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Residential Schools
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For more information please
e-mail or call 1 877-398-0497. |
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The National Residential Schools Class
Action - Baxter v. Canada et al
Updated November, 2006
The Residential Schools Settlement Agreement is
currently before the Court in Ontario and will be going before the Courts in
Quebec, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Manitoba, British Columbia,
Nunavut, Alberta and the Yukon for approval. A decision from all the Courts is
tentatively expected in November 2006, and we expect that application forms
will be available to be completed by potential Class Members and submitted to
the Government of Canada. At this time please let us know your contact
information, including full name, address, telephone numbers and email address,
which we will keep in our confidential database. We will get back to you later
this fall when approval for the settlement has been received from the
provincial courts and application forms are available. We appreciate that this
process is a lengthy one and may trigger painful memories. If you or a family
member wishes to talk to a counsellor, please call the Indian Residential
School Survivors Society toll-free at 1-866-925-4419. If you have any more
questions that our firm can help you with please do not hesitate to contact us
at 1-877-398-0497.
For information on the Government of Canada's role in this process, please see
the Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada website at
http://www.irsr-rqpi.gc.ca/english/index.html or their toll free
number, 1-800-816-7293. |
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Background
The law firm of Thomson, Rogers commenced a National Class Action ("the Baxter
action") in Ontario under the Class Proceeding Act, 1992, in which
claims are made against the Attorney General of Canada on behalf of Aboriginal
persons who attended residential schools in Canada and their families.
The suit is a multi-billion dollar class action, involving claims by the
thousands of former residents of these schools for neglect, sexual and physical
abuse and for the systematic destruction of their cultural and family
relationships from 1920 to 1996. The defendant is the Government of Canada,
which planned the project of assimilation and oversaw the operation of these
institutions.
The representative plaintiffs in this action are from northwestern Ontario.
They attended residential schools in their childhood and were victims of a
range of serious mental, physical, cultural and sexual abuses. They and their
families have suffered inter-generationally from the effects of this abuse.
They seek compensation on behalf of all survivors and their immediate family
members, for pain and suffering, loss of employment opportunities and impact on
quality of life, as well as punitive damages.
The Honourable Mr. Justice Winkler is case managing the action. He has ordered
that counsel in existing residential school litigation in Canada be given an
opportunity to participate in the Baxter action.
As one of the counsel acting on behalf of the plaintiffs in the Ontario class
action regarding the Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford, Kirk
Baert of Koskie Minsky has agreed to participate in the consortium of plaintiff
counsel representing residential school survivors in the Baxter action. This
consortium, through a steering committee, is now directing the Baxter Action.
More details about the Baxter Action can be found in the
Explanatory Notice to all Plaintiffs' Counsel in Existing Residential School
Litigation in Canada or at
www.ThomsonRogers.com
To view a map of Residential Schools across Canada that could be affected by
the Baxter Action click
here. Click
here for a legend of the map.
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