Indian Residential School survivors urged to complete IAP compensation claims

As the process to compensate Indian residential school survivors who sufferedsevereabuse winds down, efforts are being made to reach out to former studentswho started claims and have not followed up.

Anyone who suffered sexual or severe physical abuse at one of the schools First Nations children across the country were forced to attend couldmake a claim for compensationunder the Independent Assessment Process or IAP.

Thatcompensation is over and above the one-time common experience payment all former students received under the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Making an IAPclaim also precluded survivors from suing any of the parties involved with the schools.

But now that the IAPis starting to wrap up,the search is on forhundreds of former students who have not completed their claims, known as "lost claimants."

"We are on track to complete hearings for claimants who suffered abuse at Indian Residential Schools by the spring of 2016," said Chief Adjudicator Dan Shapiro.

"However, there are over 400 claimants that we have not heard from for an extended time. We need to reach these individuals in order to resolve their claims."

No trust in system

Thenews that hundreds of former students have not finished pursuing their IAP claims shows there have been problems with theprocess, saidTimmins-JamesBay MP Charlie Angus.

"I know many people in the James Bay region who did not want to go through the trauma of telling their story because they didn't believe they would be trusted. They didn't believe it would be a fair process," he said.

Angus has assisted former studentswho have had trouble accessing evidence related to the abuse they suffered at residentialschools such as St. Anne's in Fort Albany and Bishop Horden in Moose Factory.

Survivors of both schoolshave taken the federal government to court over alack of disclosure of evidence.

The IAPrequires the federal government to turn over historical recordsrelated to residential schools.

But this week, former Bishop Horden studentsasked ajudge to force the federal government to search harder for documents they believe exist and will helpcorroborate their claims of abuse. The federal government argues it has disclosed everything that is available.

• Bishop Horden residential school survivors fight Ottawa in court

The judge in the Bishop Horden case has yet to rule.

But the case is similar to a court battle won by survivors ofSt. Anne's. In 2014, acourt forced the federal government to disclose thousands of pages of police records, which documented convictions of staff at that school.

Claimants urged to call

The Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariat said ithasreceived 37,962 applications for compensation under the IAP.

More than 83 per centof the claims have been resolved, and more than $2.78 billion has been paid out in compensation by the federal government. There are still over 6,300 claims in progress.

The adjudication secretariat said thousands of notices have been distributed to band offices, friendship centres, health centres and other community organizationsin an effort to reach remaining claimants, while still respecting their confidentiality.

Claimants who have unresolved claims or who have not heard anything about the progress of their claim over the last several months are urged to contact their lawyer, or call the IAP Information line at1-877-635-2648to ensure that their claims continue to move forward.