BC First Nations file residential day school lawsuit against feds

In a lawsuit with implications for First Nations across Canada, two British Columbia bands say that students who attended residential schools without residing in the schools were scarred by their experiences despite being allowed to go home at night.
The Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Indian Band and Sechelt Indian Band filed a class-action lawsuit on Aug. 15, arguing that the language and culture loss they experienced while attending residential schools during the day should be compensated.
The lawsuit estimated that 300 members of the two bands who attended day schools in the communities are still alive.
“Day scholars” are not eligible for the common experience payment paid to former residential students under a federal government compensation agreement signed in 2006.
The lawsuit hopes to change that.
“Many members of Canada’s Aboriginal communities were excluded from the agreement, not because they did not attend residential schools and suffer cultural, linguistic and social damage, but simply because they did not reside at residential schools,” says the statement of claim.
The lawsuit only covers survivors of two schools in British Columbia, but Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo hopes it will spread across Canada.
Atleo told reporters that the Aboriginal community has been advocating for years for day scholars to be included in residential school compensation payments, but the federal government has been ignoring the calls.
“Whether day scholar or resident, students received similar sorts of abuse and trauma,” Atleo said.
The national chief said that First Nations in Saskatchewan and Manitoba have already expressed interest in joining the lawsuit. He said the goal is to have it cover everyone across Canada who attended residential school as a day scholar.