麻豆影视

Skip to main content

Metis survivor hopes papal tour might spark resolution of lack of compensation

Share

Hanging on the Pope鈥檚 every word in Quebec City on Thursday was a Metis man who just wants to be part of the conversation.

Louis Gardiner arrived in Quebec for this leg of the papal tour from Saskatchewan, seeking a response for a long standing grievance: the lack of acknowledgement for survivors of a residential school that was primarily for Metis children.

鈥淲e were never recognized when the settlement agreements were made,鈥 Gardiner said.

From the 1860s right up to 1974, Metis and First Nations children in Northern Saskatchewan were forced to attend the Ile-a-la-Crosse Boarding school run by the province and the church.

Survivors of that school say they too endured systematic abuse and trauma.

鈥淚 was given a number, not a name,鈥 Gardiner told 麻豆影视.

While the students from First Nations received compensation as part of a multi-billion dollar Indian Residential School Settlement, the Metis, who also suffered at Ile-a-la-Crosse, were denied.

Ile-a-la-Crosse, primarily attended by Metis students, wasn鈥檛 included in settlements because it was run by the provincial government and the federal government, meaning it wasn鈥檛 officially considered to be a residential school, despite sometimes receiving federal funding.

While the federal government that harm was done at Ile-a-la-Crosse, the matter of compensation has still not been resolved.

鈥淎ccording to them, there is multiple reasons 鈥 which I only can look at them as excuses,鈥 Duane Favel, mayor of Ile-a-la-Crosse and an intergenerational survivor, told 麻豆影视.

The compensation battle revived old wounds. Although a Metis delegation was sent to the Vatican earlier this spring with First Nations and Inuit delegations to elicit the first apology from the Pope for the Catholic Church鈥檚 role in residential schools, Metis people have long felt left out of the conversation.

The Metis have historically fought for status, land and recognition, with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission finding that they had been 鈥渙verlooked鈥 in receiving acknowledgement for how residential schools impacted them.

With the Pope in the country, Gardiner is hoping for a resolution to the more than 20-year-old legal dispute.

鈥淭he Catholic [Church] needs to sit with the federal government and the province to negotiate a Metis residential school agreement for Ile-a-la-Crosse,鈥 Gardiner said.

Gardiner never got close enough to the Pope to air his grievances in person, but is vowing to plead his case now to the cardinals. 

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.

A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.

Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Mont茅r茅gie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.

A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

Stay Connected