Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement
The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) is an agreement between the Government of Canada and approximately 86,000 Native Canadians who at some point were enrolled as children in the Canadian Indian residential school system, a system which was in place between 1879 and 1996. The IRSSA recognized the damage inflicted by the residential schools and established a $2 billion compensation package for all former IRS students and, in particular, those who had been abused or otherwise harmed. The agreement, announced in 2006, was the largest class action settlement in Canadian history. As of December 2012 a total of $1.62 billion has been paid to 78,750 former students.
St. John's Orphanage
Run by the Sisters of Mercy and the Catholic Church until its closure, the orphanage housed males from the ages of 5 to 16 initially. Its capacity was intended to be 100 children, but this peaked to more than 200 during the Second World War. By the 1970s, the orphanage began taking in female orphans from St. Joseph's because of declining numbers of males. Until its closure, the orphanage took in more than 2,500 individuals for various reasons. Only four per cent of those who stayed there were actually orphans. The orphanage's residents were given a religious education, and were trained in agriculture. Accounts by former residents state that they suffered severe beatings and punishments, and that they were issued a single set of clothing that was rarely washed. Another claims that some residents endured sexual abuse and rape, not only by the staff, but by older boys, and the caretaker. However, others state that the nuns were tough but fair and remained in contact with them.