Saskatchewan’s premier Scott Moe in Montreal, on December 7, 2018 at the Marriott Chateau Champlain. (Photo by MARTIN OUELLET-DIOTTE / AFP)
The Saskatchewan government has issued an apology to former attendees of a residential school in the province’s northern region and committed to pay $40.2 million to them and their families.
The province made the announcement on Sept. 29, a day before the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It described the payment as a form of “restitution” for former attendees of the Île-à-la-Crosse School and a step toward promoting “reconciliation, healing, wellness, education, language, culture, and commemoration” in the northern Saskatchewan community.
“On behalf of the Province of Saskatchewan I offer a sincere apology to the survivors and their families,” said Premier Scott Moe in a news release.
“It is our sincere hope that this agreement provides closure to the former students of the Île-à-la-Crosse School, and that it serves as a foundation for continued collaboration and success in the future.”
The payment is part of an agreement in principle and still requires approval from the Court of King’s Bench, which the province anticipates will be granted in early 2026.
Saskatchewan’s pledge follows the federal government’s announcement earlier this year of an agreement in principle to pay up to $27 million to former attendees of the Île-à-la-Crosse School, along with an additional $10 million for a community fund.
The Île-à-la-Crosse School, one of the oldest of its kind in Canada, operated from the 1860s until the 1970s. The students who attended the school were primarily from Métis communities, according to the federal government.
Former students of the Île-à-la-Crosse School were not eligible under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, as the school was operated by the provincial government and the Catholic Church, rather than the federal government. The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement was a class-action settlement reached in 2006 between indigenous peoples in Canada who attended federally operated residential schools, Ottawa, and the church.
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was in office when the settlement agreement was reached, delivered an official apology on behalf of the federal government to former students of residential schools in 2008.
More than $3 billion had been paid to former residential school students by 2021 through one of the financial compensation programs established under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, according to a report released that year by a committee reviewing indigenous abuse claims.
The Île-à-la-Crosse School has been the subject of legal action for years. Representatives of former students filed a lawsuit against the federal government in 2022 over its role in the school. Similar legal action was taken in 2005 and in 2016.
Carolina Avendano has been a reporter with the Canadian edition of The Epoch Times since 2024.