The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The recent announcement by the federal government to expend up to $5 million to hire 'form fillers' to help former residential school survivors fill out applications for financial compensation speaks volumes about the bureaucratic process First Nations must endure in order to be compensated. First Nations across the country have already expressed their frustration in the lack of effective resolution and processing of long outstanding residential school issues, and many of our residential school survivors have passed on without any recognition or compensation for the abuse suffered, be it physical, spiritual or emotional suffering. It would seem that by implementing this 'book size application process', the federal government continues to delay, defer and deny benefits to our residential schools survivors, thereby avoiding taking full responsibility for the horrendous events of the residential school systems and its impacts. The federal government is fully aware that there are fewer people claiming compensation and that we have an aging residential school survivor population, and yet they continue to unilaterally impose policies and restrictions on a process that is already flawed. Consider the September 17, 2004 article published in the Daily Graphic regarding the frail, elderly woman from Long Plain First Nation who finds herself at the centre of a legal and political tug-of-war over the compensation she received from the federal government as they have now demanded a review of the $1,500 awarded. As such, it is our position that the hiring of 'form fillers' by the federal government to assist in the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Process will not speed up claims nor will it ensure that our First Nation citizens who have suffered for decades will receive the full compensation they are entitled to as all claims are subject to the discretion of the adjudicators and criteria that may not address all survivors' claims. While this process might work for some, it is clear that the overall intent of this process has missed its mark, which was to ensure that our residential schools survivors received more than a statement of reconciliation.
