Native group will file $12B lawsuit vs. Ottawa

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is reporting that:

The head of the Assembly of First Nations is about to launch a $12-billion class-action lawsuit against the federal government over residential schools.

AFN national Chief Phil Fontaine made the announcement in Toronto Wednesday afternoon.

Fontaine, who personally attended residential school in Manitoba, said the group hopes the legal action will ensure all survivors of residential school abuse are represented.

“We felt that we had to do this. This is an important issue – far too important to be left up to the uncertainties that we currently face in the process,” he said.

“We believe that this action will ensure that our place at the table will be secure. We will have certainty that, at the end of this process, that any settlement that’s concluded will be done so with our consent.”

The suit will be filed in Ontario on August 4th.