Updates

Video: Reinstated Deadlines

We’d like to share an important update to the 60s Scoop claims process. While COVID-19 is not yet behind us, over the past months, the Administrator has adjusted operations to adapt to the prolonged pandemic crisis. Therefore, we are reinstating deadlines for the 60s Scoop claims process starting in March.

What does this mean for claimants?

Reinstating all deadlines means applicants who need to provide more information about their claim will be given a deadline to respond. It will also be possible to resume denying ineligible applications.

Meanwhile, we will continue to actively review, assess, and approve applications as appropriate. This means any newly approved Eligible Class Members will be notified, and interim payments will be issued. 

Because everyone’s situation is unique, different people will have different deadlines, and—for some people—the reinstatement of deadlines will have no impact at all.

Throughout the months of March and April, we will begin contacting people directly in writing to let them know what actions they need to take by what date.  Some people may also receive official notices that their claim is ineligible.

If you do not receive a letter, do not worry, and there is no need to call the Administrator. If we need any additional information from you, we will be in touch directly.

What does this mean for the claims process?

Resuming deadlines is an important step toward getting all Eligible Class Members the compensation they are owed and providing closure to applicants. While it is difficult to predict exactly when the claims process will conclude, the reinstatement of deadlines and the denial of ineligible applications will help the process move faster.

Will COVID-19 shutdowns impact how Claims are treated?

If claimants have any concerns about how a COVID-19 related shutdown may impact your claim, we encourage them to please reach out to Class Counsel or the Administrator for guidance.

What help is available to me?

We want to remind you that Class Counsel is available to assist you if you need help providing more information for your application or have received an “Official Notice of Rejection” and want your application to be reconsidered.

Applicants have a right to legal counsel and advice throughout the claims process. This support is already paid for under the settlement agreement and is available to you at no cost. You can find contact information for your legal team on our website.

Thank you

We understand that waiting to hear about your application takes a real emotional toll and a great deal of strength.  We are committed and continuously striving to keep you informed as we move this process forward in as timely a way as possible.

For more information and answers to questions about the reinstatement of deadlines, please visit our FAQ

As we approach the end of 2020, we want to acknowledge that this has been a difficult year.

COVID-19 has impacted all our lives, and it has impacted this claims process as well—adding unforeseen challenges to an already complex process. We hear and understand people’s frustrations. We want nothing more than to see every eligible Class Member receive the closure and compensation they deserve. The last thing we would want is to move forward in a way that compromises anyone’s legitimate claim.

Given the current public health circumstances, we are continuing the pause on denying applications for the time being. What that means is that no claim will be denied during this time. However, we are actively assessing claims and, where possible, approving them and issuing interim payments.

If you have received a request from us, the Administrator, asking for additional information, we do encourage you to send that information to us as soon as you are able. Because deadlines are suspended, you won’t be penalized for not sending it. However, providing the additional information requested may help us approve your claim. Help is available. We strongly encourage you to reach out to the legal teams whose job it is to support you through the claim process. Remember, their services are available to you at no cost.

We have heard your voices asking for more responsiveness and clearer information. And we’ve made some important changes that we hope have helped. For example, we have recently expanded our call center with the help of Donna Cona, the largest Aboriginal-owned and -operated business and technology consulting service company in Canada. We created a new, regularly updated claim statistics table on our website, which we hope offers you a clearer and more transparent understanding of our progress. And we also hope our expanded FAQ and new resources help answer questions you may have. For those who use social media, the Sixties Scoop Claims Process Information Facebook page, run by the court-appointed communications team at Argyle, may also be a good source of accurate information.

We know that a timeline for completing this process and issuing final payments is something everyone wants. We are working closely with all parties to the settlement to get closer to that. The first step will be determining when we can reinstate deadlines in a way that ensures all claimants can be treated fairly. We promise to keep you fully informed about decision-making as it progresses in the new year.

For those who celebrate this season, we wish you a wonderful holiday and we wish everyone peace and comfort over the coming weeks.

Please note that the call centre will be open every day during the holidays except Christmas Day (December 25), Boxing Day (December 28), and New Year’s Day (January 1).

We are pleased to let you know that we have now expanded the capacity of our claimant call centre with the additional support from Donna Cona Inc. This means we will be better able to process and respond to the high volume of phone and email inquiries from applicants. As we continue to move this process forward, we want to thank you for your patience and understanding.

We are pleased to confirm that the Federal and Ontario Courts have approved motions to appoint Donna Cona Inc. to expand the capacity of our call center. This will help us better meet demand for phone and email inquiries, while focusing on the all-important work of moving the application process forward. The Court Orders containing the appointment of Donna Cona are now posted on the “Official Documents” page of the website. 

As we noted in our August 4th update, we are actively working on a solution to expand the call center. A new court motion has been filed with the Federal Court of Canada to request that Donna Cona Inc. be appointed to assist with call center and email communications.  As per the Court’s Direction, the motion materials requesting the appointment of Donna Cona are now posted on the “official documents” page of the website.  The court provided an opportunity for individuals to share comments on this motion up until August 21, 2020. The deadline has now passed and comments are closed. We will provide additional information regarding the court motion as soon as it becomes available.

