Altered Residential School Deal In The Works

Altered Residential School Deal In The Works

Tuesday, April 25, 2006 at 14:20

 

 

A Regina-based lawyer says he believes the Conservative government is very close to announcing a residential school compensation package for First Nations.

 

Tony Merchant says the deal will likely be very similar to the one struck with the Liberal government last fall, with some notable exceptions.

 

Those include the non-inclusion of the $8,000 fast-track payments for elderly survivors, which Merchant says doesn’t look like will be included.

 

Merchant says he isn’t sure when Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice plans to unveil the initiative, but it could be before the May 2nd budget.

 

Meanwhile, Merchant says the Conservatives are probably not going to compensate Metis survivors of the boarding school in Ile-a-la-Crosse.

 

He says none of the components he has seen in the agreement lead him to think Stephen Harper will come through with money for those students.

 

Merchant says he is disappointed with the direction the Conservatives are taking towards Metis survivors, considering some of the promises the Tories made during the election campaign.

 

During the campaign, both Harper and former MP Jeremy Harrison promised the Ile-a-la-Crosse survivors they would be included in the compensation agreement if the Tories won the election.

 

Merchant still feels there will be a settlement at some point, noting his law firm’s class-action lawsuit on behalf of Metis survivors is still proceeding.