NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT APPROVAL AND CLAIMS PROCESS
Information from Indian Residential Schools Day Scholars:
Did you attend an Indian Residential School as a student during the day but not sleep there overnight?
OR
Did your parent attend an Indian Residential School as a student during the day but not sleep there overnight?
OR
Are you the estate executor, administrator, trustee or liquidator or the heir of someone who attended an Indian Residential School as a student during the day but not sleep there overnight and who died on or
after May 30, 2005?
If yes, this notice is for you. It is authorized by the Federal Court.
Please read it carefully because it affects your legal rights.
What is this notice for?
There is a settlement in a certified class action called Gottfriedson v. Canada (Federal Court File No. T-1542-12) for the claims of Day Scholars (the "Survivor Class") and their children (the "Descendant Class"). Day Scholars are students who attended Indian Residential Schools during the day only and did not sleep there overnight. A Federal Court judge approved the settlement agreement on September 24, 2021, and that agreement is now binding on all Survivor Class and Descendant Class members who did not opt out.
What settlement was approved?
The settlement contains benefits for both the Day Scholar Survivor Class and the Descendant Classes:
$10,000 Day Scholar Compensation Payment: Each Day Scholar who attended an Indian Residential School during the day only (but did not sleep there overnight) any time between 1920 and 1997 is eligible to apply for a $10,000 Day Scholar Compensation Payment. A list of Indian Residential Schools that had or could have had Day Scholars can be found at the end of this Notice, and online at https://www.justicefordayscholars.com/schools-lists/. In cases where the Day Scholar died on or after May 30, 2005, the deceased Day Scholar's estate or heirs may apply for the Day Scholar Compensation Payment.
$50 million Day Scholars Revitalization Fund: Canada will pay $50 million to the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund to be used to support healing, wellness, education, language, culture, heritage, and commemoration for the benefit of the Survivor and Descendant Classes. The funds will be administered by a non-profit society.
The settlement does not include the Band Class. Nothing in the settlement will affect the Band Class claim, which is moving forward to trial.
When can Class Members make claims for the individual $10,000 Day Scholar Compensation Payment?
Claimants may begin making claims when the claims period opens on January 4, 2022.
The deadline to submit a claim is October 4, 2023, at 11 :59 p.m. Claimants should act quickly to ensure that you do not miss the claims deadline.
How do I make a claim?
Claims forms will be available in both online and paper versions.
The online form is available on the Claims Administrator (Deloitte) website and can be completed entirely online, link: www.dayscholarsclaims.com
The paper version is available directly from the Claims Administrator (Deloitte). It may also be available from your local band. Claimants who complete paper forms will have to mail, email or fax them directly to the Claims Administrator.
There are two types of claim forms:
Day Scholar Application Form to be completed by or on behalf of living Day Scholars, link: www.davscholarsclaims.com
Estate Claims Form to be completed if you are an heir or an estate executor, administrator, trustee or liquidator making a claim for a deceased Day Scholar who was alive on May 30, 2005, link: www.dayscholarsclaims.com
After completing and submitting the correct claim form, the Claims Administrator will review the fo1m and dete1mine if the claim is eligible for compensation. It is important to fill out the claim form with all the information so that the Claim Administrator can process it quickly.
If you have already received a Common Experience Payment under the Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA), or if you are eligible for compensation under the McLean Day School Settlement, you may still be eligible for additional compensation under this Day Scholar settlement, providing you have not already received compensation for all of the same school years you attended as a Day Scholar.
If the Claims Administrator sees that a claim form is incomplete or if information necessary to process the claim is not provided, the Claims Administrator will contact you to ask for more information.
If your claim is dismissed by the Claims Administrator for any reason ( other than because it involved a school that did not have Day Scholars or is regarding a Day Scholar who died before May 30, 2005), you can ask for a reconsideration. If that happens, you can choose to have a lawyer provided by Class Counsel (at no cost to you), you can represent yourself, or you can choose your own lawyer (you will have to pay your lawyer). An Independent Reviewer will decide any disputed claims and the Independent Reviewer's decision will be final and binding.
When will I receive my settlement payment?
Valid claims for living Day Scholars will be paid as quickly as possible and, most likely, within a few months after you send in your claim form.
If you are making an Estate Claim as an heir of a deceased Day Scholars who was alive on May 30, 2005, your claim will not be assessed until the end of the claim period to make sure that no claim has been brought by a validly appointed estate executor, administrator, trustee or liquidator, or by an heir of the same or higher priority.
Fill out the forms carefully and make sure you have given all the information asked for. This will help the Claims Administrator pay your claim quickly.
What if I need help with the claims form, want to obtain a claims form, or want more information?
If you want to obtain a paper copy of a claims form, want assistance completing a claims form, or want more information about this class action or the claims process, please see www.dayscholarsclaims.com or contact the Claims Administrator:
Deloitte:
Indian Residential School Day Scholars Claims Administrator c/o Deloitte
PO Box 7014
Toronto, ON, Canada MSC 0A9
Fax: 416-601-6101
Phone: 1-877-877-5786
Email: dayscholarsclaims@deloitte.ca
Download the Notice
