TORONTO — A justice of the Ontario Superior Court has approved a settlement between the federal government and Indigenous people affected by the Sixties Scoop.
But Justice Edward Belobaba did not approve the part of the agreement that would have given $75 million in legal fees to the lawyers who acted for the plaintiffs in class action cases.
The decision means the national settlement agreement will not take effect until what the Ontario judge described as "a reasonable legal fees provision" is negotiated.
This is in spite of the fact that a federal judge gave his consent to the settlement in May.
The Sixties Scoop refers to the practice — between 1964 and 1985 — of removing Aboriginal children from their families and placing them in foster homes or adoption into non-Aboriginal homes.
Last year the federal government agreed to payouts of up to $750 million to claimants to resolve the various lawsuits, as compensation for the loss of their cultural identity.
It's estimated that claimants will receive between $25,000 and $50,000 each, a sum that Justice Belobaba said was modest, but also fair and reasonable.
In his opinion, however, the provision for legal fees is "excessive and unreasonable."
The $75 million was to be paid out to four legal firms to cover work done to date as well as any future legal help claimants might need to file claims or pursue appeals respecting their awards.
The judge calculated that, at most, a more appropriate fee would be half that amount.
He ruled that the court should be advised when the parties have renegotiated the legal fees provision of the settlement agreement.
A statement from one of the law firms involved, Koskie Minsky LLP in Toronto, said "the parties to the settlement agreement are considering their respective options. All options are on the table."
In an interview with TBNewswatch on Monday, a spokesperson for Koskie Minsky declined to discuss the options, but said "We're hoping to resolve this as soon as possible."
