Goodale Pledges To Resolve Boarding School Issue

Goodale Pledges To Resolve Boarding School Issue

Tuesday, January 10, 2006 at 14:19

Northern Saskatchewan Liberal candidate Gary Merasty is confident his party will find a way to compensate boarding school survivors in Ile-a-la-Crosse if re-elected.

Finance Minister Ralph Goodale spoke to voters about this issue during a visit to northwest Saskatchewan this past weekend.

Goodale noted that, to his knowledge, survivors of the Ile-a-la-Crosse institution are the only ones that don’t qualify in a residential school compensation agreement announced in November.

Merasty says since it was a provincially-run school, the issue will have to be resolved through government-to-government negotiations. However, Merasty adds he is pleased that Goodale committed to not let that prevent the Ile-a-la-Crosse survivors from being compensated.

Merasty says the Liberals acknowledge that the experiences of students in Ile-a-la-Crosse were virtually the same as those in the residential schools.