Frequently Asked Questions

Please submit any missing information by the timeline included in your Missing Information Request Letter.
Your response to missing information must be provided within 60 days from the date on your Missing Information Request Letter.
If you are still unsure of when that is, please call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786. The Call Centre's hours of operation are from 10:00am-6:00pm EST Monday-Friday (closed on Statutory Holidays).

With most of the submitted claims processed, there are approximately 1,400 claims with missing information. Of these:

• 625 require outreach to the Claimant
• 733 are awaiting reply from the Claimant
• The Administrator has not been able to connect 122 Claimants

The top types of missing information include:

• Schedule E School attendance
• ID or Statutory Declaration
• Authorization

A nation-wide postal strike by Canada Post is affecting the timely delivery of Day Scholars Settlement-related mail, including compensation cheques and missing information notices.   During the strike, Canada Post is not processing or delivering mail. This means that mailed correspondence will not arrive as expected.    You can contact the Administrator by phone at 1-877-877-5786 (toll-free), from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm EST Monday-Friday (closed on Statutory Holidays) for information about your claim, including any missing information. You can also send the Administrator documents by email at DayScholarsClaims@Deloitte.ca or by fax at 416-601-6101.    We appreciate your patience as we work through these developments. Please continue to check back here for updates.  

Free emotional and crisis support is available to Survivor and Descendant Class Members 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the National Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419 & Hope for Wellness Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or the online chat at www.HopeForWellness.ca.
Survivor and Descendant Class Members are able to speak to Class Counsel (Waddell Phillips) about the class action lawsuit, the settlement, and the claims process without charge. 
Claimants whose claims have been rejected for reasons other than the school that they attended is not an IRS listed on Schedule E, or the claim is on behalf of an individual who died on or before May 29, 2005, and are seeking reconsideration before the Independent Reviewer can choose to be represented by the lawyers for the Class Members (Class Counsel) at no cost to them. 
If you have questions about this settlement agreement, a rejected claim, or about the class action in general, you can contact Class Counsel (the lawyers for the Class Members) at: Phone: 1-888-222-6845 (toll-free)
Fax: 416-477-1657
Email: DayScholars@WaddellPhillips.ca
Please note, Class Counsel will not be able to inform you of the status of your claim. If you have questions about your claim submission, please contact the Administrator directly at DayScholarsClaims@Deloitte.ca or 1-877-877-5786 (Monday – Friday, 12:00 pm – 8.00 pm EST) or visit https://www.ClassAction.Deloitte.ca/en-CA/Indian-Residential-Schools-Day-Scholars-Class-Action-Settlement/ for more information on the claims process.
Learn more about free resources on our Support & resources page

If you submitted a claim for compensation before January 4, 2024 and haven’t heard back, your claim form may be missing information, like Schedule E School attendance, ID or Statutory Declaration, or Authorization.   
Call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786 today to check the status of your claim. The Call Centre's hours of operation are from 10:00am-6:00pm EST Monday-Friday (closed on Statutory Holidays).  
Claims with missing information may be denied.   
If you received a Missing Information Request Letter, please submit any missing information by the timeline included in the letter.     
Your response to missing information must be provided within 60 days from the date on your Missing Information Request Letter.    
If you are still unsure of when that is, please call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786. The Call Centre's hours of operation are from 10:00am-6:00pm EST Monday-Friday (closed on Statutory Holidays).   

No. The Settlement Agreement provided for one three-month extension, called the ‘Ultimate Claims Deadline’ which expired on January 4, 2024. The Settlement Agreement does not allow for further extensions.

Please submit any missing information by the timeline included in your Missing Information Request letter.    Your response to missing information must be provided within 60 days from the date on your Missing Information Request Letter.   If you have any questions about your letter, please call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786.   The Call Centre's hours of operation are from 10:00am-6:00pm EST Monday-Friday (closed on Statutory Holidays).  

