Fundraising efforts have symbolic impact

The Catholic Register, 28 July 2021

Given the prevalence of confusing public conversation about residential schools, it might be helpful for Catholics to recall what has already been done in terms of financial compensation.

There are now a number of Catholic initiatives to raise money for residential school survivors and Indigenous communities. The Catholic bishops of Saskatchewan have launched a fundraising drive and there is a lay-led initiative to do the same. At least two dioceses which never operated residential schools — Calgary and Toronto — have announced that they will be raising funds.

How these funds are to be spent and by whom will be determined later, in consultation with Indigenous leaders, also to be determined later. The desire now is for an opportunity to do something quickly, and nothing is quicker than writing a cheque.

Given the prevalence of confusing public conversation about residential schools, it might be helpful for Catholics to recall what has already been done in terms of financial compensation.

The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) was signed in 2006 by the victims joining a class action, the federal government, the involved churches and Indigenous leadership.

Under the IRSSA, the federal government, the primary actor in the residential schools policy, offered $1.9 billion in compensation to every former student.

There was also an “Independent Assessment Process” for those who had suffered further abuse in the schools. An additional $1.7 billion was paid from that fund.

The federal government, scrambling to recover from its lethargy on the residential schools file, just last month announced that day-school (non-residential) students would also receive a minimum $10,000 common experience payment.

What about the Catholic Church? As there is no legal entity that is the Catholic Church in Canada, but rather a collection of legally independent dioceses, religious orders, hospitals, educational and social service institutions, a group called “Catholic Entities” was assembled to be party to the IRSSA.

The Catholic Entities made three commitments. The first was a cash payment of $29 million for healing programs that would be run by First Nations themselves. The second was a commitment to provide $25 million in in-kind services to victims and Indigenous communities. The third was a commitment to make “best efforts” to raise a further $25 million.

What happened to those three commitments? Were the Catholic Entities delinquent, as seems to be widely believed?

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