We’d like to provide an update as we continue to move forward the claims review process over the summer months.

Call Center

We recognize that people are waiting for more updates on their individual applications and are experiencing delays with our call center and response time with email inquiries. We understand how hard this waiting is and hear your frustrations. Please know we are actively working on a solution to expand the call center and will provide more information on this as soon as it is ready. Thank you for your patience.   

Applications in progress

As mentioned in our previous update, we are actively reaching out to individuals whose applications are in progress. If you haven’t already, you can expect to hear from us by letter or email over the next few months.

As part of this outreach, some people have received a supplementary claim form requesting additional information. The supplementary claim form is to support applications in cases where no official wardship or adoption records could be found as a result of the Administrator’s search.

This can happen when the claim goes back to events that happened many years ago, and it is certainly no fault of the individual applicants. It would not be fair to deny anyone’s application because official records were lost or destroyed. The supplemental claim form is designed to prevent that situation and resolve the missing information while reducing paperwork as much as possible for applicants. The form is not asking applicants to retell everything that happened, just the main facts and dates so that we can ensure the claim is handled properly and the potential eligibility of the individual is not impacted. 

As a reminder, only people who receive this form in the mail need to complete it. If you received a request to complete a supplemental claims form, please know that it is your right to receive legal support for help with this form at no cost to you.

Resources

We’d also like to remind everyone that Class Counsel is available to support you if you need help providing more information for your application (including completing a supplemental claim form) or have received an “Official Notice of Rejection” and want your application to be reconsidered.  

Applicants have a right to legal counsel and advice throughout the claims process. This support is already paid for under the settlement agreement and is available to you at no cost. You can reach the legal teams responsible for providing you support at the numbers listed on our Contact page. 

And finally, you may have noticed we recently refreshed this website in an effort to make it easier for you to navigate and find what you’re looking for. We are continuing to update the FAQs and make improvements to the site. We are currently working on a new “Resources” section and that will be ready in the coming weeks.

Please note that this update has been slightly revised and reposted to provide greater clarity and updated claim stats.

We would like to take this opportunity to provide a longer update addressing three important issues (1) holds on cheques, (2) upcoming outreach, and (3) updated claimant statistics.

Please see below for more information:

1. Holds on cheques

Interim payments for Eligible Class Members began going out on June 10^th, 2020, either through cheque or direct deposit. We understand that while a number of people have now received their cheques, some financial institutions have elected to place a temporary hold on these funds as it is their standard practice. While cheque holds by financial institutions are common for large sums, we hear these concerns and recognize the frustration this has caused for claimants.

Below, we provide answers to some commonly asked questions. Much of this information comes from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. We encourage you to reach out directly to your financial institution if you have questions or concerns regarding holds on your payment.

Q: What is Collectiva doing about banks holding cheques?

Federally regulated financial institutions are able to place a hold on a cheque for four to eight days; this is a common practice for large sums.

Collectiva has actively communicated with various financial institutions to help alleviate holds. For our bank, Scotiabank, we have been able to work with them directly to certify cheques they receive from Class Members, generally within 24 hours.

For other banks that get in touch with us for specific individuals, we confirm that Collectiva has issued the cheque. It is at the discretion of the bank to continue the hold even after we have confirmed it.

Q: Why weren’t the cheques certified before Collectiva sent them?

Sending certified cheques for class action cases is not common industry practice. The reason for this is because if the cheque needs to be cancelled or altered in any way, that cannot be done and thus, the cheque can be treated as cash.

Q: Why might my financial institution hold the funds deposited by cheque? 

According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada financial institution might hold the funds you deposit by cheque for several reasons, including: 

• to make sure that the cheque is drawn on a valid account and that the person or company issuing the cheque has the money to cover it 
• to make sure that the person or company issuing the cheque has not put a stop payment order on the cheque. (A stop payment order is placed on a cheque if, for some reason, the person or company issuing the cheque does not want it to be cashed.) 

Q: Can I have the hold removed? 

The process for a cheque to clear and be returned for non-sufficient funds normally takes about four or five days, provided the cheque writer’s financial institution is located in Canada. 

The amount of time it takes for a cheque to clear will depend on: 

• the amount of the cheque 
• whether it is deposited in person with an employee at one of a financial institution’s branches or points of service, or in another manner, such as at an automated banking machine 
• whether the cheque is drawn on a bank in Canada or outside Canada 

Contact your financial institution for details on your account and deposit details. 

Q: What are my rights to receive information?

When you open an account, your financial institution must give you a written copy of their policy on holding funds that are deposited by cheque. In addition, the financial institutions must also, in each of their branches, display and make available copies of their policy on holding funds deposited by cheque. 

The financial institution’s policy on holding funds deposited by cheque may be included in your account agreement or given to you as a separate document. The financial institution may provide this information to you electronically if you consent to receive required information in electronic format rather than as paper documents. You can also request a written copy of the policy at any time. 

