Pope visit renews scrutiny on church’s pledge fundraising for residential school survivors

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said it wasn't a party to the original settlement where the ``best efforts'' fundraiser originated, but acknowledged its failure.

When 48 Catholic church entities signed on to fundraise $25 million for survivors under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, it was spelled out they would do so through their “best efforts.”

Ken Young puts it another way.

“It was a weasel clause,” the former Manitoba regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations said in a recent interview.

“And they used it.”

In total, the campaign raised less than $4 million. It made up one piece of the compensation package Catholic entities agreed to pay under the settlement struck in 2006 with Ottawa, former students and Indigenous leaders.

Nine years later, a Saskatchewan judge ruled that the church bodies — who had sought to relieve themselves of their remaining obligations — could indeed walk away.

“They said, ‘We used our best efforts and we failed,”’ recalled Young, who is himself a survivor of residential schools.

“I was disappointed.”