ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Canadian Indians from Newfoundland and Labrador forced to attend residential government schools can sue the government, a provincial appeals court ruled.
The ruling in St. John's means as many as 6,000 Indians could join class action lawsuits, Postmedia News reported.
The federal government appealed a lower court's ruling, saying the schools existed before Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949. It also argued educational matters are under provincial jurisdiction and "Canada was not involved in the schools by any agreement or by way of the [federal] Indian Act." the report said.
In 2007, Canada set aside $1.9 billion for damages to Indians elsewhere in the country who attended the schools between 1949 and 1979.
Complaints from former students at the religious schools allege officials "forcibly confined them to the schools and systematically deprived them of the essential components of a healthy childhood by causing them to be subjected to child abuse, neglect and maltreatment, including physical, emotional, psychological, cultural, spiritual and sexual abuse by those responsible for their well-being," the report said.