The financial institution’s policy must contain the following information: 

• the maximum amount of time it may hold funds for a cheque that is issued in Canadian dollars and drawn on an account at a financial institution’s branch in Canada 
• the maximum amount of time it may hold the funds deposited from a cheque that is not governed by access to funds legislation 

Whether a hold will apply to your account(s) is not stated in this policy; the institution makes that decision when you deposit your cheque. 

If you have an account at a deposit-taking institution that is not federally regulated, such as a credit union or caisse populaire, ask the financial institution about its policy on holding funds deposited by cheque. 

From time to time, the financial institution may make changes to its policy on holding funds deposited by cheque. If the financial institution makes changes to this policy that result in a longer cheque hold period, it must let you know what these changes are before they apply to your account. 

If you receive a regular statement in the mail, your bank must send you (or the person you choose to receive this information) a written notice explaining any change in its hold on funds deposited by cheque policy at least 30 days before the change is applied to your account. 

If you carry a passbook, which you present to the financial institution when you make your transaction, your financial institution must display a notice explaining the change in its policy on holding funds deposited by cheque for at least 60 days before this change applies to your account. 

Contact your financial institution for details on your account and deposit details. 

Q:  What you should I do if I feel my rights are not being respected 

If the financial institution refuses to honour the maximum cheque hold periods or does not provide you with the first $100 of funds you deposit by cheque because of any of the exceptions noted above, the financial institution must give you a written notice of its refusal. If you do not receive it, ask for it. The bank must also tell you how to contact the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC). 

Tell the bank you want to make a complaint. By law, all banks must have a complaint-handling process. If you feel that a federally regulated financial institution is not respecting your rights, contact the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada toll-free at 1-866-461-3222. 

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2. Upcoming outreach over the summer months  

On June 10, 2020, interim payments for those with approved applications (Eligible Class Members) have begun to go out and people should be receiving these payments either by cheque or direct deposit.

Over the summer months, we will be actively reaching out to Applicants whose applications are in progress with an update on their individual application status. The goal of these updates is simply to provide you with more information as we continue the review process. 

You can expect to hear from us with either a letter or email.  It will take a few months for us to be in touch with everyone.  Please don’t worry if you don’t hear from us right away.

As a reminder, we are still not denying anyone’s claims right now, and deadlines are still suspended.  

We know how hard this time of waiting is and thank you for your patience during this time, it is greatly appreciated. 

3. Update on claimant statistics

Finally, we’d like to provide you with the latest numbers on the administration of the Sixties Scoop Settlement as of June 25, 2020:

• Total number of Individual Payment Applications filed – 34,767
• Total number of Eligible Class Members processed to date – 12,751

For your reference, the breakdown on the administration of the Sixties Scoop Settlement as of May 12, 2020 was:

• Total number of Individual Payment Applications filed – 34,767
• Total number of Eligible Class Members processed to date – 12,551

We wanted to provide you with a brief update on interim payments to Eligible Class Members (those who have previously been sent a “Notice of Eligible Class Member” letter). The majority of payments to Eligible Class Members have now gone out. We are still working on issuing some payments where there are unique circumstances.
If we need more information from you—for example banking or address information— to issue your payment, we will be in touch with you directly by email.

Also, we want to let you know that we are receiving a high volume of calls right now. If you cannot get through immediately, please leave us a message with your full name and phone number.  We will return your call within three business days.

Here are the answers to a few common questions about interim payments that you may find useful:

I requested direct deposit, so why did I receive a cheque?
In some cases a direct deposit wasn’t possible because the banking information didn’t match the information in our files.  For example, we can’t issue a direct deposit to a joint account (an account in two peoples’ names), when only one of those people is an Eligible Class Member.  In a case like that, we would have to issue a cheque instead.

I requested a direct deposit and it hasn’t happened yet. What do I need to do?
It is rare though we have had some situations where we’ve tried to issue a direct deposit, but it hasn’t gone through.  We are actively and urgently working with banking institutions to solve this. If, for some reason, we need additional information from you to process your direct deposit we will be in touch with you directly by email.

I haven’t received my cheque yet. How do I know it hasn’t gotten lost in the mail?
We know that it can take as long as four weeks for mail delivery to certain parts of Canada. If you have not received your cheque in the mail by July 15th please let us know and we will take action.

My loved one, an Eligible Class Member, passed away. Who will receive the interim payment?
Please let us know if you are in this situation.  We will issue the interim payment to your loved one’s Estate Executor.

Please see our FAQ for more information.

Please find here the answers to a number of commonly asked questions that we hope you will find helpful. This FAQ covers categories including:

• Claims process
• Compensation
• Eligibility
• Resources and support
• The Foundation
• About the Sixties Scoop Class Action 

This FAQ was created on June 10, 2020. We will continuously update the FAQ with new information and post it on this website as the situation evolves. If you have specific questions about your personal situation, you can reach us toll-free at 1-844-287-4270 or by email: sixtiesscoop@collectiva.ca.