Lawyers representing 325 First Nations — more than half of all recognized First Nations in the country — are seeking to call Trudeau and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller to take the witness stand via Zoom and face questions about the honesty of statements related to home schools they have made in the past.
These include statements by both Trudeau and Miller that Canada’s policy on residential schools was to “assimilate.”
“There seems to be a contradiction between what the prime minister has said publicly and the positions Canada is taking in court,” said shíshálh Nation Coun. Selina Augustus.
“We and the courts need to know what Canada’s real positions are.”
The shíshálh Nation and Tk’emlups te’ Secwepemc started the legal action a decade ago.
Canadian Justice to oppose the subpoenas
A motion seeking a subpoena is expected to be filed by the end of the week, said John Phillips, of the Toronto-based firm Waddell-Phillips, one of three firms involved in the case.
Canada’s justice system said in a letter filed with the Federal Court that it plans to oppose the subpoenas.
“Canada’s position is that such subpoenas cannot be granted without authorization and that such authorization should not be granted in the circumstances,” said the letter, signed by Lorne Lachance, senior counsel for Justice Canada.
shíshálh Nation Coun. Selina August says there’s a gap between what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says publicly and what Canada stands for in court on residential schools. (Selina Augustus)
But Miller’s office said in an emailed statement that Justice of Canada has not received instructions “on how Canada would respond to the issuance of the subpoenas.”
The statement said the federal government was “committed to justice and healing” from the “trauma suffered as a result of residential schools”, which it said was “disgraceful”.
The Prime Minister’s office cited the statement from Miller’s office.
First action of its kind
The trial is scheduled to begin in Federal Court in Vancouver on September 12 and last until November. The first phase of the proceedings will revolve around arguments to establish Canada’s liability, and the second phase will focus on reparations. This is the first residential school-related lawsuit seeking damages from the federal government for the impact residential schools have had on Indigenous lands as a whole. The legal action says Canada has benefited from the impact of residential schools, which have broken up communities, destroyed culture, suppressed languages and weakened Indigenous nations’ sovereignty over their “traditional lands and resources.” Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Mark Miller said Justice of Canada has not received instructions on how to respond to the subpoenas. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press) All previous housing disputes related to school age focused on compensation for damages and abuse suffered by individuals. The claim for damages was originally part of a larger lawsuit filed in 2012 by the Tk’emlups te’ Secwepemc and the shíshálh Nation in B.C. — along with residential school survivors known as day scholars — who were forced to attend Indian Residential School Kamloops and Sechelt Indian Residential School. The class action, certified in 2015, was split into two claims — one for day scholars and one for First Nations seeking damages — in August 2020. The federal government announced a settlement with day scholars in June 2021. WATCHES | Settlement Reached in “Day Scholar” Residential School Lawsuit:
Settlement reached in class action by school survivors
The government today announced a settlement with thousands of former residential “day students”. A look at their long-running fight for damages and other lawsuits that are still ongoing.
“Canada must shoulder the burden”
Phillips said Trudeau and Miller must testify because Justice Canada lawyers have refused to confirm or deny whether their statements about the school’s impact on housing are true. “These statements by Trudeau and Miller go directly to the issue of accountability,” Phillips said. “They say Canada had a policy, they say Canada’s policy harmed individuals and collectives and communities … and Canada has to shoulder the burden.” For example, on June 25, 2021, Trudeau said Canada’s residential school policy “took children from their homes, from their communities, from their culture and language, and forced assimilation upon them.” On January 27, 2021, Miller said that residential schools aimed to “assimilate” and were “laid down with religious fervor… to convert peoples who still have a living culture — in some cases that has been taken from them.” In court filings, the federal government denied the existence of a “single residential school policy” and said any impacts on cultures and languages ”were not the result of any unlawful acts or omissions by Canada or its officials or agents in connection with the operation of residential schools ». August says her nation lives with the direct impact of the federal government’s actions every day. She said the last of her nation’s fluent speakers have died and all they have left are recordings, a legacy traced directly to residential schools. “It will take up to seven generations to restore all of this. That’s how long it took to take it away from us,” he said. “I don’t know what it’s going to take for us to be complete and whole. I just know it’s going to take a long, long time.”
title: “Prime Minister Trudeau Could Face Subpoena To Testify In Residential School Compensation Trial Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-09” author: “Jason Lopez”
Lawyers representing 325 First Nations — more than half of all recognized First Nations in the country — are seeking to call Trudeau and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller to take the witness stand via Zoom and face questions about the honesty of statements related to home schools they have made in the past.
