There can be several reasons why your Claim the Administrator determined your claim ineligible. It could be because:

• the school, or for the years you attended the school, was not run by the federal government,
• you opted out of this Settlement,
• you have already received compensation for the same harms through another settlement with the federal government, and/or
• the Claim is on behalf of an estate and the deceased died before July 31, 2007

The reason for your ineligibility will be listed in the letter from the Administrator. If you have questions about your ineligibility letter, we encourage you to contact the Administrator by calling 1-888-221-2898 or emailing IndianDaySchools@Deloitte.ca.

We know that it is difficult and disappointing for people when they learn that they are not eligible for this Settlement. A finding of ineligibility does not mean that your experience is not real and valid. It just means that it does not meet the terms of this specific Settlement Agreement.

Unless there was an error in fact or law in how your Claim was processed concerning the application of Schedule K (the school list), or you have documentation showing that you did in fact attend a school listed on Schedule K, a letter of ineligibility means that you are not part of the Survivor Class and therefore not eligible for compensation under this process.

Please note that if you are ineligible to claim compensation under this Settlement, you can still bring a separate lawsuit against the individuals or organizations responsible for the abuse that you experienced, including the federal government.

If you have questions about your ineligibility letter, we encourage you to contact the Administrator by calling 1-888-221-2898 or emailing IndianDaySchools@Deloitte.ca.

The list of eligible Federal Indian Day Schools (Schedule K) is final. If you attended a school on this list during the years it was run by the Federal government, you were eligible to make a Claim for compensation.

Yes. The eligible class periods are the dates for each school on Schedule K only. You must have attended one of the eligible schools within the opening and closing or transfer date.

Social Benefits

The Settlement Agreement provides that there should be no impact on benefits including social assistance, Old Age Security (OAS), and Canada Pension Plan (CPP). For more information, visit section 5.06 of the Settlement Agreement.

The Government of Canada has committed to working with provincial and territorial governments and Federal departments to ensure that any payment Claimants receive will not affect the amount, nature, or duration of any provincial or territorial social benefits. Similar efforts were successful with respect to the Indian Residential School Settlement payments.

Tax

Payments from this lawsuit are not taxable. These payments compensate for abuse and harms at federal Indian Day Schools or federal Day Schools. The Canada Revenue Agency makes it clear that litigation damages for personal injuries are not taxable income.

OAS and Guaranteed Income Supplement

There will be no impact on OAS and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments. The Old Age Security Act defines income in accordance with the Income Tax Act. Litigation payments for personal injury, including psychological harm, are exempt from the Canada Revenue Agency definition of income.

The OAS pension is a monthly payment available to seniors aged 65 and older who meet the Canadian legal status and residence requirements. Low-income seniors are also eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement which is added to OAS. Neither will be impacted by compensation received from this Settlement.

CPP

There will be no impact on CPP. Eligibility for CPP is based on age and contribution to CPP by working in Canada. It is not based on present income levels but contributions over the beneficiary’s lifetime.

Claim Forms are generally processed on a rolling basis. In other words, Claims were reviewed as they were received.

Class Counsel (Gowling WLG) is available to provide free legal assistance with seeking a Reconsideration and making an Independent Assessor request. Class Counsel is available at 1-844-539-3815 or DaySchools@GowlingWLG.com.

We continuously provide updates through our Facebook Group @McLeanClassAction.

This website has many resources. Claimants were able to register for Zoom (video conference) Claim Form Workshops. During those sessions, we walked Claimants through the Claim Form and answered questions live.

If you have questions about the status of your Claim, call the Administrator at 1-888-221-2898.

Finally, we understand that this process be emotional. Mental health support continues to be available through the toll-free Hope for Wellness Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or via the online chat at www.HopeForWellness.ca. Counselling is available in English, French, Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut, on request.

The Administrator decides the level of compensation you are eligible for based on the information in your Claim Form and supporting documents.

On the Claim Form, you were required to identify which level of compensation you were seeking (i.e., Levels 1-5). You could only select one level. If you did not make any level selection, then the Administrator likely sent you a letter asking for you to make a level selection. The deadline to submit a missing level selection was June 27, 2025.

