The Ile-a-la-Crosse boarding school. Photo courtesy Facebook.
A survivor of the Ile-a-la-Crosse boarding school says the ’60s Scoop settlement gives him hope that a settlement will be reached in their case.
The northern boarding school was not included in the Residential School Settlement because it was run by the church and not the government. However, Indigenous Crown Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett visited the northern community last September and pledged to work with the community on any reparations.
Since that time, nothing concrete has taken place and many of the survivors have voiced their impatience.
Jim Durocher is the chair of a local committee representing survivors. He believes now that the ‘60s Scoop settlement is taken care of, a deal for them could be coming soon.
“I believe that the Ile-a-la-Crosse school settlement is on the federal agenda, and we are hoping it is somewhere around where the ’60s Scoop settlement was, so hopefully we’re next,” he said.
Durocher says he has been in contact with Minister Bennett over when she could return to Ile-a-la-Crosse to address the delays in the case.
“She says she is looking at a date in October, but that is not official,” he told MBC. “We are still hoping she will come down and meet with the survivors because they are asking a lot of questions, and it would be better if she could come and talk to them herself.”
The Ile-a-la-Crosse boarding school was originally opened in the 1860s. The school was demolished in February of this year.