These include statements by both Trudeau and Miller that Canada’s policy on residential schools was to “assimilate.”
“There seems to be a contradiction between what the prime minister has said publicly and the positions Canada is taking in court,” said shíshálh Nation Coun. Selina Augustus.
“We and the courts need to know what Canada’s real positions are.”
The shíshálh Nation and Tk’emlups te’ Secwepemc started the legal action a decade ago.
Canadian Justice to oppose the subpoenas
A motion seeking a subpoena is expected to be filed by the end of the week, said John Phillips, of the Toronto-based firm Waddell-Phillips, one of three firms involved in the case.
Canada’s justice system said in a letter filed with the Federal Court that it plans to oppose the subpoenas.
“Canada’s position is that such subpoenas cannot be granted without authorization and that such authorization should not be granted in the circumstances,” said the letter, signed by Lorne Lachance, senior counsel for Justice Canada.
shíshálh Nation Coun. Selina August says there’s a gap between what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says publicly and what Canada stands for in court on residential schools. (Selina Augustus)
But Miller’s office said in an emailed statement that Justice of Canada has not received instructions “on how Canada would respond to the issuance of the subpoenas.”
The statement said the federal government was “committed to justice and healing” from the “trauma suffered as a result of residential schools”, which it said was “disgraceful”.
The Prime Minister’s office cited the statement from Miller’s office.
First action of its kind
The trial is scheduled to begin in Federal Court in Vancouver on September 12 and last until November. The first phase of the proceedings will revolve around arguments to establish Canada’s liability, and the second phase will focus on reparations. This is the first residential school-related lawsuit seeking damages from the federal government for the impact residential schools have had on Indigenous lands as a whole. The legal action says Canada has benefited from the impact of residential schools, which have broken up communities, destroyed culture, suppressed languages and weakened Indigenous nations’ sovereignty over their “traditional lands and resources.” Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Mark Miller said Justice of Canada has not received instructions on how to respond to the subpoenas. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press) All previous housing disputes related to school age focused on compensation for damages and abuse suffered by individuals. The claim for damages was originally part of a larger lawsuit filed in 2012 by the Tk’emlups te’ Secwepemc and the shíshálh Nation in B.C. — along with residential school survivors known as day scholars — who were forced to attend Indian Residential School Kamloops and Sechelt Indian Residential School. The class action, certified in 2015, was split into two claims — one for day scholars and one for First Nations seeking damages — in August 2020. The federal government announced a settlement with day scholars in June 2021. WATCHES | Settlement Reached in “Day Scholar” Residential School Lawsuit:
Settlement reached in class action by school survivors
The government today announced a settlement with thousands of former residential “day students”. A look at their long-running fight for damages and other lawsuits that are still ongoing.
“Canada must shoulder the burden”
Phillips said Trudeau and Miller must testify because Justice Canada lawyers have refused to confirm or deny whether their statements about the school’s impact on housing are true. “These statements by Trudeau and Miller go directly to the issue of accountability,” Phillips said. “They say Canada had a policy, they say Canada’s policy harmed individuals and collectives and communities … and Canada has to shoulder the burden.” For example, on June 25, 2021, Trudeau said Canada’s residential school policy “took children from their homes, from their communities, from their culture and language, and forced assimilation upon them.” On January 27, 2021, Miller said that residential schools aimed to “assimilate” and were “laid down with religious fervor… to convert peoples who still have a living culture — in some cases that has been taken from them.” In court filings, the federal government denied the existence of a “single residential school policy” and said any impacts on cultures and languages ”were not the result of any unlawful acts or omissions by Canada or its officials or agents in connection with the operation of residential schools ». August says her nation lives with the direct impact of the federal government’s actions every day. She said the last of her nation’s fluent speakers have died and all they have left are recordings, a legacy traced directly to residential schools. “It will take up to seven generations to restore all of this. That’s how long it took to take it away from us,” he said. “I don’t know what it’s going to take for us to be complete and whole. I just know it’s going to take a long, long time.”
title: “Prime Minister Trudeau Could Face Subpoena To Testify In Residential School Compensation Trial Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-14” author: “Efrain Sullivan”
Lawyers representing 325 First Nations — more than half of all recognized First Nations in the country — are seeking to call Trudeau and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller to take the witness stand via Zoom and face questions about the honesty of statements related to home schools they have made in the past.