If you submitted a claim for compensation before January 4, 2024 and have not heard back, your claim form may be missing information. Call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786 today to check the status of your claim.   Claims with missing information may be denied.   

Class Counsel remain available to provide any information you need on the settlement. You can also contact Class Counsel for help or legal support without charge if you receive a decision from the Claims Administrator about your application and need an explanation or guidance on what to do next.

You can contact Class Counsel, Waddell Phillips, at 1-888-222-6845 (toll-free) or by email at DayScholars@WaddellPhillips.ca.

If your claim is approved by the Claims Administrator, you will receive your compensation payment through the method you requested on your claims form, either by: 1. Cheque sent to the mailing address you provide on the Claim Form; OR 2. Direct deposit.

The funds will be administered by a non-profit society called the Day Scholars Revitalization Society that is independent of Canada and Class Counsel. Canada or Class Counsel are not involved in making decisions on who receives funding through the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund.   The Society is currently in the process of establishing an office, a website, and policies and procedures that will govern the application process. More information regarding the application process will be posted on the Day Scholars Revitalization Society website when available.  

This class action called Gottfriedson v. Canada is about the claims of Day Scholars, students who attended Indian Residential Schools (“IRS”) during the day only and did not sleep there overnight. The lawsuit asserted that the purpose, operation, and management of IRSs destroyed the Class Members’ language and culture, violated their cultural and linguistic rights, and caused psychological harm. 

The Class Action sought compensation for Survivors who say they were harmed as a result of their attendance at IRSs as Day Scholars. The class action also sought compensation for Descendants and Bands who say they too were harmed as a result of Survivors’ attendance as Day Scholars at IRSs and IRS policy. 

The settlement applies to the Day Scholar Survivor Class (students who attended Indian Residential School as Day Scholars), and the Descendant Class. The Day Scholars Survivor and Descendant Class Settlement includes a $10,000 individual compensation for each eligible Day Scholar who attended an IRS during the day only (but did not sleep there overnight) and was alive as of May 30, 2005.   
In cases where the Day Scholar died on or after May 30, 2005, their estate administrator, executor, trustee, liquidator, or if none is appointed, their highest priority heir, could have applied for compensation on their behalf.   
Note: The claims period closed on January 4, 2024 and it’s no longer possible to submit a new claim. Some claim forms are missing information. Call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786 today to check the status of your claim. Submit any missing information by the timeline in your Missing Information Request letter. Not sure when that is? Call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786.    
The settlement also includes a $50 million Day Scholars Revitalization Fund to be used to support healing, wellness, education, language, culture, heritage, and commemoration for the benefit of the Survivor and Descendant Classes. The funds are being administered by a non-profit society that is independent of Canada and Class Counsel. Canada or Class Counsel will not make decisions on who receives funding through the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund. Day Scholars and their children will be able to apply for grants to access the money in Society. The Society is currently in the process of establishing an office, a website, and policies and procedures that will govern the application process. More information regarding the application process will be posted on the Day Scholars Revitalization Society website when available.  
The class action and settlement are not about sexual or serious physical abuse endured by students at IRSs. Day scholars were eligible to apply for compensation for sexual or serious physical abuse endured at IRSs through the Independent Assessment Process of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (“IRSSA”).     
This class action and settlement are not about Federal Indian Day Schools. Claims regarding Federal Indian Day Schools are part of the Federal Indian Day Schools Class Action. You can find out more about the settlement in that class action at IndianDaySchools.com.  
  

The claims process for the Day Scholars Settlement has closed. It is no longer possible to submit a claim.  
If you submitted a claim for compensation before January 4, 2024 and have not heard back, your claim form may be missing information. Call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786 today to check the status of your claim.   

Approximately 12,000-20,000 Day Scholars Survivors were alive as of May 30, 2005.  In addition, Descendants (natural or adopted children) of Day Scholars may be eligible to benefit from the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund, which greatly increases the overall number of individuals impacted by the settlement. 

