Canada will release more than $23 billion in compensation to Indigenous children and their families who have been victims of discrimination by youth protection services. One of the most common manifestations of this was the placement of native children in boarding schools, where they were taught to adapt to the culture of the whites.
Some 300,000 Canadians would be eligible for compensation. It concerns victims of discrimination between April 1, 1991 and March 31, 2022. The amount must still be approved by a court.
The 23 billion is $ 3 billion more than agreed in the historic agreement of January last year. The deal was described as “the largest settlement in Canadian history.” But because certain categories were excluded, the agreement was successfully challenged in court.
Systematic discrimination against Indigenous children in Canada has roots reaching back to the nineteenth century. Between 1850 and the end of the last century, approximately 150,000 indigenous children were housed in one of the 139 boarding schools. There they had to adapt to the culture of the white inhabitants of Canada. The Catholic Church administered many of these boarding schools.
More than 4,000 deaths occurred in these schools, according to a national commission of inquiry. Several years ago, some of the mass graves of Indigenous children were discovered at old boarding school sites. A commission of inquiry called it a “cultural genocide”.
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