Federal Indian Hospitals Settlement

The Settlement does not provide compensation for medical malpractice or other claims connected to medical treatment at a Federal Indian Hospital.

Individuals with medical claims can pursue those claims on an individual basis if they wish, outside of this process.

Eligible Primary Class Members (all persons who were admitted to a Federal Indian Hospital while it was operated by the federal government) can claim compensation under the Settlement for any psychological, verbal, physical and/or sexual abuse they suffered at a Federal Indian Hospital and pursue individual medical claims.

For further information about this, please contact Class Counsel.

The Settlement includes two classes:

• Primary Class Members: all persons who were admitted to a Federal Indian Hospital while it was operated by the federal government.
• Family Class Members: All persons who are spouses or former spouses, children, grandchildren or siblings of the members of the Primary Class and the spouses of the children, grandchildren, or siblings of the Primary Class Members. For a full definition, please refer to the Settlement Agreement.

Only Primary Class Members are eligible for direct compensation in the Settlement.

All Class Members will benefit from the work of the Foundation and additional funding to existing Indigenous Services Canada programs.

The Claims Administrator won’t know if you are eligible until you submit a Claim.

Once you send in your Claim Form and any supporting documents, the Claims Administrator will carefully review everything to decide if you meet the requirements set out in the Settlement Agreement.

Each Claim is reviewed individually based on the information you provide.

If you’re unsure whether you are included in the Federal Indian Hospitals Settlement, help is available.

You can:

• Visit www.IHSettlement.ca/Contact to get free support or connect with legal help
• Call the Claims Administrator at 1-888-592-9101 (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, except for holidays) to ask questions or get more information about the process

Support is available to help you understand your options and complete the Claim Form if needed. Call 1-888-592-9101 and press 2 to be connected to a Claims Helper for direct support.

If you started your own legal proceeding against the Government of Canada about what happened at a Federal Indian Hospital, and you did not withdraw that case before the Opt Out deadline, you are considered to have opted out of the Settlement.

This means you are not eligible to receive compensation through this Settlement.

If you are unsure about your legal status or what this means for you, you can contact Class Counsel or call the Info Line at 1-888-592-9101.

No. The Opt Out deadline has passed.

To be removed from the Settlement, you needed to submit a signed and dated Opt Out Form by August 25, 2025. If you did not do this, you are included in the Settlement.

This means you can submit a Claim for compensation if you meet the eligibility criteria.

These dates are the period when the Government of Canada was responsible for operating and managing Federal Indian Hospitals.

The Settlement only includes harms that happened during that period.

Yes. If you believe you are eligible for compensation, you can submit a Claim no matter where you live now.

The Claims Administrator will keep your information private, but some parts of your Claim might be shared with certain people involved in the Settlement, including:

• The Government of Canada
• The Independent Reviewer
• The Exceptions Committee
• Class Counsel

These groups may see your information or the amount of your compensation, but only as part of the Claims Process. Your information will not be shared publicly.

The Settlement will provide compensation to eligible Primary Class Members who suffered psychological, verbal, physical and/or sexual abuse while they were admitted to a Federal Indian Hospital while it was operated and managed by the Government of Canada.

Yes. Even though you may have provided details or contact information to register your interest in the Settlement, that does not count as a Claim for compensation. To be eligible for compensation, you must complete and submit a Claim Form.

If you have questions about eligibility or the Claims Process, free help is available. You can call the Info Line at 1-888-592-1901 or email GeneralInfo@IHSettlement.ca.

To be eligible for compensation you must have been admitted one of the 33 Indian Hospitals during the years it was managed by the Federal government, which are between January 1936 and December 1981.

If you have questions about eligibility or the Claims Process, free help is available. You can call the Info Line at 1-888-592-1901 or email GeneralInfo@IHSettlement.ca.

The Settlement Agreement includes 33 Federal Indian Hospitals that were managed by the Federal Government between January 1936 until December 1981. If you attended another hospital, it may have been operated by a different government or religious organization.

Yes. Some Federal Indian Hospitals had name changes or were known by other names. You can check the different names of the Federal Indian Hospitals included in the settlement on the Claim Form or on the website.

You’ll be asked to include a clear copy of government-issued identification (ID) photo ID if you have it, such as a driver’s licence, passport, Status Card, Inuit Beneficiary Card, Métis Citizenship Card, or provincial or territorial identification, and your Social Insurance Number. Do not send originals, only send copies.

A full list of accepted identification is available at www.IHSettlement.ca.

If you need assistance with identification, a Claims Helper can explain your options. You can call the Info Line at 1-888-592-9101 and press 2 to be connected to a Claims Helper for direct support.

Documentation is not needed, but if you have or can access copies of documentation, it would be helpful to include in your Claim Form.

You are encouraged to give the month(s) and year(s) you were admitted, if you can remember them. If the exact month is not clear, a general estimate is accepted, such as “spring 1968” or “around 1972.” If dates are unclear, approximate years or a range of years can still be included.