The schools listed in Schedule E are schools that were covered by the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) listed in Schedule A of the Federal Court certification order and that had or could have had Day Scholars.  It includes two Lists. List 1 is a list of Federal Indian Residential Schools confirmed to have Day Scholars (those who attended during the day but did not sleep overnight) in attendance. List 2 is a list of Federal Indian Residential Schools that have no confirmed Day Scholars but might have had Day Scholars in attendance. 

This settlement is for Federal Indian Residential Schools Day Scholars from the Gottfriedson class action. This settlement provides compensation for Day Scholars who attended a Federal Indian Residential School during the day only but did not sleep there overnight. This lawsuit is not for students who attended Indian Day Schools – those students are covered by a separate class action settlement called the McLean Federal Indian Day Schools settlement. 
In some cases, schools may have operated as a Federal Indian Residential School and then later as a Federal Indian Day School. We understand this can be confusing. That’s why it is important to check the dates on the Schedule E list. 
To confirm which settlement, you may be eligible for, check the schools' lists for both class actions. You can find the lists of Federal Indian Residential Schools included in the Day Scholar Class Action in Schedule E, and you can find the schools list for the Federal Indian Day Schools Settlement at www.IndianDaySchools.com   

If your claim is rejected, the claims Administrator will send you a written notice providing clear reasons why the claim has been dismissed.    If your school is not listed in Schedule E of the Settlement Agreement, then you cannot request reconsideration.     Also, if you submitted a claim on behalf of an individual who died before May 30, 2005, then you cannot request reconsideration. If your claim has been dismissed for any other reason, you can ask for reconsideration.    If eligible for reconsideration, the claims Administrator will inform you of your right to reconsideration. If that happens, you can choose to have a lawyer provided by Class Counsel (at no cost to you), you can represent yourself, or you can choose your own lawyer (you will have to pay your lawyer).     An Independent Reviewer will reconsider the claim based on the written submissions of the Claimant (or their counsel) and any new evidence submitted by the Claimant.    The Independent Reviewer’s decision will be final and binding. If you want to seek reconsideration, it is important that you act quickly after you receive notice that your claim has been denied using the instructions contained in the notice.  

The settlement includes a $10,000 individual compensation for each eligible Day Scholar who attended an IRS during the day only (but did not sleep there overnight) and was alive as of May 30, 2005. In cases where the Day Scholar died on or after May 30, 2005, their estate administrator, executor, trustee, liquidator, or if none is appointed, their highest priority heir, may be able to apply for compensation on their behalf. The settlement also includes a $50 million Day Scholars Revitalization Fund to be used to support healing, wellness, education, language, culture, heritage, and commemoration for the benefit of the Survivor and Descendant Classes. The funds will be administered by a non-profit society that is independent of Canada and Class Counsel. Canada or Class Counsel will not make decisions on who receives funding through the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund. Day Scholars and their children will be able to apply for grants to access the money in the Society. More information can be found in Schedule F.

Descendants (i.e., the children of Day Scholars) are not eligible for direct compensation under the settlement. However, the settlement includes $50 million for a Day Scholars Revitalization Fund, established to support healing, wellness, education, language, culture, and commemoration activities for the benefit of the Day Scholar Survivor and Descendant Classes.       The funds will be administered by a non-profit society called the Day Scholars Revitalization Society that is independent of Canada and Class Counsel. Canada or Class Counsel are not involved in making decisions on who receives funding through the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund.      The process for applying for funding from the Day Scholars Revitalization Society has not yet been set. Day Scholar Survivors and Descendants will be able to apply for funding to support healing, wellness, education, language, culture, and commemoration activities.   More information is available on the Day Scholars Revitalization Society’s website at DSRSociety.ca.  

he Administrator is issuing payments to Claimants whose claims have been reviewed and approved. Eligible claims will be processed as quickly as possible.   Some claim forms are missing information. If you submitted a claim for compensation before January 4, 2024 and have not heard back, your claim form may be missing information. Claims with missing information may be denied. Call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786 today to check the status of your claim.   

