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UPDATE: As of January 25, 2021, nearly 9,700 Sixties Scoop Survivors are reportedly still waiting to find out if they’ll receive compensation in the $875 million class action settlement.
The Canadian government agreed to settle with Sixties Scoop survivors back in 2017 and the claims period ended 16 months ago, but thousands of applicants are still stuck in limbo.
Initially, Collectiva, the claims administrator, had until May 31 to process the applications and report the final number of eligible claims. However, that deadline was suspended in April due to the coronavirus pandemic and a new one has yet to be set.
Collectiva has also stopped denying claims saying in part, “given the current public health circumstances, we are continuing the pause on denying applications for the time being. What that means is that no claim will be denied during this time. However, we are actively assessing claims and, where possible, approving them and issuing interim payments” according to the settlement website update.
Sixties Scoop survivors say they’re fed up and they want Collectiva’s deadline reinstated, according to a letter reportedly sent to class counsel.
“The deadlines should all be reinstated and a final tally of numbers be reported to Canada by May 31, 2021, or sooner, so that final payments can begin to flow to survivors, and so people can move on and heal.”
The letter makes other recommendations including, sending a reminder letter to claimants who need to submit more information and including interest in claimants final payments after May 31. The requests were denied, according to The Tyee.
Top Class Actions will continue to follow this lawsuit settlement and report updates as we learn more. Click on the “Follow Article” at the top of this page to get the latest updates about the Sixties Scoop settlement by using your free Top Class Actions account. For the latest updates, keep checking ca.TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter.
Interim Payments to Sixties Scoop Survivors Approved, Amid COVID-19 Delays
Citing obstacles created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Court has reportedly approved a request to delay payments to Sixties Scoop survivors. Interim payments of $21,000 will reportedly be sent to people whose applications under the Sixties Scoop settlement have already been approved.
Sixties Scoop survivors include those who were involuntarily taken from their Indigenous families and placed in foster and adoptive homes. According to reporting by the CBC, the practice spanned a number of decades, from the late 1950s through early 1990s. Practices were instigated by a series of provincial policies enacted by welfare agencies that saw Indigenous children taken from their homes and placed in a white home. The now-adult children subject to these policies say they lost their culture and family and many were victims of abuse.
In 2017, the government of Canada agreed to pay Sixties Scoop survivors, along with First Nations, $750 million. The amount of each survivor’s payment would depend on the number of eligible claims submitted and the claims process opened last year.
According to a recent report by the CBC, the Sixties Scoop settlement process has been delayed by challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis. The claims administrator, Collectiva, has reportedly received nearly 35,000 claims, but has only processed 40 percent of that total.
In late March, at the beginning of the COVID crisis, a federal judge reportedly ordered payments of $25,000 be made to qualifying Sixties Scoop Class Members “, once more than 4,767 claimants’ applications have been fully and finally rejected without further opportunity for review or reconsideration.” However, the process is now further delayed as coronavirus related restrictions drag on.
One of the lawyers representing Class Members told CBC News reporters that the process has been delayed by the closure of provincial archives that claims assessors need to determine whether a claim is eligible.
“Our priority right now is to get eligible class members the payments they are owed as quickly as possible,” the lawyer told reporters. “I know that these delays have taken a real emotional toll on many people and I am personally committed to getting survivors both the information and the justice they deserve.”
In a recent order, Justice Michael L. Phelan allowed Sixties Scoop survivors who have made claims that were determined to be eligible. Claims will be paid out at $21,000 and are considered interim.
Sixties Scoop Survivors Frustrated With Settlement Process
Some Sixties Scoop survivors are frustrated with the process, according to the CBC.
“We didn’t realize it would be almost four years later that we would get paid, even now we’re not even sure when,” co-founder of the Sixties Scoop Network, formerly known as the National Indigenous Survivors of Child Welfare Network, Colleen Hele-Cardinal told reporters. “We’re hearing the day school survivors are getting their money and their lawsuit started after ours. It’s very frustrating.”
Hele-Cardinal followed up with concerns about how the Sixties Scoop settlement is being handled.
“It’s not good enough. Whether we like it or not, this is what we got, even if we didn’t ask for it. It feels like a really bad deal,” Hele-Cardinal told reporters. “We want justice. We want more than just this. We want our stories shared, we want people all over the world to know what Canada did to us, and continues to do to our families.”
Another Sixties Scoop survivor told reporters that she doesn’t expect she will ever see payment.
“If I ever see a cheque, I would be surprised. I really don’t expect them to pay us,” a Sixties Scoop survivor and director of a women’s shelter for Native women in Montreal told reporters. “My whole life direction and struggles is because of the Sixties Scoop. I’ve never been impressed with the government. If they said they’re going to give it to us, then they should follow up.”
For its part, representatives for Canada’s Office of Crown-Indigenous Relations affirmed that it wants Sixties Scoop settlement payments to go out in a timely manner.
“Canada fully supports class counsel’s motion to issue partial payments to class members with a valid claim immediately,” said the Office in a statement regarding the recent judicial order on payments. “Canada has already transferred $500 million to the [claims] administrator for individuals’ compensation to allow payments to be made to the eligible class without further delay once the process resumes. The Government of Canada fully supports efforts to expedite funding wherever possible.”
