General Synod Communications announces the publication of a new resource which describes the new Residential Schools Agreement recently negotiated with the federal government.
The Anglican Church of Canada’s 2003 agreement which capped the church’s liability for residential schools litigation at $25 million was renegotiated after the federal government reached a more favorable agreement with the Roman Catholic Church.
Although most of the negotiations were carried out with the former Liberal government, the recently elected Conservative government announced in Parliament this week that the renegotiated terms had been accepted by all parties in the negotiations and that the government would move towards swift implementation.
Representatives of General Synod and the church’s 30 dioceses have already approved the new agreement.
The new General Synod resource, entitled The Agreement in Brief — 2006 explains the differences between the new agreement and the one the church signed in 2003, and stresses that although financial terms of the new agreement are more favorable, the church’s primary commitment to healing and reconciliation with indigenous people remains the same.
The new resource may be viewed or downloaded in PDF formatfrom the web. It will be included in the spring mailing of the Ministry Mailer.