Residential school survivors, advocates say UN special rapporteur must push for further reparations

As the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples continues his visit across Canada, residential school survivors and advocates hope he puts pressure on Canada to address further reparations for harms suffered.

"There is a whole gamut of issues that have not been dealt with," said Evelyn Korkmaz, a residential school survivor from Fort Albany First Nation on the west coast of James Bay.

José Francisco Calí Tzay, who concludes his visit on Friday, will examine a wide range of issues affecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis, including residential schools and unmarked burials. 

Korkmaz didn't get a chance to meet with Calí Tzay as he marks his first official visit to Canada but said she hopes he helps spread awareness of what some survivors are still dealing with.

Over 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend the government-funded schools between the 1870s and 1997.

Kormaz attended St. Anne's residential school in Fort Albany between 1969 and 1972.

In October, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an appeal by survivors of St. Anne's in an ongoing dispute with the federal government over the impact of withheld documents on compensation claims.

"It's not over. This is just the beginning," said Korkmaz.

Kimberly Murray, special interlocutor for missing children and unmarked graves associated with residential schools, met with Calí Tzay last week in Montreal. 

"We actually don't have full reparations in Canada to respond to the human rights abuses that happen to Indigenous people," she said.

Murray said she told him how the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission were only steps toward reparations for harms suffered at residential schools. She said the need to support communities with finding missing children is another important step forward.

"There's a continued lack of access to records, lack of access to land, lack of financial resources for communities," said Murray.

She said many of these barriers could be addressed if Canada implemented the United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous People — a  document outlining the minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of Indigenous Peoples.

"I'm hopeful that he will make recommendations around removing these barriers, but also I'm hopeful that he'll stress the importance of the urgency of it," said Murray.