ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Former Newfoundland and Labrador residential school students suing for an apology and compensation listened today as a federal application was argued that could delay the case for months.
Lawyer Jonathan Tarlton, who's defending the federal government in five certified class-action lawsuits, raised concerns that pre-trial filings aren't complete.
Judge Robert Stack will have to weigh whether a delay in litigation that has already dragged on since 2007 would best ensure procedural fairness.
Lawyers for the province and the operators of the schools blamed a procedural misunderstanding as they told provincial Supreme Court they're not ready.
At issue is the extent to which they were expected to take part in the first of a proposed two-part trial.
There are more than 1,000 plaintiffs in the lawsuits who were excluded from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's apology in 2008 and a related compensation package over the treatment of aboriginal children in residential schools.
Lawyers for the federal government deny it was responsible for schools that opened before the province joined Confederation in 1949.
The International Grenfell Association ran three of those schools, while the German-based Moravian Missionaries ran another two.
