Out-of-court settlement for residential school survivors a huge step forward in addressing historic wrongs

Press Release

HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY, LABRADOR, May 11, 2016 – NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC) President Todd Russell today issued the following statement on the out-of-court settlement for survivors who attended residential schools in Labrador and Newfoundland. The settlement reached with the federal government ends a nearly ten-year class action legal battle.

“This is a momentous and important time for hundreds of residential school survivors who attended schools in Labrador and Newfoundland. It is a time of acknowledgement of historic wrongs and the pain and hurt experienced by so many. Survivors in this province, many of whom are southern Inuit from NunatuKavut, has gone unrecognized for far too long. For some, the healing can now truly begin.

The residential school system across Canada and in this province is a black stain on Canada’s history that has left a legacy of trauma and suffering passed from generation to generation. The Supreme Court of Canada has called the residential school system a form of “cultural genocide.” The separation and dislocation experienced by Indigenous children and their families tore at the core of people’s identity and self-worth.

I express our deep appreciation to all who steadfastly fought this battle for justice. I especially honour those who shared their stories so that justice could be done. It takes a tremendous amount of courage and strength. We honour all survivors and remember those who have passed on, carrying their stories of pain to the very end. We will support those still with us and will do what we can to walk with them on their journey of healing and reconciliation. To help in this process, we ask that Prime Minister Trudeau offer an apology for Canada’s participation in the residential school system in this province.”

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For regular updates, please visit our website at www.nunatukavut.ca.

Media contact:

Kelly Broomfield
Director of Communications, NCC
709-280-5965

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