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	Payout for Abuse Victims Could Climb to $2.6 Billion By Kim Pemberton Vancouver Sun November 24, 2011 http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Payout+abuse+victims+could+climb+billion/5760263/story.html Twenty-nine-thousand Indian residential-school survivors who claim they were abused are expected to apply for compensation, according to statistics from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada - more than double the original estimate of 12,500. That means the total payout to victims of physical or sexual abuse at residential schools is likely to hit $2.6 billion instead of the $960 million originally budgeted by the federal government to conclude the outof-court settlement. When payouts to former students who were not abused are included, the final settlement costs could be around $5 billion instead of the $3.2-billion budget set aside in 2006 when the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement was signed. Chief Robert Joseph, from B.C.'s Indian Residential School Survivors Society, said his organization has helped about 5,000 survivors in B.C. since it first began working with residential school survivors 15 years ago. He said the fact there are more than double the number of abuse claimants shows the federal government clearly "underestimated the scope of the problem." "The abuse that went on was much more widespread. Survivors of these schools kept these things to themselves. Most of us didn't even speak to our families but as we move forward trying to heal we are becoming more public. We want our children to know why we became failures as parents and passed on that intergenerational dysfunction," said Joseph. He said the process has triggered the memories of many survivors across the country. "On the bright side of this, a lot of our survivors recognize the need to heal and to reconcile with Canadians." In order to meet the additional costs of settling with abused claimants, Aboriginal Affairs officials plan to ask Parliament for an additional $136 million in new money. It will also recommend transferring $43.4 million not used the previous year by the Independent Assessment Process (IAP), the out-of-court alternative dispute resolution body for abused students, said Aboriginal Affairs spokeswoman Genevieve Guibert. While the government initially set aside $960 million for additional compensation for students who were abused, the IAP has so far spent $1.1 billion on them. But IAP chief adjudicator Daniel Ish said Monday that applicants continue to come forward, and the final bill for such claimants could reach $2.6 billion. "When we first started getting applications, there were about 100 a week and we thought they'd drop off but they haven't dropped off at all," said Ish. "No one knew what the numbers would be. It [the original forecast of 12,500 IAP claimants] was just a guess by people drafting the settlement agreement. It was not based on any empirical evidence," he said. Ish said the $2.6-billion estimate would include the last-minute "bump" of former students expected to apply before the application deadline of Sept. 19, 2012. The IAP has held more than 10,000 hearings across Canada since the compensation claim process began five years ago, and has provided an average compensation award of $105,000 to individuals. Ish said the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement clearly states the federal government will provide whatever resources are needed in order to conclude the claims. "When you look back to residential schools, you had people sent to a remote community, cut off from their families and certain personalities were attracted to that. It was the perfect storm for deviant behaviour," he said. The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement only compensates former students of the 139 government-funded, church-run schools. Part of the original $3.2-billion budget was earmarked for Aboriginal Healing Foundation programs, payment of plaintiffs' legal fees and for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The commission has the mandate to inform all Canadians about what happened in the 150year history of residential schools and to create a process of reconciliation between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians. (The commission is holding seven hearings across the country and will be in Vancouver in September 2013 as its fourth stop.) Contact: kpemberton@vancouversun.com
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