These include statements by both Trudeau and Miller that Canada’s policy on residential schools was to “assimilate.”
“There seems to be a contradiction between what the prime minister has said publicly and the positions Canada is taking in court,” said shíshálh Nation Coun. Selina Augustus.
“We and the courts need to know what Canada’s real positions are.”
The shíshálh Nation and Tk’emlups te’ Secwepemc started the legal action a decade ago.
Canadian Justice to oppose the subpoenas
A motion seeking a subpoena is expected to be filed by the end of the week, said John Phillips, of the Toronto-based firm Waddell-Phillips, one of three firms involved in the case.
Canada’s justice system said in a letter filed with the Federal Court that it plans to oppose the subpoenas.
“Canada’s position is that such subpoenas cannot be granted without authorization and that such authorization should not be granted in the circumstances,” said the letter, signed by Lorne Lachance, senior counsel for Justice Canada.
shíshálh Nation Coun. Selina August says there’s a gap between what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says publicly and what Canada stands for in court on residential schools. (Selina Augustus)
But Miller’s office said in an emailed statement that Justice of Canada has not received instructions “on how Canada would respond to the issuance of the subpoenas.”
The statement said the federal government was “committed to justice and healing” from the “trauma suffered as a result of residential schools”, which it said was “disgraceful”.
The Prime Minister’s office cited the statement from Miller’s office.
First action of its kind
The trial is scheduled to begin in Federal Court in Vancouver on September 12 and last until November. The first phase of the proceedings will revolve around arguments to establish Canada’s liability, and the second phase will focus on reparations. This is the first residential school-related lawsuit seeking damages from the federal government for the impact residential schools have had on Indigenous lands as a whole. The legal action says Canada has benefited from the impact of residential schools, which have broken up communities, destroyed culture, suppressed languages and weakened Indigenous nations’ sovereignty over their “traditional lands and resources.” Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Mark Miller said Justice of Canada has not received instructions on how to respond to the subpoenas. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press) All previous housing disputes related to school age focused on compensation for damages and abuse suffered by individuals. The claim for damages was originally part of a larger lawsuit filed in 2012 by the Tk’emlups te’ Secwepemc and the shíshálh Nation in B.C. — along with residential school survivors known as day scholars — who were forced to attend Indian Residential School Kamloops and Sechelt Indian Residential School. The class action, certified in 2015, was split into two claims — one for day scholars and one for First Nations seeking damages — in August 2020. The federal government announced a settlement with day scholars in June 2021. WATCHES | Settlement Reached in “Day Scholar” Residential School Lawsuit:
Settlement reached in class action by school survivors
The government today announced a settlement with thousands of former residential “day students”. A look at their long-running fight for damages and other lawsuits that are still ongoing.
“Canada must shoulder the burden”
Phillips said Trudeau and Miller must testify because Justice Canada lawyers have refused to confirm or deny whether their statements about the school’s impact on housing are true. “These statements by Trudeau and Miller go directly to the issue of accountability,” Phillips said. “They say Canada had a policy, they say Canada’s policy harmed individuals and collectives and communities … and Canada has to shoulder the burden.” For example, on June 25, 2021, Trudeau said Canada’s residential school policy “took children from their homes, from their communities, from their culture and language, and forced assimilation upon them.” On January 27, 2021, Miller said that residential schools aimed to “assimilate” and were “laid down with religious fervor… to convert peoples who still have a living culture — in some cases that has been taken from them.” In court filings, the federal government denied the existence of a “single residential school policy” and said any impacts on cultures and languages ”were not the result of any unlawful acts or omissions by Canada or its officials or agents in connection with the operation of residential schools ». August says her nation lives with the direct impact of the federal government’s actions every day. She said the last of her nation’s fluent speakers have died and all they have left are recordings, a legacy traced directly to residential schools. “It will take up to seven generations to restore all of this. That’s how long it took to take it away from us,” he said. “I don’t know what it’s going to take for us to be complete and whole. I just know it’s going to take a long, long time.”
title: “Prime Minister Trudeau Could Face Subpoena To Testify In Residential School Compensation Trial Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-18” author: “Deanna Thomas”
Lawyers representing 325 First Nations — more than half of all recognized First Nations in the country — are seeking to call Trudeau and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller to take the witness stand via Zoom and face questions about the honesty of statements related to home schools they have made in the past.
