Claimant forms from the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) Independent Assessment Process have been recovered from a third-party storage locker in the NWT, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations confirmed in a statement, Monday, April 25.
“The storage locker belonged to a not-for-profit organization that provided health supports to claimants under the IRSSA. The organization was funded by the Government of Canada and is no longer in operation,” stated Minister Marc Miller.
The Government of Canada sought guidance from the IRSSA Supervising Courts on how to process the sensitive documents which are now in a secure government site.
An IRSSA Court Monitor has been appointment to ensure the documents are handled with discretion and privacy.
In December 2021, an internal document review was issued within the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relationships and Northern Affairs to ensure all claims were processed properly. This included a set of documents unearthed in a storage locker in Vancouver. Upon initial review, the documents appeared to be hard copies of information already input into the Government’s Residential Schools Historical Database.
If any new documents are found related to the history or operation of residential schools, the government will share these with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) in accordance with the Survivors’ wishes, legislation, court orders, settlement agreements and ongoing litigation processes.
“We understand that for many, sharing the stories of what happened at residential schools is a difficult and triggering process. Our Government is taking steps to ensure that other organizations who may no longer be in operation took appropriate measures to manage confidential documents related to the Independent Assessment Process,” Miller stated.