The Common Experience Payment (CEP) is one element of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. The court-approved Settlement Agreement was implemented on September 19, 2007, and was negotiated by representatives from various Aboriginal organizations, church entities, legal representatives for former students, and the Government of Canada. The CEP is paid to eligible former students who resided at a listed Indian Residential School. Eligible former students receive $10,000 for their first year (or part thereof) of their attendance at a listed Indian Residential School plus $3,000 for each additional year (or part thereof).

There are survivors who were able to take advantage of this settlement. However, I am left to wonder what was the aim or purpose of remunerating survivors with cash? It seems like a blanket fix for the government to provide compensation for something they finally admit was wrong. According to the Settlement Agreement, Canada is the trustee for the $1.9 billion set aside for the CEP and accountable to the parties of the Settlement Agreement and to the courts. It is up to the survivors to come forward and provide proof in order to be approved. How much of this money is being spent on courts and administration where it could have been better spent? Why couldn’t specific First Nations be the trustees of the money for their own people? The settlement is definitely a step forward when compared to previous actions but is it the right direction?

Affairs and Northern Development Canada. (n.d.). Common Experience Payments. Affaires autochtones et Développement du Nord Canada / Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. Retrieved October 14, 2013, from http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100015594/1100100015595