Settlement Agreement Regarding the Roundup of the 1960s Plenary Session

Regional Chief Norman Yakeleya
July 24, 2019

Background

The “Sixties Scoop” refers to the widespread practice of removing Indigenous children from their parents and communities and placing them in foster homes or for adoption; this practice, equated to systemic injustice, was prevalent across Canada.
In an effort to repair the damage inflicted by this practice, numerous class action lawsuits regarding it were filed throughout Canada.
Only one case was authorized in Canada; this was the case of Brown v. Canada (Attorney General), 2017 ONSC 251 in Ontario.
To resolve the many claims concerning the Sixties Scoop, the federal government entered into negotiations with four law firms (Wilson Christen LLP and Morris Cooper of Toronto, Ontario; Koskie Minsky LLP of Toronto, Ontario; Merchant Law Group of Regina, Saskatchewan; and Klein Lawyers of Vancouver, British Columbia) behind the class actions to reach a pan-Canadian settlement of outstanding claims across the country.
On October 5, 2017, the federal government announced an $800 million settlement for class action plaintiffs across Canada; however, this only covers compensation for the loss of cultural identity and not for physical or sexual abuse.

The negotiated settlement reached $875 million. Survivors received up to $750 million (maximum of $50,000 per survivor).
$50 million was allocated to the creation of a national legacy foundation. Canada agreed to pay at least $50 million into the foundation’s fund.
The lawyers from the four firms that negotiated the settlement were to share a separate amount of $75 million.
Those covered by the settlement:
- Are Status Indians (as defined by the Indian Act) and Inuit, as well as persons eligible to be registered on the Indian Register;
- Were removed from their homes in Canada between January 1, 1951, and December 31, 1991, and were placed in the care of non-Indigenous foster or adoptive parents.
- The exclusion period ended on October 31, 2018.
The settlement agreement provides individual compensation to all class action members who were adopted or became wards of the state, and who were alive on February 20, 2009.
To apply for compensation, a claim form must be completed and filed no later than August 30, 2019. This form can be obtained at sixtiesscoopsettlement.info or by calling 1-844-287-4270.

In August 2018, the Federal Court and the Ontario Superior Court approved the terms of the settlement agreement.
On December 1, 2018, the implementation of the Sixties Scoop agreement began.
Individual compensation claim forms could be submitted to the claims administrator until August 30, 2019.
Information sessions were held across Canada.
The payment of compensation to survivors was expected to begin in the spring of 2020.

Resolution No. 16/2009 – Sixties Scoop: Support for the class action.
Resolution No. 85/2017 – AFN support for the Alberta Sixties Scoop class action.
This specific class action is not part of the previously mentioned settlement agreement because its petitioner, the law firm DD West LLP, was excluded from negotiations and is not subject to the related terms.
This class action concerns abuses suffered by all Indigenous peoples as defined in Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.