Notices to Counsel | Admission Requirements for Estate Claims

By 2017, there were conflicting IAP decisions on whether a former student was required to have signed an IAP application, or whether a family member could sign the application on behalf of a deceased former student.

In 2018, the Chief Adjudicator released two re-review decisions (K-12989, March 27, 2018; and W-10443, April 10, 2018), ruling that claims that are signed by an estate representative, instead of the residential school survivor himself or herself, are generally not eligible for admission to the IAP.

The requirement for a signature is consistent with Schedule D (Appendix I, section ii) of the IRSSA, which states, in part, “In applying to the IAP, the Claimant is asked to……..Provide a narrative as part of the application. The narrative must be in the first person and be signed by the Claimant…”

There may be exceptions in cases where the deceased claimant had signed an application in the ADR process that preceded the IAP, or testified in court, ADR, or IAP proceedings.

IAP Counsel who wish to review either of the two re-review decisions can access them on the IAP Decisions Database. IAP counsel who wish to obtain access to the database should send a new account request with their name, email address, and phone number by email to:

IAPS_Chiefadjudicatorsoffice@irsad-sapi.gc.ca.

Information Sheet on Estate Claims

Note: This Notice was originally posted on September 6, 2018. It was updated on February 20, 2019.