Home and Native Land - II

It took a while, but the federal government is finally doing the right thing. After decades, native students who suffered at residential schools are now officially eligible for financial compensation.

The government announced a $2 billion plan to compensate up to 80,000 members of the First Nations community. (Over 150,000 children attended the residential schools, but from what I can see the settlement is limited to those people who actually attended the schools and not to their survivors.) The terms of the payment would provide up to $10,000 for the first year they attended residential schools and a further $3,000 for each year after that. The average payout is expected to be $28,000.

Phil Fontaine, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, referred to the plan as a turning point in Canadian history because it is an admission of wrong-doing, but the plan is not without its critics. The Liberal Party demand that the federal government also apologize to those students who had been forced to attend the residential schools. Interestingly enough, the Liberals did not seem so gung ho about apologizing to residential school students in any of the decades in which they held power.

Others seem concerned that receiving a lump sum payment will lead to a spike in drug and alcohol abuse, and may lead to exploitation. These critics would prefer that funds be channeled to the community through other programs. But as Phil Fontaine says, "This money belongs to the survivors. What they do with it is their business." And frankly, thinking that we are better at deciding how to spend the money is just another version of the thought process that led to residential schools in the first place.