The Claim Form includes a full list of all Federal Indian Hospitals that are part of the Settlement. You can select the hospital or hospitals from this list. If the hospital name is remembered but not clearly listed, you can write the name in the space provided.

A class action is a lawsuit which provides a method for a large group of people with common claims to jointly advance one large claim. Class actions allow a large group of people to receive compensation for psychological, verbal, physical and/or sexual abuse committed against them.

The individuals included in a class action are called Class Members. Unless they exclude themselves by opting out, Class Members are included in the lawsuit.

The Government of Canada has agreed to pay compensation to eligible Class Members who suffered psychological, verbal, physical and/or sexual abuse at a Federal Indian Hospital while it was operated by the Government of Canada. Compensation ranges between $10,000 and $200,000, based on the severity of abuse. The Settlement does not provide compensation for medical malpractices or claims related to medical treatment.

Eligible Class Members will receive a single payment reflecting the most severe abuse they suffered while admitted to a Federal Indian Hospital.

The Settlement also includes the creation of a Foundation that will manage two separate funds:

• a Healing Fund that will provide $150,000,000 to support healing, wellness, reconciliation, protection of languages, education and commemoration activities;
• a Research and Commemoration Fund that will provide $235,500,000 to support research and education and the preservation of the history of Federal Indian Hospitals and locating burial sites associated with the Hospitals.

The Settlement also provides for a $150,000,000, funding increase to existing Indigenous Services Canada programs to support the health and wellness of Class Members through the implementation of the Settlement.

Federal Indian Hospitals were a network of hospitals across the country that were operated by the Canadian Federal Government, for the treatment of individuals who were admitted. Abuses, including psychological, verbal, physical and/or sexual abuse, were committed against people admitted to Federal Indian Hospitals.

There are 33 Federal Indian Hospitals included in the Settlement.

We recognize the term “Indian” can be painful, harmful, and reflects past policies, discrimination, and trauma. We use the term when referring to Federal Indian Hospitals because that was the term used at the time, and it appears in legal and administrative documents. Using this term in this context is done for clarity and accuracy to match what people remember and what the Settlement includes.

If you did not Opt Out of the Settlement by August 25, 2025, and have remained in the class action, you are considered a Class Member, and the Settlement applies to you. This means you are eligible to make a Claim for compensation under the Settlement in recognition of harms you experienced.

However, you will not be able to start an individual lawsuit against the Government of Canada regarding harms experienced while admitted to a Federal Indian Hospital, which means you will be releasing the federal government from liability for all psychological, verbal, physical and/or sexual abuse experienced while admitted to a Federal Indian Hospital.

Nothing in the Settlement requires you to give up your right to start a lawsuit against a province or religious institution for its involvement in a Federal Indian Hospital, or other hospitals and medical facilities.

Please read the Settlement Agreement carefully and contact Class Counsel if you have any questions.

Class Counsel are the law firms that are representing Class Members. They are:

• Koskie Minsky LLP
• Cooper Regel, a member of Masuch Law LLP
• Klein Lawyers LLP
• Merchant Law Group LLP

You can contact them at no cost.

Yes. If you are a Primary Class Member (all persons who were admitted to a Federal Indian Hospital while it was operated by the federal government), you can hire your own lawyer (not Class Counsel, listed above) to help with your Claim. There are also free supports available through the Claimant Support Program.

Even if you hire a lawyer, the Claims Administrator will send all updates and decisions directly to you.

You should not have to pay anyone to help with your Claim. If you hire a lawyer, they will be paid by the Government of Canada directly, it will not come out of your compensation.

Class Counsel (the lawyers representing Class Members) will be paid directly by the Government of Canada. These fees have already been approved by the Court. Their fees are separate from compensation paid to Class Members.

If a Primary Class Member (all persons who were admitted to a Federal Indian Hospital while it was operated by the federal government) hires their own lawyer and their Claim is approved, the Government of Canada will pay a practicing lawyer in good standing an amount up to 5% inclusive of disbursements, plus applicable taxes, of the value of the compensation amount. This payment is not deducted from your compensation.

In rare cases, a lawyer may be paid up to an extra 5%, but only if the Federal Court approves it.

Deloitte LLP has been appointed as the Claims Administrator for this Settlement.

They are responsible for managing the Claims Process, reviewing Claims, and sending out compensation to Approved Claimants.

The Claims Administrator is paid directly by the Government of Canada as part of the Settlement. This payment is separate from compensation for Class Members and the funding for the Healing Fund and the Research and Commemoration Fund.

No. The Federal Indian Hospitals Settlement is separate from other Settlements.

Receiving compensation from another Settlement does not affect your eligibility for this one.

You may be eligible for the Federal Indian Hospitals Settlement if:

• You were admitted to one of the 33 Federal Indian Hospitals included in Schedule D of the Settlement Agreement, during the time these hospitals were operated by the Government of Canada, and,
• You experienced psychological, verbal, physical, and/or sexual abuse while you admitted.

If you have questions about eligibility or the Claims Process, free help is available. You can call the Info Line at 1-888-592-1901 or email GeneralInfo@IHSettlement.ca.