Please submit any missing information by the timeline included in your Missing Information Request Letter.
Your response to missing information must be provided within 60 days from the date on your Missing Information Request Letter.
If you are still unsure of when that is, please call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786. The Call Centre's hours of operation are from 10:00am-6:00pm EST Monday-Friday (closed on Statutory Holidays).

With most of the submitted claims processed, there are approximately 1,400 claims with missing information. Of these:

• 625 require outreach to the Claimant
• 733 are awaiting reply from the Claimant
• The Administrator has not been able to connect 122 Claimants

The top types of missing information include:

• Schedule E School attendance
• ID or Statutory Declaration
• Authorization

Please submit any missing information by the timeline included in your Missing Information Request letter.    Your response to missing information must be provided within 60 days from the date on your Missing Information Request Letter.   If you have any questions about your letter, please call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786.   The Call Centre's hours of operation are from 10:00am-6:00pm EST Monday-Friday (closed on Statutory Holidays).  

A nation-wide postal strike by Canada Post is affecting the timely delivery of Day Scholars Settlement-related mail, including compensation cheques and missing information notices.   During the strike, Canada Post is not processing or delivering mail. This means that mailed correspondence will not arrive as expected.    You can contact the Administrator by phone at 1-877-877-5786 (toll-free), from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm EST Monday-Friday (closed on Statutory Holidays) for information about your claim, including any missing information. You can also send the Administrator documents by email at DayScholarsClaims@Deloitte.ca or by fax at 416-601-6101.    We appreciate your patience as we work through these developments. Please continue to check back here for updates.  

If you submitted a claim for compensation before January 4, 2024 and haven’t heard back, your claim form may be missing information, like Schedule E School attendance, ID or Statutory Declaration, or Authorization.   
Call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786 today to check the status of your claim. The Call Centre's hours of operation are from 10:00am-6:00pm EST Monday-Friday (closed on Statutory Holidays).  
Claims with missing information may be denied.   
If you received a Missing Information Request Letter, please submit any missing information by the timeline included in the letter.     
Your response to missing information must be provided within 60 days from the date on your Missing Information Request Letter.    
If you are still unsure of when that is, please call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786. The Call Centre's hours of operation are from 10:00am-6:00pm EST Monday-Friday (closed on Statutory Holidays).   

No. The Settlement Agreement provided for one three-month extension, called the ‘Ultimate Claims Deadline’ which expired on January 4, 2024. The Settlement Agreement does not allow for further extensions.

If you submitted a claim for compensation before January 4, 2024 and have not heard back, your claim form may be missing information. Call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786 today to check the status of your claim.   Claims with missing information may be denied.   

Class Counsel remain available to provide any information you need on the settlement. You can also contact Class Counsel for help or legal support without charge if you receive a decision from the Claims Administrator about your application and need an explanation or guidance on what to do next.

You can contact Class Counsel, Waddell Phillips, at 1-888-222-6845 (toll-free) or by email at DayScholars@WaddellPhillips.ca.

If your claim is approved by the Claims Administrator, you will receive your compensation payment through the method you requested on your claims form, either by: 1. Cheque sent to the mailing address you provide on the Claim Form; OR 2. Direct deposit.

Free emotional and crisis support is available to Survivor and Descendant Class Members 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the National Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419 & Hope for Wellness Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or the online chat at www.HopeForWellness.ca.
Survivor and Descendant Class Members are able to speak to Class Counsel (Waddell Phillips) about the class action lawsuit, the settlement, and the claims process without charge. 
Claimants whose claims have been rejected for reasons other than the school that they attended is not an IRS listed on Schedule E, or the claim is on behalf of an individual who died on or before May 29, 2005, and are seeking reconsideration before the Independent Reviewer can choose to be represented by the lawyers for the Class Members (Class Counsel) at no cost to them. 
If you have questions about this settlement agreement, a rejected claim, or about the class action in general, you can contact Class Counsel (the lawyers for the Class Members) at: Phone: 1-888-222-6845 (toll-free)
Fax: 416-477-1657
Email: DayScholars@WaddellPhillips.ca
Please note, Class Counsel will not be able to inform you of the status of your claim. If you have questions about your claim submission, please contact the Administrator directly at DayScholarsClaims@Deloitte.ca or 1-877-877-5786 (Monday – Friday, 12:00 pm – 8.00 pm EST) or visit https://www.ClassAction.Deloitte.ca/en-CA/Indian-Residential-Schools-Day-Scholars-Class-Action-Settlement/ for more information on the claims process.
Learn more about free resources on our Support & resources page

