regarding the forced attendance of Indigenous students at Indian day schools was launched by the late Garry McLean in 2009. After reaching a settlement agreement last year, the claims process began in January to offer former students a range of compensation between $10,000 and $200,000, based on the extent of abuse suffered. Free legal advice on settlement claims is offered by Gowling WLG, the law firm handling the settlement. While claimants can apply for the
lowest compensation without additional documentation, wording in the settlement forms has been called misleading, which could result in many not receiving the compensation they are due. “The process makes it easier to
set up to allow them personal access to trauma-informed legal counsel.” Before Racine filed this recent motion on behalf of his client Mary Rose Naytowhow, many lawyers were reluctant to get involved because they had no assurance their services would be paid for. Under the
“It’s important that every claimant, whether they need it or not, at least has the option for this type of legal service” - Nicholas Racine, Saskatoon Lawyer
make a claim for less serious abuse,” Racine told the Nation. “It was a real worry of mine that many thousands of claimants across the country who suffered serious abuse are not going to get the compensation they deserve because this process was initially not
24 the Nation July 31, 2020 www.nationnews.ca
new agreement, theclaims administrator is forced to communicate with independent lawyers, who can receive payments judged reasonable by courts in trust on behalf of clients. While more independent lawyers have since become involved in the
settlement, survivors must be aware that free legal services are available from Gowling before engaging other counsel. Retaining non-class counsel releases Gowling from any ongoing responsibilities to them, and all lawyer fees and money transfers must still be approved by the court. The revised protocols are intended to avoid common problems encountered during the Indian Residential School settlement, in which hundreds of lawyers were found to have overcharged or misrepresented survivors. Some claimants believe the extra cost is a small price to pay for the personal communication and attention an independent lawyer can provide. “I was traumatized, and I have to relive it now,” Naytowhow, a residential and day school survivor from Sturgeon Lake First Nation, told the CBC. “Having to work with somebody that I never met is not something that I want to do, and I’d sooner work with