These include statements by both Trudeau and Miller that Canada’s policy on residential schools was to “assimilate.”
“There seems to be a contradiction between what the prime minister has said publicly and the positions Canada is taking in court,” said shíshálh Nation Coun. Selina Augustus.
“We and the courts need to know what Canada’s real positions are.”
The shíshálh Nation and Tk’emlups te’ Secwepemc started the legal action a decade ago.
Canadian Justice to oppose the subpoenas
A motion seeking a subpoena is expected to be filed by the end of the week, said John Phillips, of the Toronto-based firm Waddell-Phillips, one of three firms involved in the case.
Canada’s justice system said in a letter filed with the Federal Court that it plans to oppose the subpoenas.
“Canada’s position is that such subpoenas cannot be granted without authorization and that such authorization should not be granted in the circumstances,” said the letter, signed by Lorne Lachance, senior counsel for Justice Canada.
shíshálh Nation Coun. Selina August says there’s a gap between what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says publicly and what Canada stands for in court on residential schools. (Selina Augustus)
But Miller’s office said in an emailed statement that Justice of Canada has not received instructions “on how Canada would respond to the issuance of the subpoenas.”
The statement said the federal government was “committed to justice and healing” from the “trauma suffered as a result of residential schools”, which it said was “disgraceful”.
The Prime Minister’s office cited the statement from Miller’s office.
First action of its kind
The trial is scheduled to begin in Federal Court in Vancouver on September 12 and last until November. The first phase of the proceedings will revolve around arguments to establish Canada’s liability, and the second phase will focus on reparations. This is the first residential school-related lawsuit seeking damages from the federal government for the impact residential schools have had on Indigenous lands as a whole. The legal action says Canada has benefited from the impact of residential schools, which have broken up communities, destroyed culture, suppressed languages and weakened Indigenous nations’ sovereignty over their “traditional lands and resources.” Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Mark Miller said Justice of Canada has not received instructions on how to respond to the subpoenas. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press) All previous housing disputes related to school age focused on compensation for damages and abuse suffered by individuals. The claim for damages was originally part of a larger lawsuit filed in 2012 by the Tk’emlups te’ Secwepemc and the shíshálh Nation in B.C. — along with residential school survivors known as day scholars — who were forced to attend Indian Residential School Kamloops and Sechelt Indian Residential School. The class action, certified in 2015, was split into two claims — one for day scholars and one for First Nations seeking damages — in August 2020. The federal government announced a settlement with day scholars in June 2021. WATCHES | Settlement Reached in “Day Scholar” Residential School Lawsuit:
Settlement reached in class action by school survivors
The government today announced a settlement with thousands of former residential “day students”. A look at their long-running fight for damages and other lawsuits that are still ongoing.
“Canada must shoulder the burden”
Phillips said Trudeau and Miller must testify because Justice Canada lawyers have refused to confirm or deny whether their statements about the school’s impact on housing are true. “These statements by Trudeau and Miller go directly to the issue of accountability,” Phillips said. “They say Canada had a policy, they say Canada’s policy harmed individuals and collectives and communities … and Canada has to shoulder the burden.” For example, on June 25, 2021, Trudeau said Canada’s residential school policy “took children from their homes, from their communities, from their culture and language, and forced assimilation upon them.” On January 27, 2021, Miller said that residential schools aimed to “assimilate” and were “laid down with religious fervor… to convert peoples who still have a living culture — in some cases that has been taken from them.” In court filings, the federal government denied the existence of a “single residential school policy” and said any impacts on cultures and languages ”were not the result of any unlawful acts or omissions by Canada or its officials or agents in connection with the operation of residential schools ». August says her nation lives with the direct impact of the federal government’s actions every day. She said the last of her nation’s fluent speakers have died and all they have left are recordings, a legacy traced directly to residential schools. “It will take up to seven generations to restore all of this. That’s how long it took to take it away from us,” he said. “I don’t know what it’s going to take for us to be complete and whole. I just know it’s going to take a long, long time.”