The funds will be administered by a non-profit society called the Day Scholars Revitalization Society that is independent of Canada and Class Counsel. Canada or Class Counsel are not involved in making decisions on who receives funding through the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund.   The Society is currently in the process of establishing an office, a website, and policies and procedures that will govern the application process. More information regarding the application process will be posted on the Day Scholars Revitalization Society website when available.  

The settlement includes a $10,000 individual compensation for each eligible Day Scholar who attended an IRS during the day only (but did not sleep there overnight) and was alive as of May 30, 2005. In cases where the Day Scholar died on or after May 30, 2005, their estate administrator, executor, trustee, liquidator, or if none is appointed, their highest priority heir, may be able to apply for compensation on their behalf. The settlement also includes a $50 million Day Scholars Revitalization Fund to be used to support healing, wellness, education, language, culture, heritage, and commemoration for the benefit of the Survivor and Descendant Classes. The funds will be administered by a non-profit society that is independent of Canada and Class Counsel. Canada or Class Counsel will not make decisions on who receives funding through the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund. Day Scholars and their children will be able to apply for grants to access the money in the Society. More information can be found in Schedule F.

Descendants (i.e., the children of Day Scholars) are not eligible for direct compensation under the settlement. However, the settlement includes $50 million for a Day Scholars Revitalization Fund, established to support healing, wellness, education, language, culture, and commemoration activities for the benefit of the Day Scholar Survivor and Descendant Classes.       The funds will be administered by a non-profit society called the Day Scholars Revitalization Society that is independent of Canada and Class Counsel. Canada or Class Counsel are not involved in making decisions on who receives funding through the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund.      The process for applying for funding from the Day Scholars Revitalization Society has not yet been set. Day Scholar Survivors and Descendants will be able to apply for funding to support healing, wellness, education, language, culture, and commemoration activities.   More information is available on the Day Scholars Revitalization Society’s website at DSRSociety.ca.  

he Administrator is issuing payments to Claimants whose claims have been reviewed and approved. Eligible claims will be processed as quickly as possible.   Some claim forms are missing information. If you submitted a claim for compensation before January 4, 2024 and have not heard back, your claim form may be missing information. Claims with missing information may be denied. Call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786 today to check the status of your claim.   

This class action called Gottfriedson v. Canada is about the claims of Day Scholars, students who attended Indian Residential Schools (“IRS”) during the day only and did not sleep there overnight. The lawsuit asserted that the purpose, operation, and management of IRSs destroyed the Class Members’ language and culture, violated their cultural and linguistic rights, and caused psychological harm. 

The Class Action sought compensation for Survivors who say they were harmed as a result of their attendance at IRSs as Day Scholars. The class action also sought compensation for Descendants and Bands who say they too were harmed as a result of Survivors’ attendance as Day Scholars at IRSs and IRS policy. 

