Stirland Lake, Cristal Lake recognized

Former students of Stirland and Cristal Lake schools in northern Ontario can now file for compensation.
A decision by the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario added the two schools to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA).
“This is a good solid victory for not only those who have been directly impacted by these particular schools but also First Nations across the country,” said Nishnawbe Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Mike Metatawabin. “This landmark decision paves the way for other First Nations people who have been institutionalized to be included in this national settlement and we hope they too will continue to fight for justice.”
Windigo First Nations Council and NAN had brought the motion before Chief Justice Winkler of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in October 2009 to have Stirland Lake and Cristal Lake Residential Schools recognized under the IRSSA.
The federal government had earlier rejected Windigo and NAN’s submission to Canada in 2008 to include the two schools in the agreement. However, the government claimed the schools were private Mennonite schools and were not run with direct involvement with the government of Canada.
About 600 former Stirland Lake and Cristal Lake students are now eligible to apply for the Common Experience Payment, which is awarded to all former students who attended any recognized Indian residential school throughout Canada. The students are entitled to receive $10,000 for their first year of attendance and another $3,000 for each additional year. The students will also receive an apology from the operating institution.
In addition, those who may have been sexually or physically abused, or mistreated as defined by the IRSSA, can apply for further compensation under the Independent Assessment Process.
“We are ready to assist these former students with pursuing their legal rights under the IRSSA,” said Susan Vella, legal counsel for Windigo and NAN. “We are grateful to the court for rectifying the oversight in the IRSSA’s failure to include these schools in the original schedule of Indian residential schools.”
Stirland Lake High School was established in 1971 on Stirland Lake about 170 miles north of Sioux Lookout by the Mennonite organization, Northern Youth Programs Inc., with funding from Indian Affairs to educate and house 20 Aboriginal boys for 10 months per year.
Cristal Lake High School was established in 1976 to house Aboriginal girls in an equally remote area accessible only by floatplane.
The two schools merged operations in 1986 at the Stirland Lake location as a co-educational residential school for Aboriginal children.
Stirland Lake High School closed its doors in the early 1990s.