Residential school deal to offer survivors lump sum: report Last Updated Wed, 04 May 2005 16:47:39 EDT CBC News OTTAWA - Ottawa may offer lump sum compensation payments to victims of residential schools to clear up a backlog of thousands of cases, according to a report. FROM CBC ARCHIVES: A Lost Heritage: Canada's Residential Schools The federal government and the Assembly of First Nations are close to reaching a deal, the Canadian Press reported Wednesday. The proposal includes offering each former student $10,000, plus $3,000 for each year spent in a residential school, says the report. The deal also reportedly includes creating a national truth-and-reconciliation forum to give survivors a chance to tell their stories. More than 12,000 survivors of residential schools have filed lawsuits, but fewer than 1,500 of them have filed applications through Ottawa's fast-track procedure, the Alternative Dispute Resolution program. It's estimated that under the current program, it will take 50 years and cost $2 billion to clear the backlog. FROM DEC. 20, 2002: Ottawa offers to fast-track abuse settlements Aboriginal groups complain the process is too complex, too lengthy, and too costly. FROM APRIL 22, 2005: Cost of administering residential school program 'staggering' According to a government document released in April, the alternative dispute resolution program has spent less than $1 million on payments to victims, while up to $34 million has been spent on administration. Under the program, an adjudicator would determine the claimant's award following a closed-door hearing. Ottawa said 45 per cent of the cost would go to administration and the rest would go to claimants. An estimated 100,000 aboriginal children lived in the once-mandatory system of residential schools from 1930 to 1996.