Politics and Law: The Residential Schools Case – Chescrosbie.com

We are three weeks into the trial of the Labrador Residential Schools class action, and the federal government has never made an offer of settlement. The current reason for the lack of an offer is the lengthy federal election period.

The Canadian practice is that while the legitimacy of a government is being tested during an election period, it should not make decisions of a policy nature that can be delayed until after the vote. A settlement of the Labrador class action would be precedent setting and require a policy decision, but the trial is projected to last four months, so the federal government’s attitude is that a decision about settlement can wait until after election day on October 19.

Even when a new government has taken office, many important issues will clamour for the attention of the federal Minister of Justice and the Prime Minister. A residential schools case in far away Newfoundland and Labrador may not be at the top of the list.  Weeks or months of excruciating testimony may drag by before the Canadian authorities fix their attention squarely on what to do about the ongoing trial.

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