Île-à-la-Crosse School Survivors, Canada Sign Proposed Settlement Agreement

Former students of the Île-à-la-Crosse School and the Government of Canada have signed a proposed settlement agreement to resolve long-standing litigation over harms suffered at the institution, officials announced. The agreement follows years of legal negotiations and recognition that many survivors were previously excluded from the federal Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement because the school did not meet certain legal definitions applied in past settlements.

The Île-à-la-Crosse School, which operated from the 1860s until the 1970s in northern Saskatchewan, served mostly students from Métis and First Nations communities. Many former students and their families have said they endured cultural loss and abuse during their time at the school, and they pursued class-action litigation to seek recognition, compensation and support for these harms.

Under the newly signed settlement agreement, the federal government will provide individual compensation to former students, with payments of up to $10,000 for those who attended for less than five years and up to $15,000 for those who attended five years or more, subject to review by an independent, court-appointed administrator. The agreement also includes $10 million in funding to support healing, wellness, cultural programming, language protection, education and remembrance initiatives for survivors and their families.

The settlement provides for the establishment of a non-profit organization to manage and review applications for funding, and Canada will cover settlement administration and legal costs. The terms are separate from a related provincial settlement reached with Saskatchewan that also aims to support survivors of the same school.

Next, a court hearing is scheduled for March 30-31, 2026, at which a judge will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and in the best interests of the former students and their families. Survivors and family members will have an opportunity to review the proposed settlement and share comments with the court before it renders a decision on final approval.

Supporters of the agreement say it represents an important step toward recognition and healing for survivors whose experiences were not fully addressed by earlier federal residential school settlements, and it aims to ensure Indigenous voices and needs are central to the process.