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	Historic $2-Billion Native Settlement Set to Go Ahead By Bill Curry The Globe and Mail August 20, 2007 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070820.wxschools20/BNStory/National/home Ottawa — With few natives expected to opt out, the largest class-action settlement in Canadian history is set to clear its final hurdle, with $2-billion in payouts to former students of Canada's Indian residential schools likely to begin in November. Former students of the schools have until today to reject the out-of-court settlement, and if more than 5,000 of the estimated 80,000 students were to do so, a clause in the agreement would allow Ottawa to walk away from the deal. However, a government update indicates that the number opting out is low, and a federal official confirmed the clause will not be an issue. Compensation payments are expected to average about $28,000 and federal officials say the entire fund will be distributed by April, 2008. The RCMP and other agencies have been engaged to manage the potential negative consequences of such a major injection of cash into some of the country's most impoverished communities. The federal update - which was posted this month on a government website - lists the risk of elder abuse, substance abuse and scams as concerns. Although the low level of opt-outs might suggest the settlement is generally welcome, it has stirred resentment among natives, who have noted much larger out-of-court settlements involving non-natives. The federal government's recent payment of $10-million to compensate Mahar Arar for his year of imprisonment in a Syrian jail, and last month's $660-million settlement by the Roman Catholic Church with 560 victims of abuse in Los Angeles, has led some natives to question whether the average payment is adequate. Mike Cachagee, 68, said he has heard many complaints as board chairman of the National Residential School Survivors' Society. He says the deal is a "sham" that was poorly explained and undervalues the suffering of the people affected. Yet he and most other former students are taking the money because they are getting old and are tired of fighting. "What else are we going to do? I've been at this since 1980," said Mr. Cachagee, who was physically and sexually abused during his 12 years in the residential school system. "I'm tired, and there's counterparts like me all across the country that are tired and saying: 'Look, just give us our goddamn money and leave us alone now. Just because we accept a deal, it doesn't mean we're happy with it.' " The passing of today's deadline will provide the first political test for new Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl. His predecessor, Jim Prentice, was widely praised during his 19-month term, but he also infuriated natives across the country with his often cryptic comments on whether Ottawa will ever officially apologize for its role in the school system. Mr. Strahl, the former agriculture minister, is being briefed on the file and was not available for comment. He is expected to attend events next week in Manitoba and in Kuujjuaq, Que. Former students or their family members who opt out of the deal retain their right to sue the government or churches over the schools, which received federal support from the 1870s to the 1970s. More than 100,000 people attended the schools. Many were forcibly removed from their homes to attend the faraway schools as a way of distancing native children from their aboriginal languages and culture. Physical and sexual abuse was widespread at the schools, and many former students describe the experience as an attempt to "brainwash" them into rejecting their traditional ways in favour of European values and Christianity.
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