If the Administrator approved your Claim at a lower level of compensation than what you claimed in your Claim Form, you can ask the Administrator for reconsideration of that decision by completing a “Reconsideration” Decision Form (which would be included in the decision letter sent to you) and providing additional information, if applicable. You are able to provide additional information in support of the harm level that you claimed. If, following the Reconsideration by the Administrator, your Claim is still assessed at a level lower than what you initially claimed, you can request that your Claim be reviewed by the Independent Assessor.

If, after a Reconsideration, your Claim is assessed at a lower level than you initially claimed, you may submit additional information to the Independent Assessor. The decision of the Independent Assessor is final. The Independent Assessor may on occasion refer a difficult or unique Claim to the Exceptions Committee. The specific facts and circumstances of an individual Claim will determine whether it is referred to the Exceptions Committee. A decision by the Exceptions Committee is final.

The Reconsideration and Independent Assessor process is not available to Claimants who want to change their selected level after their Claim Form has been filed with the Administrator. If you have further questions about your Claim, you can contact Class Counsel for guidance by calling 1-844-539-3815 or emailing DaySchools@GowlingWLG.com.

If you receive a decision letter from the Administrator assessing your Claim at a lower level than the level you initially selected, the decision is not final. Class Counsel continues to be available to provide free legal assistance to Claimants who require help in deciding how best to move forward with their Claim. Please contact Class Counsel as soon as possible after receiving a decision letter from the Administrator by calling 1-844-539-3815  or emailing DaySchools@GowlingWLG.com.

When you receive the decision letter from the Administrator, please read it carefully and review the reason(s) provided as to why they assessed your Claim at a lower level than you selected. You will have 120 days to submit your “Reconsideration” Decision Form, which would be included in the letter, to the Administrator along with additional information, if applicable. This form asks you to choose how you would like to proceed with your Claim.

You may either:

• Accept the new level assessed by the Administrator, or
• Request a Reconsideration of your Claim

When making a decision about whether to accept the new level or request a Reconsideration of your Claim, please consider whether you have additional information to provide to the Administrator that would help them make a different decision. In a Reconsideration, the Administrator will conduct another review of your narrative and any additional information you provide to assess if your Claim can meet the level you requested, based on the criteria outlined in the harms grid (page 7 of the Claim Form). We strongly suggest contacting Class Counsel for support with this part of the process.

If, following the Reconsideration by the Administrator, your Claim is still assessed at a level lower than what you initially claimed, you can request that your Claim be reviewed by the Independent Assessor.

If, after a Reconsideration, your Claim is assessed at a lower level than you initially claimed, you may submit additional information to the Independent Assessor. The decision of the Independent Assessor is final. That said, the Independent Assessor may, on occasion, refer a difficult or unique Claim to the Exceptions Committee. The specific facts and circumstances of an individual Claim will determine whether it is referred to the Exceptions Committee. A decision by the Exceptions Committee is final.

The Reconsideration and Independent Assessor process is not available to Claimants who want to change their level selected after their Claim Form has been filed with the Administrator. If you have further questions about your particular Claim, you can contact Class Counsel for guidance by calling 1-844-539-3815 or emailing DaySchools@GowlingWLG.com.

Any Claimant retaining non-Class Counsel releases Class Counsel from any ongoing responsibilities to them. The retainer of non-Class Counsel must outline the consequences that a retainer with them will have on the usual duties and responsibilities owed by Class Counsel to the Claimant.

By signing a separate retainer agreement and/or choosing to use a lawyer other than Class Counsel, the Claimant will be deemed to have given up their access to free legal services from Class Counsel and will be deemed to have released Class Counsel from their obligations to support that particular Claimant.

An estate representative appointed in the will has the authority to file a Claim Form, seek a Reconsideration, or make an Independent Assessor request on behalf of the deceased Claimant. For more information, please see the Estates Infographic.Please also see page 13 of the Claim Form. The listed documents that confirm an estate representative’s authority to represent the deceased Claimant’s estate are needed to process the Claim. A copy of those documents must be attached to the Claim Form. Do not send original documents.

