JOHN’S, N.L. – The federal government is attempting to settle a lawsuit from more than 1,200 Metis, Inuit and Innu plaintiffs seeking an apology and damages for abuse and cultural losses at residential schools in Newfoundland and Labrador.
MORE: Many left out of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation
The lawsuit was adjourned Monday morning as opposing lawyers meet Tuesday with a retired judge in an effort to settle the case.
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If no agreement is reached, the federal lawyers will begin their defense arguments on Feb. 29. The suit alleges both sexual and physical abuse.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer said the settlement efforts reflect a dramatic shift in attitude following the change of government in Ottawa.
Many of the plaintiffs were devastated to find they were excluded from then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s apology in 2008 and a related compensation package for rampant abuse at Indian residential schools.
MORE: ‘I was very broken’: Newfoundland and Labrador residential school survivors seek compensation
Lawyers for the federal government deny it was responsible for institutions that opened before the province joined Confederation in 1949.
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