Boarding Home Class Action Open for Applications

First Nation and Inuit students who were placed in private family boarding homes for the purpose of attending school may be eligible for a settlement payment from the Government of Canada.

The Indian Boarding Homes Class Action settlement agreement was approved by the Federal Court of Canada on December 11, 2023. The settlement agreement provides compensation to students who were forced to live in private boarding homes while attending elementary or secondary school outside of their community.

In the settlement agreement, the Government of Canada admitted that children placed in homes through the Indian Boarding Home Program may have suffered harassment, abuse, loss of language, loss of culture, and other harms.

It is important to note for community members in the Sioux Lookout area that even if you were placed in a private boarding home by Northern Nishnawbe Education Council (NNEC) or another Indigenous Governing Body, you still could be eligible for the settlement payments. The Government of Canada agreed that it was responsible for placement in private boarding homes even when the Indigenous organization placed students into the homes.

To be eligible for the settlement agreement, a student must:

Have been placed in a private home for the purpose of attending education between September 1, 1951 and June 30, 1992; and
Have been alive on June 24, 2016.

There are limited situations where a student who was placed in a private boarding home after June 30 1992 may be eligible.

Every eligible person can receive the level 1 payment of $10,000. If a student suffered abuse during their time in the private boarding home, they may be eligible to receive an additional payment between $10,000 and $200,000. For the additional payment, a Category Two claim must be made.

If you believe you may be a Class Member, meaning you are eligible to make a claim through the Class Action, it may be helpful to review the Class Action’s information here. The claims process opened on August 21, 2024, and claims forms are available on the Class Action’s website.

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If you are a Class Member and wish to hire a lawyer to assist with your claim, Edwards Bell Jewitt LLP is here to help. The Class Action’s settlement agreement contains provisions to help cover the cost of lawyers for Category 2 claims, separate from your compensation amount.

EBJ LLP can help answer your questions about the Class Action or connect you to the lawyers for the Class Action, also called Class Counsel. You can call us at (807) 344-1112 to discuss.

Further, you can reach out directly to Class Counsel Klein Lawyers LLP at 1 (604) 874-7171 or ibhclassaction@callkleinlawyers.com if you are from a province or territory outside of Quebec.

If you are from Quebec, you can reach out to Class Counsel Dionne Schulze at 1 (888) 232-3778 or percival@dionneschulze.ca.

The Claims Administrator, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc, can be reached at 1 (888) 499-1144 or claims@boardinghomesclassaction.com.

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Quick Things to Know:

The Class Action applies to the “Primary Class” of students who were:
1. placed in a private boarding home through the Indian Boarding Home Program to attend school, other than post-secondary school, between September 1, 1951, and June 30, 1992, or
2. placed in a private boarding home by Canada (and not by an Indigenous governing body) to attend school, other than post-secondary school, after June 30, 1992.
There is also a “Family Class.”
The claims process opened August 21, 2024, and claim forms are available on the Class Action’s website.
Primary Class members can apply for a Category 1 claim of $10,000.00 with just a form and photo ID, plus a void cheque if they would like to receive their compensation through direct deposit.
Primary Class members can also apply for a Category 2 claim, separate from their Category 1 claim, if they experienced certain forms of abuse in their private boarding home.
1. This is a paper-based process so there will not be a hearing with oral testimony needed to make a Category 2 claim.
2. Canada will cover legal fees of up to 5% of an approved Category 2 claim for claimants who wish to hire a lawyer to place their Category 2 claim, at no cost to the claimant.