Seeking 'justice and recognition,' class action filed by survivors of Ile-a-la-Crosse residential school

Survivors of the residential school that housed Metis children in Saskatchewan filed the class action lawsuit last month against the federal and provincial governments.

Survivors of a residential school that housed Metis children in Saskatchewan attend a media event in Whitecap, Sask., Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. The survivors have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit for harms suffered in the institution. Photo by Kelly Malone /THE CANADIAN PRESS

WHITECAP — A survivor of the Ile-a-la-Crosse residential school says he hopes a class action lawsuit filed recently will bring other survivors “the justice we deserve.”

Survivors of the residential school that housed Metis children in Saskatchewan filed the class action lawsuit last month against the federal and provincial governments. The lawsuit, filed in Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench by six survivors and generational survivors, comes after what the Ile-a-la-Crosse survivors committee called “many years of failed attempts” to negotiate with the Saskatchewan and Canadian governments.

The Ile-a-la-Crosse Residential Boarding School opened in the 1820s and operated until the mid-1970s, when it burned down for the last time and wasn’t rebuilt.

“We lost our language, our culture, and our identity at the school. We deserve justice and recognition moving forward,” said Louis Gardiner, the lead and named plaintiff in the class action.

“I hope, that by bringing forward this lawsuit, that the survivors of Ile-a-la-Crosse will finally receive the justice that we deserve and that our truth is heard.”

No statements of defence have been filed. The federal and provincial governments did not immediately provide comment.

Survivors were not included in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement because the school was determined not to qualify.

A memorandum of understanding was signed in 2019 between Ottawa, Metis Nation-Saskatchewan and the steering committee representing Ile-a-la-Crosse survivors to discuss what the group called “a process for a fair resolution,” but the group on Tuesday said discussions weren’t successful.

Michelle LeClair, vice-president of Metis Nation-Saskatchewan, said the experiences of Metis children at residential schools have been ignored for too long.

“Metis survivors have been denied the benefits of Indian Residential School settlements, including both the compensation and apologies that other survivors have received,” she added.

Survivors say they are suing the governments for the roles they played in operating the school and for breaching legal duties to care for them. According to the group behind the class action, survivors who attended the school experienced “inhumane living conditions and suffered physical, sexual, and psychological abuse at the hands of school staff.”

Plaintiffs in the class action include survivors and generational survivors. The group, announcing the class action on Tuesday, noted the intergenerational trauma that has passed from generation to generation.

“Survivors and their families deserve recognition, justice and compensation. Survivors are dying and we are losing time,” said Duane Favel, whose father attended the school in the 1940s and 1950s.

“The time to act is now.”

Want to know how we decide what to cover and how editorial decisions are made at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and Regina Leader-Post? Get the weekly Letter From the Editor newsletter from the Editor in Chief Russell Wangersky and join the discussion on what goes into covering news and delivering commentary, both in print and online. Click here to subscribe.