Legal Services
What Is The Indian Boarding Home Class Action About?
Beginning in 1951, as part of its historic policies and programs related to Indigenous child education and care, the federal government [Canada] set up and administered a program in which Indigenous children were removed from their parents, families and communities and placed in homes with non-indigenous strangers [Boarding Home Families] so that they could go to elementary and high school. Some of the children were as young as 5 years old when they moved away from their families to live with Boarding Home Families who were paid to house and feed the Indigenous children by the Federal Government (Canada).
It is estimated that approximately 40,000 children were taken from their communities and many endured considerable hardships in the form of physical, sexual and verbal abuse, humiliation, belittlement, starvation, discrimination and mistreatment at the hands of their Boarding Home Families and were forbidden to speak their Indigenous language or practice their indigenous culture.
Eligibility for Compensation
1. As a Primary Class student, you may be eligible for compensation, if you were placed by Canada (Not an Indigenous governing body) in a private home for the purpose of attending elementary and high school (Not post-secondary ie: after high school) and you participated in the Indian Boarding Home Program between the dates of September 1, 1951, to June 30, 1992.2. However, if you do not meet the above criteria, you may still be eligible for compensation, if you were placed in an Indian Boarding Home after June 30, 1992, if you can establish that you were placed in a private boarding home prior to the date on which responsibility was transferred from Canada to an Indigenous governing body.
Stevens & Company's IBH Claims Process
1. Give you information about our process to get your claim submitted
2. If you would like to hire us to be your lawyer, we send you a contingency agreement (legal fees for your claim are paid by Canada)
3. Collect your personal information and get copies of your ID
4. Set up interviews with our lawyer, Jennifer Trotti
5. Complete your narrative [a written document with your experience at boarding home(s)]
6. Submit your claim to the Boarding Homes Class Action to be processed
7. Provide you updates on your claim
The Benefits of Hiring Stevens & Company
1. Our Services Are FREE: The Government of Canada will be providing you with a lawyer free of charge; this means no money will be taken from your settlement from your claim.2. Knowledge in Class Action Procedures: Jennifer Trotti is experienced in class actions, Indian Residential School, 60's Scoop and Indian Day School, and is very familiar with the legal procedures, claim forms, deadlines, and requirements in Indian Boarding Schools claims process. Jennifer and her team will take the stress from you and complete and submit your claim efficiently and accurately.
3. Interview Process: As an Indigenous lawyer, Jennifer Trotti will meet via phone or in person (in the Lower Mainland) to discuss the best plan for interviewing. She has years of experience of working with claimants who have PTSD and can't remember their childhood experiences. She will provide a safe space for you to express your experience so she can tell the story of your life.
To Contact us:
Fill out the form below, or contact us via phone, text, or email. We are here to help you every step of the way.Call: 1-877-248-8220
Text: 778-934-3043
E-mail: sandra@stevenslaw.ca
