The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations is demanding the removal of all deadlines associated with the Federal Indian Day School Settlement Agreement.

The federal government’s application deadline is Friday.

FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron says the organization wants the compensation program to remain open for years to come as there are thousands of survivors who are still coming to terms with their past schooling experience and will miss out, for reasons that are not their fault.

He says physical, sexual and emotional abuse is something people may oppress and need time to process when making their application.

Chief Cameron also says First Nations people battling illness, in treatment or hospital, and those who are incarcerated may not have access to the applications. Many others are not equipped with the means or know-how to submit the application.

In 2019, Canada committed $1.47 billion to compensate those who attended one of the 699 Indian Day Schools between 1863 and 2000.

The Indian day schools we often run by religious organizations and employed the same policy of assimilation as Indian Residential Schools.