Residential schools were the educational systems established in the late nineteenth century by the Canadian government in conjunction with several churches. Children were frequently separated from their families and home communities for lengthy periods and prohibited from speaking in their own languages or engaging in Aboriginal culture and heritage practices.
Many former students have recalled physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological abuse by the residential school staff.
The Individual Assessment Process or IAP affords survivors of residential school abuse the opportunity to obtain compensation for abuse by adult employees of residential schools, by adults lawfully on the school premises, and in some cases abuse by fellow students.
Not all cases of abuse qualify for compensation, however.
Former residential school students who have suffered physical abuse that resulted in hospitalization, sexual abuse, or individuals who have developed serious psychological damage due to trauma are eligible for compensation. The amount of compensation awarded is dependent on the type and extent of abuse suffered in combination with other factors including the severity and duration of the abuse, loss of opportunity, and the offender’s background.