Growing number of Quebec Cree join boarding home compensation claims
CBC
Roy Weistche recalls being taken as a young boy to stay with a non-Indigenous family in Gatineau — people he had never met, more than 900 kilometres away from his home in the Cree Nation of Waskaganish.
Now, more than 500 Cree families have stepped forward to join the boarding home class-action in northern Quebec, many say they are guided by the legacy of Kenneth Weistche — the Cree man who refused to let the issue fade from memory.
“He was one of the leaders that really saw the impact of a residential school, what it did to former students, what it did to him, his brothers and sisters," said Roy Weistche, Kenneth's brother.
For Roy Weistche, the fight for compensation is personal. He and his three brothers were separated into boarding homes as teenagers — an experience he says left lasting impacts on their lives.
Kenneth, who died in Nov. 2023, was among the first Cree to demand accountability and helped lay the groundwork for today’s class-action effort.
The Indian Boarding Homes and Day Scholar class-action settlements compensate Indigenous people taken from their communities to government-run boarding homes or day schools.
Category 1 awards $10,000, while Category 2 ranges from $10,000 to $200,000, based on the abuse reported. People can apply for both categories.
"He wanted not only compensation, but also accessible land-based healing,” said Roy Weistche.
Roy hopes his brother’s determination continues to guide others seeking recognition and compensation.
“We relive the experience when we apply. I went to residential school for nine years. The stories will never go away," said Weistche.
The Weistches were a large family of four brothers and seven sisters, nine of them with different experiences in residential schools, boarding homes, and day schools.
Each year, the siblings were forced to leave home for school in Fort George or in the homes of strangers in the south.
"We cannot take that back. And all we have to do is just move forward and heal,” he said.
Weistche also says the emotional toll on parents—not just the children—is too often overlooked.
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Roy Weistche recalls being taken as a young boy to stay with a non-Indigenous family in Gatineau — people he had never met, more than 900 kilometres away from his home in the Cree Nation of Waskaganish.
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