For Immediate Release Tuesday, May 2, 2006
THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA AGREES TO SIGN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
Toronto: In a statement released today, The United Church of Canada announced that it will sign the Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
"This is a historic agreement that recognizes and begins to address, in a comprehensive package, the harm done to Aboriginal individuals and communities by the Indian Residential School system," said the Rev. James Scott, the church's General Council Officer for Residential Schools. "It is important for former students, for our church, and for our nation."
The unanimous decision was made by the church's General Council Executive, which met in Toronto, April 28-May 1, 2006, after a recommendation to support signing the Settlement Agreement was brought to the executive by the United Church's Residential Schools Steering Committee.
Scott points out that although the United Church had previously participated, along with the government, in hundreds of individual abuse settlements with claimants, it had always been unwilling to enter a formal bilateral agreement with Canada. He says the church supports this multi-party, comprehensive package, however, because it addresses not only compensation but also healing programs, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and commemoration. "And the Aboriginal voice was front and centre in reaching this agreement," he said.
Scott emphasizes that while the United Church agreement defines the church's legal and financial obligations, "it does not limit the church's moral responsibilities as they relate to our active and long-term commitment to build right relationships of trust, respect, and equality between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples."
"It is to the work of healing, justice-seeking, and reconciliation that we must now turn our attention and our resources. This work will challenge our theological and cultural assumptions as well as our pocketbooks, but it offers the promise of transformation," says Scott.
Under the United Church agreement, The United Church of Canada agrees to contribute a total of $6.89 million toward compensation and healing, much of which has already been paid.
Scott says the United Church will be actively involved in the healing, reconciliation, and commemoration components of the Settlement Agreement, such as the national and community events related to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
"We will also continue to attend adjudication hearings for abuse claims to bear witness to the claimant's story and offer words of acknowledgement, apology, and support," says Scott.
He adds that as a faith community, the United Church has participated in the negotiations on the Settlement Agreement, remembering our accountability to those who have been harmed.
"This has involved the incremental steps of learning to be present to those we do not know, learning to listen to what survivors feel and need for healing, and being open to the gifts and leadership of former students in the process of reparation and reconciliation," comments Scott. He says this continues to be a humbling challenge for a church more accustomed to being the "helper."
NOTE: See also "A Collective Step Forward", a background document on the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement on The United Church of Canada's website (www.united-church.ca)
For further information, please contact: Mary-Frances Denis Communications Officer The United Church of Canada 416-231-7680 ext. 2016 (office)
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