Download Canadian Residential School Abuse: Pursuit for Justice by Regina Lawyer and more Study notes Law in PDF only on Docsity! Regina-based suits could cover 95,000 claimants Buoyed by a Supreme Court ruling, Regina lawyer Tony Merchant has launched a series of class-action lawsuits that he hopes will eventually cover all 95,000 people who attended Indian residential schools in Canada. In anticipation of this week's high court ruling which allowed 800 former students of an Ontario residential school to sue the federal government as a group, Merchant's Regina- based firm recently filed a similar class-action suit in this city. Friday, the firm also filed the suit concurrently in Ontario, Quebec and the Federal Court of Canada. "We wanted to specifically put the federal government through these four filings on notice not just that we seek class-action certification for everybody who attended schools, but the names of the people for whom we act specifically," Merchant said in an interview Friday. A class-action allows plaintiffs to join forces to sue on behalf of themselves, as well as any others who may be deemed part of the class. If the suit is successful, payout is then made to any member of the class who can prove they suffered damages. To proceed, a judge must first certify the suit as a class action. The class-action lawsuit launched by Merchant April 29 in Regina's Court of Queen's Bench against the federal government is filed on behalf of the firm's approximately 7,000 clients who attended residential schools. The suit alleges they suffered a range of abuses and "cultural genocide." But it seeks to certify as a class "all persons (including their estates, executors, or personal representatives), in Canada, or abroad, who have been: a resident or student at an Indian residential school located in any province or territory in Canada." A spokesperson for the federal government couldn't be reached for comment late Friday. "The biggest advantage to the claimants is that the vast majority of them would never have to attend in court, never have to be examined for discovery, won't have to come forward with individual information to the excruciating detail that the government requires," Merchant said. If the suit was successful, a judge would categorize damages and assign compensation accordingly. Although several Canadian law firms have also filed similar class- actions, the Regina lawyer is optimistic the suit launched by Merchant Law Group will proceed on behalf of all the students because the firm currently represents about 55 per cent of residential school claimants from across the country. There are currently about 12,000 residential school lawsuits across Canada. Three years ago, after Saskatchewan brought in legislation allowing for class-actions, Merchant's firm filed a suit on behalf of residential school students raising cultural and educational issues. However, it didn't include abuse claims. Merchant said Thursday's Supreme Court decision, launched on behalf of former students who attended the Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford, Ont., clearly shows those claims are allowable in a class- action. Docsity.com