Are you a Sixties Scoop survivor? What do you think about the delay in the settlement cheques? Tell us your story in the comment section below!
The Sixties Scoop Class Action Lawsuit is Riddle, et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen, Case No. T-2212-16 in the Federal Court of Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
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75 thoughts onSixties Scoop Survivors’ Settlement Cheques Delayed
Omg I can’t believe they would make us wait so long we are all getting older they should just pay us why make us wait very upsetting news I don’t understand what the hold up is and why just saying
The lawyers want their payout and I understand they’re getting their money 37.5 million and we’re still waiting, really I think the scoopers should just find their own lawyers and fight it out in court, I’m seriously thinking going ahead and doing just that. How much abuse do we need to sucum. Mentally its taking its toll and the anxieties have reached limits beyond recognition. For now I’m holding sceptism but there’s hope. If I don’t receive my monies owed by the third wk of August I’m getting my own lawyer, because these lawyers that are supposed to support sixtiescoop survivors are not accountable. All the best
I was removed from my mother when she went for a “consultation” to the childrens aid, I am metis and mother is white, I was placed in foster home for 7 years and mother told to never contact me and never knew where to find me, she would not sign any papers but they kept asking her to adopt me and sign, mother never drank, did no drugs and was a single parent working, she never stopped looking for me and we have reunited now but it ruined both our lives and left sordid memories , I thought mom just threw me away and this was not the case , there was abuse in the foster home they gave me, we don’t really talk about it as it is too painful. We do not qualify for any apology or money and don’t see why.
Hello Like others I have been abused in every way growing up. I left my so called home at 12 because I couldn’t deal with the pain I charged my abuser and he was convicted for the abuse that was a win yet growing up i did not have the life skills or any tools to protect myself. Struggle daily due to all the abuse my first years of life set me on the trail to. I was abused wife for 10 years I charged him in one year twelve times for assault and assault
causing yet he never spent a day in jail the fact that he was 36 and i was 13 when he started to groom me I finally left and have been fighting for a safe healthy life since I to didn’t know I was first nation till I was 26 I got my status at 36 I don’t have family ties and felt always alone in the world looking for a place to belong to have a voice I thought by doing this i was finally heard yet here I sit waiting like always i am not important enough to get to I deserve the amount of money the said and now I’m not sure I will get any more than the interim payment I would love to know how to fight for what is mine but i am at loss I struggle and its horrid that i struggle still I thought I was going to get my business open and live without the struggle to keep food medicine clean clothes a roof and little things I would over to do when is our struggle over. I want to publish my book and open my business please
I don’t wish to speak of the past,other than it still effects me today. The “White establishments grand experiment”,contributed in part to me landing in the Penitentiary for 15 yrs for manslaughter,in there you either learn new bad things or you learn new great things,I chose the latter,but for the first four years I did bad things. If it wasn’t for some great and humble Elders,I’d still be doing bad things. Don’t get me wrong,I still struggle with my past traumas,it will always give me nightmares,and make me feel alone and powerless,and ever since I made an oath to The Great Spirit,it seems at times even harder to be good. I try to emulate the goodness that the Elders taught me,I stumble a lot,and I try to pick myself up,brush myself off,but I’ll be honest with you…it isn’t easy,especially since I’m homeless,living in a tent,trying to be positive,and thank the Great Spirit,it’s getting harder and harder,most times I wish I was dead,I feel shame because the only way for me to survive,is to beg judgemental,and people who say shameful things toward me or when they think I’m outta earshot,I try to be humble and greatful,saying “thank you,and have a nice day”, I can’t take it anymore,guess thats why I’m in a mental health ward…again,dealing with my PTSD,and depression. I worry about what the future holds for me,if anything? People are always saying that everyone has a purpose,so mine is to be constantly homeless and alone,because of my past,I find it very hard to trust people,is this all there is? Unless you’ve experienced homelessness,it can be hard to understand this life,I don’t want to be a nomad,a bum,worthless. Our people were meant for greater things,weren’t we? Now I’m sitting in this Hospital,on the mental health ward,dealing with my PTSD,anxiety,and depression,this is my life,not much of a life,just an existance. I want this to be my last visit to these wards,you can read into that what you will…I’ve struggled all my life,it’s been the only constant of my existance,in my life I’ve had a place of my own 3 times,and I’m 52yrs old. If I give in,the Gov’t who’s hated my life since I was born will win,this used to drive me to try harder…now I don’t care anymore. Money isn’t going to help,other than giving me a home,where I’ll just have to focus all my anxiety,worry,and depression on my past traumas,it seems like a no win situation. My Mother,Great Spirit rest her soul,was part of the Residential,and Day school experiments…my sister is pursuing the Day School settlement on behalf of my deceased Mother,when she said to me on the phone “50/50”,I surprised her by saying keep it all,she needs it more than I do,my sister is a great Lady,she has taken on the responsability of making sure none of our children are taken by social services again,she lives in a refurbished church,and at last count she has I believe 12 of our relatives children,of varying ages living with her and her husband. She has a purpose,and I’m very Proud of her,I let her know this all the time. At one time,me and my Sister hated each other,seriously,but during my 15 yrs in the Pen,we grew closer,and learned to love and respect each other,thats the only good thing that has come out of all this crap…maybe I should consider that as the purpose of my life,if thats all there is,then I can see my Mom,and my baby Sister again,sorry I tend to ramble on sometimes…I’m the end result of the grand experiment,the only question that I have to ask myself is,can I live with that or do I take my own life…
i never knew where i belonged growing up . i was different then other kids and misdiognosed repeatedly so other words i was a guinnie pig to the pharmacutical world i know now that im older i have fas,adhd,extreame learning dissabilitys, depression anxioty, ptsd, i was onley 7 or 8 when i last completed a full school year and have my grade 4 im now 45 my struggle is and always will be mine to bear …i know it could have been different …life .. how precious it is to me after so many hardships and challinging events to have come to a decission btw has not been yet dismissed to say here u deserve some compensation 25,000 will not buy the housing ,food,books,fuel,clothes to get my highschool diploma let alone a college degree for anytype of a chance of a better future . i never fully understood the offer as i have stated i have a grade 4 education but complied to find my place onley to be kept wondering …..the world is faltering now as mine no OUR! world did when we took the first smack on our butt to be made to cry …that smack continuesly tirelessly repeats itsself . my no our storise are long and painfull . i think i will end with that ..
