On October 6, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled, unanimously, that the collection of documents for the independent compensation assessment process (IAP), a part of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, should be destroyed unless survivors choose to have their records preserved. The Court found that the IAP process was meant to be a “confidential and private process” that claimants and alleged perpetrators could confidentially rely on.
Read Flex Lawyer Caitlin Beresford’s thoughts and legal analysis of the case in her article “Indigenous residential school records can be destroyed, Supreme Court rules….but should they?”
Caitlin started her freelance lawyer practice in 2017 and she assists lawyers and law firms in the areas of Aboriginal law, environmental law and criminal law. Prior to freelancing, Caitlin articled at the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, conducting historical, archival, and legal research on various topics, such as land claims, the duty to consult, flooding, Métis, and Treaties, among others. She participated in land claim negotiations and community meetings, and provided litigation support. Once called to the Bar in Ontario, Caitlin moved to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and worked as a senior legislative advisor, providing expert advice on federal, provincial, and territorial legislation and legal affairs relating to Aboriginal land claims and issues, parks and tourism, mining, access to information and privacy, and the arts. Since her return to Ontario, Caitlin has worked with a community legal clinic on Aboriginal family law and with the legal services branch of the Ministry of Education, providing legal advice to clients on Aboriginal law, the duty to consult, child care, education, administrative, and public law.
Contact us if you have questions about the paper or if you would like to hire Caitlin to assist your law firm or legal practice.