The settlement applies to the Day Scholar Survivor Class (students who attended Indian Residential School as Day Scholars), and the Descendant Class. The Day Scholars Survivor and Descendant Class Settlement includes a $10,000 individual compensation for each eligible Day Scholar who attended an IRS during the day only (but did not sleep there overnight) and was alive as of May 30, 2005.   
In cases where the Day Scholar died on or after May 30, 2005, their estate administrator, executor, trustee, liquidator, or if none is appointed, their highest priority heir, could have applied for compensation on their behalf.   
Note: The claims period closed on January 4, 2024 and it’s no longer possible to submit a new claim. Some claim forms are missing information. Call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786 today to check the status of your claim. Submit any missing information by the timeline in your Missing Information Request letter. Not sure when that is? Call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786.    
The settlement also includes a $50 million Day Scholars Revitalization Fund to be used to support healing, wellness, education, language, culture, heritage, and commemoration for the benefit of the Survivor and Descendant Classes. The funds are being administered by a non-profit society that is independent of Canada and Class Counsel. Canada or Class Counsel will not make decisions on who receives funding through the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund. Day Scholars and their children will be able to apply for grants to access the money in Society. The Society is currently in the process of establishing an office, a website, and policies and procedures that will govern the application process. More information regarding the application process will be posted on the Day Scholars Revitalization Society website when available.  
The class action and settlement are not about sexual or serious physical abuse endured by students at IRSs. Day scholars were eligible to apply for compensation for sexual or serious physical abuse endured at IRSs through the Independent Assessment Process of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (“IRSSA”).     
This class action and settlement are not about Federal Indian Day Schools. Claims regarding Federal Indian Day Schools are part of the Federal Indian Day Schools Class Action. You can find out more about the settlement in that class action at IndianDaySchools.com.  
  

The claims process for the Day Scholars Settlement has closed. It is no longer possible to submit a claim.  
If you submitted a claim for compensation before January 4, 2024 and have not heard back, your claim form may be missing information. Call the Administrator at 1-877-877-5786 today to check the status of your claim.   

Approximately 12,000-20,000 Day Scholars Survivors were alive as of May 30, 2005.  In addition, Descendants (natural or adopted children) of Day Scholars may be eligible to benefit from the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund, which greatly increases the overall number of individuals impacted by the settlement. 

The schools listed in Schedule E are schools that were covered by the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) listed in Schedule A of the Federal Court certification order and that had or could have had Day Scholars.  It includes two Lists. List 1 is a list of Federal Indian Residential Schools confirmed to have Day Scholars (those who attended during the day but did not sleep overnight) in attendance. List 2 is a list of Federal Indian Residential Schools that have no confirmed Day Scholars but might have had Day Scholars in attendance. 

This settlement is for Federal Indian Residential Schools Day Scholars from the Gottfriedson class action. This settlement provides compensation for Day Scholars who attended a Federal Indian Residential School during the day only but did not sleep there overnight. This lawsuit is not for students who attended Indian Day Schools – those students are covered by a separate class action settlement called the McLean Federal Indian Day Schools settlement. 
In some cases, schools may have operated as a Federal Indian Residential School and then later as a Federal Indian Day School. We understand this can be confusing. That’s why it is important to check the dates on the Schedule E list. 
To confirm which settlement, you may be eligible for, check the schools' lists for both class actions. You can find the lists of Federal Indian Residential Schools included in the Day Scholar Class Action in Schedule E, and you can find the schools list for the Federal Indian Day Schools Settlement at www.IndianDaySchools.com   

If your claim is rejected, the claims Administrator will send you a written notice providing clear reasons why the claim has been dismissed.    If your school is not listed in Schedule E of the Settlement Agreement, then you cannot request reconsideration.     Also, if you submitted a claim on behalf of an individual who died before May 30, 2005, then you cannot request reconsideration. If your claim has been dismissed for any other reason, you can ask for reconsideration.    If eligible for reconsideration, the claims Administrator will inform you of your right to reconsideration. If that happens, you can choose to have a lawyer provided by Class Counsel (at no cost to you), you can represent yourself, or you can choose your own lawyer (you will have to pay your lawyer).     An Independent Reviewer will reconsider the claim based on the written submissions of the Claimant (or their counsel) and any new evidence submitted by the Claimant.    The Independent Reviewer’s decision will be final and binding. If you want to seek reconsideration, it is important that you act quickly after you receive notice that your claim has been denied using the instructions contained in the notice.