If the deceased Claimant lived on reserve prior to passing away and did not have a will, we recommend that you call one of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) Regional Offices to be appointed as the Estate Administrator. The Regional Office that will be responsible for the estate depends on the province/territory where the individual died. To start the process, the death must be reported to ISC. To report the death of a registered family member, you can provide ISC with a copy of the:

• Vital statistics death record or extract
• Church death certificate
• Coroner’s report
• Burial permit
• Internment certificate

By mail:

Indigenous Services Canada, Office of the Indian Registrar
10 Wellington Street
Gatineau QC K1A 0H4

OR

Send to the ISC Regional Office (contact the Regional Office in the region where the individual died for appropriate address. See phone numbers below.)

OR

By email: Aadnc.Estates-Successions.Aandc@Canada.ca

Regional Office Numbers – only for deceased who lived on reserve:

Atlantic Region

1-800-567-9604 or 1-902-661-6200

Quebec

1-800-567-9604 or 1-800-263-5592

Ontario

1-416-973-6234

Manitoba

1-800-567-9604

Saskatchewan

1-306-780-5392

Alberta

1-780-495-2773

British Columbia

1-604-775-7114 or 1-604-775-5100

Northwest Territories

1-867-669-2500

Yukon

1-867-667-3888

To apply to be appointed as the Estate Administrator, you will need to obtain (1) a copy of the Death Certificate and (2) a copy of the Application for Administration from your Regional Office. Once completed, send the Application for Administration to ISC.

When individuals contact ISC requesting to be appointed as an Estate Administrator, ISC may seek the following information:

• your name and contact information (e.g., address, email, phone number)
• the full name, date of birth, date of death and registration number of the deceased (copy of the status card, if available)
• confirmation of whether the deceased lived on or off reserve at the time of death
• proof of death (see above for acceptable documentation)
• confirmation of whether the deceased had a will

Please note that provincial law governs estate appointments for deceased Claimants who lived in a First Nation community with a “modern treaty.”

You will need to start the appointment process with the provincial court in which the deceased Claimant last resided.

As Class Counsel, Gowling WLG does not handle any estate legal services related to the Claims process. Prior to taking steps with the court to be appointed as an Estate Administrator, we recommend you seek independent legal advice.

The local provincial/territorial Public Trustee Office may already be administering the deceased Claimant’s estate. You may wish to contact them before taking further steps. If the deceased Claimant lived off reserve and did not have a will, a representative will need to be appointed as an Estate Administrator. The appointment of an Estate Administrator is a process governed by your local jurisdiction (i.e. provincial or territorial court). Unless the deceased person resided in the Province of Quebec, you will need to start the appointment process with the court.

If the deceased Claimant resided in the Province of Quebec, then the heirs must appoint a liquidator. Once appointed, the liquidator may submit a Claim Form along with the following documents:

1. Death Certificate;
2. Certificate of Will search by Chamber of notaries;
3. Certificate of Will search by Quebec Law Society; and

ONE of the following:

1. Declaration of hereditary (sworn before a notary, lawyer or Commissioner of Oaths); OR
2. A designation of a liquidator by the heirs (e.g. Revenue Quebec form LM-14.1, BD-81.7 or BD-81.4-V).

Please note that if a will is disputed or an estate is contested by family members, the Administrator may require additional documents, including a judgement issued by a superior court and a probated will.

If the deceased Claimant resided in the Province of Quebec and the will or estate is under dispute, the Administrator would require a probate judgement issued by the Superior Court of Quebec or by a Notary authorized by law to probate wills; in addition, the will must be certified by the Superior Court of Quebec or by the Notary who probated the will.

As Class Counsel, Gowling WLG does not handle any estate legal services related to the Claims process. Prior to taking steps with the court to be appointed as an Estate Administrator, we recommend you seek independent legal advice.

The Settlement includes a $200 million Legacy Fund to support commemoration projects, health and wellness programs, “truth-telling” events, as well as the restoration and preservation of Indigenous languages and culture.