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Churches urge government to consider alternatives to cash settlements;
Residential schools solution 'not just about money'

Leanne Larmondin
Web Manager

The Anglican Church of Canada and three other churches involved in
negotiations with the federal government over residential schools
litigation had a lukewarm response to a government decision to pay 70 per
cent of cash settlements reached out-of-court with former Indian
residential school students.

The churches urged the government to "consider a more comprehensive
solution" to the issue.

Deputy Prime Minister Herb Gray, who has been in charge of negotiations
with the churches over a deal to settle the lawsuits, announced Oct. 29
that Ottawa would move ahead now before the conclusion of those negotiations.

He said the churches and the government are still far apart and that it is
unfair to keep plaintiffs waiting for the time the protracted talks are
likely to take. Mr. Gray declined to say how much the government decision
would cost in settlements.

"While the government's offer is a reasonable first step, the solution
needed is not just about money," said Archdeacon Jim Boyles, General
Secretary of the Anglican Church of Canada and the chair of the four
churches' negotiating group on residential issues. "It's about bringing
justice to individuals harmed and healing to communities affected."

Sources with the government and the churches said that the total amount of
the out-of-court settlements would likely be at least $1 billion, leaving
the four churches to pay 30 per cent, or $300 million, according to Mr.
Gray's formula. Of that amount, the Anglican church would be responsible
for about $60 million over 10 years.

It is unclear how many former students will qualify for the settlements,
since money would only be paid only for validated claims. While the
government is facing more than 8,500 claims, many are still untested in
court or by alternative dispute resolution processes and it is uncertain
how many of those claims will ultimately be validated, said Archdeacon Boyles.

The churches - Anglican, Roman Catholic, United and Presbyterian - are now
asking the government to resume negotiations, particularly to find
alternative ways for the churches to meet their financial obligations.

"Regrettably the government didn't even want to discuss our proposal.
Perhaps it's time to invite a mediator to get us talking again," said Rev.
David Iverson of the United Church of Canada. "Former students deserve it,
the churches need it, and surely the government has a broader obligation
than to simply wash its hands of the matter."

The Anglican Church has repeatedly stated that it would like to channel its
resources toward healing and reconciliation with native people as part of
any settlement. Until recently, it had been predicting that if its legal
costs continued at their current rate, it would run out of liquid assets by
the end of the year. That situation has improved and the church can
continue into 2002, Archdeacon Boyles has said.

The churches and the government are still far apart on "various costs
outside the compensation," said Cindy Clegg, a spokesperson with the
federal government's office of Indian Residential Schools Resolution.

In an interview with the Anglican Journal, Ms. Clegg said the differences
lie particularly around who should pay the cost of alternative dispute
resolution. The government would like to see the costs split 50/50 with the
churches.

"Our priority is to make sure victims have compensation," said Ms. Clegg,
adding that the victims are "getting anxious."

Litigation from former residential school students has resulted in a
financial crisis for the churches which operated residential schools on
behalf of the federal government from the mid-nineteenth century through to
the 1970s.

In the Anglican Church of Canada alone, a number of dioceses are involved
in legal proceedings and the diocese of Cariboo in British Columbia has
announced it will cease operations at the end of the year due to legal
costs from residential schools litigation.

-----
With files from Solange De Santis, staff writer for the Anglican Journal

--
Links:

Churches urge comprehensive solution to Indian residential schools settlement;
'Government's offer is a reasonable first step,' says Archdeacon Jim Boyles
of the Anglican Church
-- Anglican News Service Oct. 29, 2001, press release
<http://www.anglican.ca/news/ans/ans.html?ansItem=2001-10-29_a.ans>

Residential Schools: Legacy and Response
-- section of www.anglican.ca website
<http://www.anglican.ca/ministry/rs/>

Residential Schools Update #11
-- October 16, 2001 update from Archdeacon Jim Boyles, General Secretary
<http://www.anglican.ca/ministry/rs/reports/rsupdate11.html>

Schools talks inching forward;
Progress made in latest round
-- October 2001 Anglican Journal news story
<http://www.anglicanjournal.com/127/08/canada04.html>

End of Cariboo termed inevitable;
Diocese to fold by Dec. 31
-- October 2001 Anglican Journal news story
<http://www.anglicanjournal.com/127/08/canada01.html>

Legacy and Hope
-- special residential schools issue of MinistryMatters magazine
<http://anglican.ca/mm/2000/legacy/>

Sins of the Fathers
-- Anglican Journal special report on residential schools, May 2000
<http://www.anglicanjournal.com/126/rs/index.html>

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Leanne Larmondin
Web Manager
Anglican Church of Canada
600 Jarvis St.
Toronto ON  L5E 2G1
(416) 924 9199 ext. 307
ll@anglican.ca
http://www.anglican.ca
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