Quebec judge authorizes class action lawsuit alleging abuse at Indigenous day schools

The lawsuit includes all First Nations people who were required between 1951 and 2014 to attend day schools that were run by the Quebec government in Indigenous communities

A Quebec Superior Court judge has authorized a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Indigenous people who allege they received lower-quality education than other Quebecers at day schools where abuse was rampant.

Thousands of First Nations and Inuit children were required by the provincial or federal government to attend the schools.

“The plaintiffs assert that the day school system had a stated goal of cultural assimilation and that the children who attended them were victims of acculturation as well as, for many, psychological, physical and sexual abuse by teachers, administrators, other employees and other children at these schools,” Justice Sylvain Lussier wrote in his Dec. 8 decision.

The lawsuit includes all First Nations people who were required between 1951 and 2014 to attend day schools that were run by the Quebec government and its school boards in Indigenous communities for the federal government.

It also includes all Inuit who were required to attend Quebec government-run schools in their communities between 1963 and 1978.

Lussier said the plaintiffs allege the way the schools were run intentionally violated their rights to integrity, dignity and safety, as well to maintain and advance their cultural life with members of their community, as guaranteed by Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

Two representative plaintiffs, identified as J.J. and A. Je. in court documents, both allege they suffered abuse at the schools.

A. Je., who attended an on-reserve school in Lac Simon, Que., which was run by a school board based in the nearby city of Val-d’Or, Que., on behalf of the federal government.