I’m very disappointed that the date for the final payout is indefinite and the amount is going to be determined. The idea behind the money is an acknowledgement of what we went through. For many years I walked around with a pain inside me that I couldn’t bear. It took me years to be able to ask for help with this in a sweat lodge. To give myself permission to be human and vulnerable to speak of my pain. I didn’t know what love felt like. I didn’t know I had attachment disorder. I didn’t know I held onto my feelings . I was 60 years old before I knew what unconditional love was. Knowing and experiencing unconditional love is supposed to be a part of the human experience. All my brothers and sisters (in the general sense) who went through this walked “Alone”. We faced the looming presence of a menacing institution “Alone”. And then we face life “alone” afterwards to pick up the pieces and try to find who we are and what we want. This is really hard for a person who never got the chance to actually ever say “this is what I want “. I was treated like a robot and I was so abused and neglected and threatened. This payout really is miniscule compared to the grief and loss we suffer everyday. A residential school survivor said to me recently that we should be getting more than the survivors of residential schools because we had to face the effects of the experience alone. This is what I have to say. Justice. For once I would love to experience justice.
OMG, lets just get it over with already!!! How many years do you have to tell people to fill out forms, get records, submit with a deadline. We are not children anymore…..we should all be able to follow directions. Federal Government………..just pay what is owed us!! You sure payed out residential school, day school out without hesitation!!! They did not have to wait years and years……….they also received for abuse, mental, physical and sexual already in the hundred thousands.
Some of us would like to move on….without having to relive it over and over and over again.
All records should be Ottawa on who was taken, adopted out to white families, court cases.
I say Enough Already!!!!
Gd morning, I was 2 when my mother was killed an i was already a foster child,I spent the first yr with her,they’re were 9 of us,I was the 8th child,an eventually by Manitous grace I was able to meet up with more cousins when I was 20,my adopted parents wouldn’t help me to go to my older brothers wake in 1984,I finally met one of my brothers in January of 84 before returning south where I was raised as a little person,I met the rest of my siblings in 91 an 94,the youngest passed in 64,the 2 oldest in 84 ,an 81,I lost another sibling in 2015,there are now 3 brothers an a sister, me included, I will tell my story at a later date,till then be safe an stay on ur healing journey
My mom is a survivor still waiting for a cheque even though my aunt of the same family and situation already received hers. Very frustrating with the lack of communication and delay
My mom could have used that during this trying year.
Iam still waiting for my first payment, the genocide must end and the healing begins no amount of money changes the pass . We can only pray that this allows for others to see and understand what many have suffered. And for this to never happen again.
well
motion to remove stay so we can go to court on the rest of our grievences here in manitoba any day now i am your last hope on the abuse if the judge gives us the chance chartrand vs canada 30 yrs at this and if I WIN YOU WIN the only way i could win is to go to court i think i did everything the judge asked feds got away one left to put the onus on WE THE PLANTIFFS WILL NOT SETTLE FROM HERE ON we must tell our story about what you did to us INDIANS tell you a story i had a bad life like you all i red most of your stories ya man even you they should have just burnt me stuff from the heart sad man i was no good to steal so jail was my home 14 to 21 while in there got into my culture sweat log medicine man very powerfull stuff didnt know were my family this medicine told me i was on journey the great spirit said leave here find new friend you will find your family ya i kno but guess what im home doing our case so this journey is also yours so dont give up you went worse and survived lets see this thru together ya i kno its f hard look your going to get more money how much up to the judge they dont pay much for indians canada ME JUST BRING THE REST OF US HOME DEAD OR ALIVE that would be so sweet HEY i love you my brothers and sisters more to come so stay alive