Oversight Committee Minutes | August 7, 2019 - Vancouver, BC

Members present

Also present

Absent

1. Welcome

Chair Mayo Moran opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and thanking them for their attendance. She noted that despite a packed agenda before Committee that there was also the Vancouver Hearing Room closure ceremony later in the afternoon and encouraged members to attend if possible.

2. Approval of Minutes

The Committee provided minor edits to the April 9, 2019, minutes before them. Canada requested further time to review and provide suggested edits, if any.

3. Key Performance Indicators

Roger Tetreault presented some of the key statistical indicators as of July 22, 2019:

• 99.9% of the 38,260 claims received have been resolved;
• 32 claims in progress, of which 2 are Kivalliq Hall claims;
  • 4 have yet to have a hearing; and,
  • 28 are post-hearing.
• There are 20 claims in various post-decision activities

4. Executive Director’s Report

Roger Tetreault provided his observations on the following activities:

Kivalliq Hall

The uptake of Kivalliq Hall has not been substantial. To date, we have received 3 applications. All applications were self-represented and requests for more information have gone out. 1 has been admitted and the other 2 are likely to be non-admitted.

Karen Turcotte reported that Canada has received approximately 165 CEP claims related to Kivailliq Hall and all have been processing very well.

SOS Admission Project Claims

The final adjourned claim was concluded July 16. The SOS project has now been concluded as there are no longer any claims on hold pending potential admissions. This could not have happened without the support of the parties at this table and the significant contributions of Canada, notably Deanna Sitter. As of July 17, there were 13 pre-decision SOS claims remaining, all of which will be resolved without adjournment for SOS admissions, as there are no linkages to each other. Asked if any of the 13 files were waiting on the last SOS decision, Roger responded that they were but as it turned out there are no linkages to the final decision.

Records Disposition

To date, the Secretariat has disposed of 17,303 physical files (41%) and 24,400 electronic records (58.1%). These records are all non-retained records.

ADR File Status

Of the 7,662 ADR files identified, 5,400 went to hearing. The Secretariat has completed work on 3,760 of the 5,400 physical files. The remaining 1,640 physical files will be completed by the end of August 2019. As for the 2,262 cases that didn’t go to a hearing, Records Disposition staff will be performing disposition work as Canada uploads the retained documents (applications) to SADRE. This should be completed by the beginning of October 2019.

The Transition Coordinator’s RFD

Within the RFD was a request that the Secretariat perform the LCP on 6 Blott files who each have payments owed to them. The Secretariat has concluded its obligation which resulted in 3 receiving their awards; one confirmed deceased; and, 2 remain lost.

Notice Program

The Notice Program launched on January 14, 2019, according to plan. Distribution was completed to approximately 1400 organizations, including: RHSW organizations, First Nations and Tribal Councils, Friendship Centres, Correctional Facilities and Inuit and Metis communities.

To date 78 requests have been received, 14 consents and an additional 30 requests from non-claimants. 5 completed packages have been sent to the NCTR.

5. Update on Estates Claims

No further attention is required on any claims and this project is now complete. Claims will continue to make their way through the IAP in the usual course

6. Administrative Split

This process is nearly complete, although efforts continue to be made to locate some claimants.

7. SOS Post-decision Settlement Process Administered by Canada

Karen Turcotte provided an update on this project involving SOS claims.

Of the 147 claims identified, 132 have been or are being negotiated, with a total $3.7 million for settlements to date.