A woman from northern Saskatchewan wants the federal government to accept that the orphanage where she was forced to stay is considered a boarding school for Aboriginal people.
Posted at 11:05 a.m.
Yvonne Mirasty was taken from her family at the age of 9 and placed in Timber Bay Children’s Home.
The establishment was in operation in Timber Bay, a hamlet in northern Saskatchewan, from 1952 to 1994. It was managed by the Evangelical Mission of Northern Canada, then by an Anabaptist community, the Brethren in Christ Church.
For many who have been there, the home is the equivalent of a boarding school for Aboriginal people. The government refuses to call it that.
This means that people like Mme Mirasty are not eligible for compensation under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
From 2007 to 2019, more than 9400 people requested the addition of 1531 establishments to the list of pre-established boarding schools. The federal government and the courts have recognized about 10, bringing the total to about 140.
The government says it continues to consider complaints from former students of schools or homes it did not administer.