The Independent Assessment Process (IAP) is an out of court, alternative dispute resolution process designed to compensate students who suffered sexual or serious physical abuse or another wrongful act at an Indian Residential School (IRS).
The IAP is part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement which was implemented in September 2007. The Government of Canada signed this agreement with former IRS students and their lawyers as well as with legal counsel for the Assembly of First Nations and the churches which administered the schools.
Under the Settlement Agreement the Indian Residential School Adjudication Secretariat (IRSAS) independently administers IAP claims in a fair and impartial manner.
The deadline to submit an application under the Independent Assessment Process was September 19, 2012.
Here are key questions about the IAP: