Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today he's disappointed with the Pope's decision to not apologize for the Catholic Church's role in Canada's residential schools and the trauma experienced by their students.

The prime minister said reconciliation is not just a matter between government and Indigenous people, but must also involve non-government actors as well.

A letter released Tuesday by the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops says Pope Francis has not shied away from recognizing injustices faced by Indigenous peoples around the world, but he can't personally apologize for residential schools.

"Obviously I'm disappointed with the Catholic Church's decision not to apologize for their role in residential schools," said Trudeau.

Ottawa can continue to reject the use of police and court transcripts as evidence in student-on-student compensation claims from survivors who attended St. Anne's Indian Residential School, according to a recent ruling.

The ruling, issued by Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perell on Jan. 4, concluded the courts could not force Ottawa to admit to abuse under the terms of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement. The agreement created a system for setting compensation levels known as the Independent Assessment Process (IAP).

The IAP was created as an adversarial process where Canada could challenge evidence and survivors had to provide proof to support their claims for compensation, said Perell, one of the judges tasked with supervising the settlement agreement. He said the courts could not rewrite the settlement agreement.

"Canada is under no general obligation to surrender … to make an admission of defeat," wrote Perell, in his ruling.

"The compensation part of the [settlement agreement] is not subsumed by the truth and reconciliation part.... Canada is contractually entitled to oppose IAP claims."

• St. Anne's Indian Residential School cases in Ottawa's legal crosshairs, says lawyer
• Ottawa initially fought St. Anne's residential school electric chair compensation claims

The ruling gave Ottawa a legal victory in its ongoing, multi-faceted legal battle with residential school survivors from St. Anne's Indian Residential School, which operated near the mouth of the Albany River along Ontario's James Bay Coast.

St. Anne's has emerged as one of the most notorious institutions from the more than a century long residential school era. The Catholic-run school used a homemade electric chair for punishment, while physical and sexual abuse was rampant throughout its dark corridors, according to the testimony of survivors.

Police, court transcripts 'hearsay' 

St. Anne's was the subject of a 1990s Ontario Provincial Police investigation which led to several charges and convictions. It was also the subject of a 2003 civil case in Cochrane, Ont., that ended in a settlement before the 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

The OPP investigation and the Cochrane civil action were at the heart of this case, known technically as a request for direction. At issue was Ottawa's refusal to accept witness transcripts from the OPP investigation and examination transcripts from the Cochrane case as evidence to substantiate student-on-student abuse compensation claims. Ottawa's lawyers determined the evidence to be "hearsay."

Angela Shisheesh wants to help other St. Anne's residential school survivors have their stories believed. (Angela Shisheesh/Facebook)

The standard is higher for residential school survivors seeking compensation for student-on-student abuse. Under the IAP, the survivor must prove that the abuse happened on school property and that either a government or church official knew or should have known of the abuse and did nothing to prevent it.

The case was triggered by two St. Anne's survivors, one identified as C-14114, and Angela Shisheesh, 72, a Cree language interpreter.

St. Anne's survivor C-14114 was seeking to have the court force Canada to admit the student-on-student abuse she suffered and accept OPP and Cochrane case transcripts as evidence.

Shisheesh was seeking to have her transcript from the Cochrane case admitted as evidence to support St. Anne's IAP claims.

'I wish this pain would go away'

Shisheesh said she was "stunned" by the decision and couldn't understand why Ottawa's lawyers continued to refuse to believe survivors. She said Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, whose department provides direction to Justice Canada on the file, was undercutting her government's claims on reconciliation.

"I don't understand that Minister Carolyn Bennett; I don't understand her at all," said Shisheesh.

"What does she understand about reconciliation if she is doing that?"

Bennett's office said in a statement that the courts have "fully upheld" Ottawa's position on rejecting the OPP and Cochrane transcripts as evidence.

"It is the normal legal practice, not the choice of an individual minister," Bennett's office said in an emailed statement.

NDP MP Charlie Angus said the ruling makes clear that "if Canada doesn't want to do justice, there is no way they will do justice."

Shisheesh said it took her 40 years to deal with the aftermath of the sexual abuse she suffered at the school.

"I want the minister to try to understand how everybody felt," said Shisheesh, as she wept.

"It was so painful, I was so ashamed.... I wish this pain would go away; it would just erase from my body. That is why I am not afraid to talk about it, to fight, to make the minister understand."

Edmund Metatawabin, 66, a survivor of St. Anne's residential school in Fort Albany, Ont., is seen here during a news conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa in 2013. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Edmund Metatawabin, a St. Anne's survivor who wrote about St. Anne's homemade electric chair in the book Up Ghost River, said it doesn't matter which party runs the government, the machinery that spawned and ran residential schools remains the same.

"The government has been playing this game for so long. They delay, delay, ignore, keep hiding it," said Metatawabin.

"The bureaucracy is what we are looking at."

A silver lining

There was one silver lining for Shisheesh in the case. She was seeking to have her Cochrane transcripts turned over to National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, which is a repository for historical residential school files.

Bennett has said Ottawa would waive its privilege so Shisheesh could share her documents with the centre.

Perell ruled he wanted an additional filing on how documents from residential school-related civil actions should be handled under the settlement agreement. There were 18,000 civil actions before the courts prior to the 2006 settlement.

Investigators hired by the federal government have located thousands of people accused of physically and sexually abusing students at Canada's Indian residential schools — though they may never face criminal charges.

As part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement agreement, the government located 5,315 alleged abusers, both former employees and students.

Seventeen private investigation firms were contracted, at a cost of $1,576,380, beginning in 2005, according to information provided by Indigenous and North Affairs Canada (INAC).

The alleged perpetrators, however, weren't tracked down to face criminal charges — it was to see if they would be willing to participate in hearings to determine compensation for residential school survivors. The Independent Assessment Process (IAP), not involving the courts, was set up to resolve the most severe abuse claims.

"There's not a lot in it for them to come forward," says Bill Percy, a Manitoba-based lawyer who has represented numerous residential school survivors.

That's because participation in the IAP hearings is optional.

Based on the total number of people found, so far, 4,450 have declined to participate in the IAP, with only 840 persons of interest indicating a willingness to participate.

'There was 1 that groomed me'

One of the people who went through the IAP process is Janet Longclaws, who attended the Brandon Indian Residential School in Brandon, Man., from age seven until she was 12 years old.

"There was a group of four girls that were bullies, and there was one that groomed me," said Longclaws.

"She became my protector, but at the same time it turned into her being the abuser next."

Still, despite the nightmares and flashbacks of the physical and sexual abuse she endured, Longclaws cannot remember the names of her tormentors.

"I just see silhouettes of girls," she said. "I've tried many times, many ways, to recall their names."

Even though she can't remember names, Longclaws eventually received a settlement for the abuse she suffered — though she waited 15 months for a decision.

Working as a health support worker for other residential school survivors, Longclaws said she has heard of others who have waited more than two years to hear whether they'll be compensated.

She said she wishes she had the opportunity to face her alleged abusers in a hearing.

According to the Indian Residential School Secretariat, 33,712 residential school survivors so far have been compensated for sexual and physical abuse, with 4,278 applications in progress.

No information released to law enforcement

Only 708 alleged abusers — who are among the more than 5,300 located by investigators — have taken part in hearings since last November, with another 22 hearings scheduled.

"I think some of them … could be fearful there might be further repercussions, even criminal charges," said Percy.

Percy also said many of these alleged perpetrators may have died, aged, or are living with some kind of medical condition, making it difficult for them to participate in an IAP hearing.

The identity and names of alleged perpetrators who want to participate in the IAP are kept on a secure server with other data related to IAP claims. They are not disclosed to anyone, other than the adjudicator in each specific claim, and to the Department of Indigenous Affairs.

Information would only be released if the adjudication secretariat is served with a search warrant, or if it's believed a child could be at risk.

An alleged abuser is entitled to be notified of the claimant's name and the allegations made by the claimant in the IAP application, but that person will not be given the claimant's location, contact information, or any of the claimant's personal information or records.

Few criminal charges

Percy says there is more former students can do, if they choose.

"There's nothing to stop the individual survivor to go to the police, even though they told their story through this process," he said.

Few, it seems, ever have.

Through the history of residential schools — which lasted over a century, with tens of thousands having suffered abuse — fewer than 50 people have been convicted for crimes related to the schools.

In the case of St. Anne's Residential School, once located in Fort Albany, Ont., six school officials were criminally convicted following a five-year OPP investigation into the school during the 1990s.

— Mike DeGagne

"But then, the Catholics were allowed to subtract a number of expenses they'd already incurred, so it got down to about $18 million and about $1.6 million is still outstanding."

Ottawa claims those expenses should have gone directly to the foundation, and is critical of the church for claiming legal expenses as administrative costs. 

"The net effect of this accounting approach is to reduce the overall amounts that are paid to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and to give preference to the Corporation's administrative costs, including their lawyers' fees, at the expense of former students of Indian Residential Schools."

Ottawa also points out the Catholic groups committed to fundraise $25 million as a part of the settlement, but so far have only raised a fraction of that.

With funding from Ottawa, the Catholic Church ran more than 70 per cent of the residential schools, which operated from the late 1800s to the 1990s.

Denise Guimond attended one of those schools for five years.

Pierre Baribeau, a lawyer in Montreal and director of the Catholic Entities corporation, says the Catholic Church will fight these allegations in court.

"The federal government has always adopted an aggressive attitude towards the Catholic Entities and we have offered reconciliation process to them and they firmly answered negatively, they don’t want to apply the agreement as negotiated in 2006, so we are going to present our arguments to the courts."

But DeGagne says the legal dispute sends a bad message to survivors. 

"This is not about the person in the pews. Most Catholics have no idea their church isn't honouring their obligations and choosing to pay lawyers versus their obligations to survivors. If most Catholics knew this, they would be appalled."

Today, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt said, "Canada is committed to implementation of settlement agreement, as this matter is before the court, this will be the extent of my comment on it." 

The case is scheduled to be heard in a Saskatoon court in June.

"They are very key documents. They allow us to work. They allow us to check things. We tell our students to hang onto those notebooks. They are everything to you."

The incident involving Warick, first reported in The StarPhoenix, stems from a first-degree murder trial in Saskatoon of three men charged with the 2004 death of Isho Hana.

The StarPhoenix's lawyer argued there was no evidence Warick's notebooks had anything relevant to the Hana murder trial. The judge ruled Warick had to attend court to testify, with his notes, but that he did not have to turn them over to defence lawyers.

Harder was a police informant during a biker investigation in Saskatoon in 2014 and 2015. He was called as a witness earlier this week at the trial and testified that in 2004 he heard a hit was taken out on Hana.

According to The StarPhoenix, Warick was placed in custody because he refused a judge's order to give up his notebooks to the court. He remained in custody over the noon hour.

After lunch, the judge released Warick but ordered his notebooks to remained sealed with the court.

Where does a notebook belong

Elliott believes the judge is walking a fine line by taking these actions.

"It is an important point to make that our notebooks are not up for grabs easily. And that police, judges and courts need to really think long and hard before they make a move like this because it is a serious move against journalism in the country," she said.

What really concerned Elliott is how this could impact the daily work a journalist does. Trust, Elliott argued, is important between a journalist and the person they are interviewing.

"It makes it difficult for journalists to do their job if the people speaking to them, especially in sensitive cases like this one, feel that what they say could end up in court. Or their comments in a notebook could end up in court."

Warick, the editor of The StarPhoenix, Heather Persson, and the newspaper's lawyer would not comment on the story today.

The Isho Hana trial continues.

For a brief period in 2016, Chief Felix Thomas allowed himself to believe that Pope Francis would come to Saskatchewan.

"We were very hopeful. We thought it was going ahead," said Thomas, chief of the Kinistin Saulteaux Nation.

Thomas and then-Saskatoon bishop Don Bolen, who is now archbishop of Regina, had worked for months building support across Canada among First Nations residential school survivors, church leaders and all levels of government to secure a papal visit to Wanuskewin Heritage Park, just outside Saskatoon.

There, the plan was that Francis would apologize for the Catholic Church's central role in the Indian residential school system in Canada.

But their efforts failed, and Thomas said no reason was given.

"I guess they were just hoping people would forget about it," he said Monday in an interview with CBC News.

Canadian First Nations leaders are calling on Pope Francis, shown in April on Easter, to come to Canada and issue an apology for the church's role in residential schools. (Filippo Monteforte/The Associated Press)

Thomas is now joining a growing chorus demanding that Pope Francis reconsider after the recent discovery by British Columbia's Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation of an unmarked burial site at the Kamloops Indian Residential School that the band says contains the remains of 215 children.

"It needed to happen then. It really needs to happen now," he said.

Thomas agreed to share details of their extensive efforts, hoping it will motivate Catholic parishioners to join the fight this time. They want a papal apology on Canadian soil, a release of all residential school files and church records of abusive clergy, and the Catholic Church to pay the full $25 million it promised to survivors as part of a national settlement agreement.

"It's one thing for us First Nations people to say this," Thomas said. "But wouldn't it be powerful if Catholics said, 'I'm not going to go to my church until this is made right?'"

Bold plans had wide support

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its six-volume final report on residential schools in late 2015. Aside from cataloguing the individual and systemic abuses perpetrated on more than 150,000 students and their families, the TRC called on the Pope to apologize on Canadian soil. The Catholic Church ran more than half of the country's residential schools.

Thomas was chief of the Saskatoon Tribal Council at the time. After many conversations with survivors and First Nations leaders, an idea began to form. They would bring Pope Francis to apologize at Wanuskewin, a Cree word meaning "sanctuary." The 5,000-year-old gathering place for First Nations people is on the tentative list to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Organizers hoped the Pope would visit Wanuskewin Heritage Park, just outside Saskatoon, to issue an apology. The 5,000-year-old gathering place for First Nations people is now on the tentative list to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Matthew Kruchak/CBC)

Thomas said he saw Francis as a more progressive pope who has spoken out against climate change, Islamophobia and a host of other issues. Saskatchewan had more residential school students per capita than any other province. And, as the TRC report noted, the previous pope apologized in Ireland to abuse victims of six priests there.

He worked closely with Bolen, and Thomas said they solicited advice from elders and survivors to see what they wanted and how proper protocol could be respected.

Thomas said they had the full support of the Assembly of First Nations, the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, then-Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall and leaders at all levels of government.

They planned logistics. It would be the biggest, most elaborate event in the province's history. They had worked out initial details of a fundraising campaign.

Positive reception went nowhere

With all of this in place, Thomas flew to Ottawa and hand-delivered the pontiff's invitation to the Vatican's ambassador or "apostolic nuncio" to Canada at the time, Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi.

Bonazzi was receptive, and it seemed things were coming together. Shortly after, Bonazzi told CBC News that Francis would "make every effort" to come to Canada and that reconciliation was a top priority.

Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi met with supporters of bringing the pontiff to Saskatchewan when he was the Vatican's ambassador, or 'apostolic nuncio,' to Canada in late 2016. He said Francis would 'make every effort' to visit. (Apostolic Nunciature in Canada)

"If something wrong was done and something remains to be done, you do it," he said in an interview at the time.

Three months later, in March 2017, Bolen raised the issue during a personal audience with Pope Francis during a larger meeting at the Vatican when he was archbishop of Regina.

"We spoke about the challenges Indigenous people face in our culture and also about the gifts they bring. About our efforts to learn to walk together with Indigenous people," Bolen said in an interview at the time.

A few months later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did the same during a visit to the Vatican.

Bonazzi eventually told them 2017 was out of the question, but he was confident the visit would still happen in 2018 or 2019.

Then there was silence.

Thomas said he never received a reply from the Vatican, and his hope slowly faded until he realized the visit wasn't going to happen.

In March 2018, the group representing Canada's bishops issued a public letter to "Indigenous Peoples of Canada" saying the Pope "felt that he could not personally respond." It said the church is a decentralized organization and that it's better for reconciliation to occur at the local level.

Parliament gets involved

The House of Commons passed a nearly unanimous motion, introduced by the NDP and opposed by only a handful of Conservative members, calling for the Pope to come to Canada and apologize.

Thomas said the church's reasons don't make sense.

"We need to hear from the captain of the ship," he said.

Thomas said he is particularly frustrated about the $25 million the church promised as part of a settlement agreement. Other churches involved in the settlement, such as the United and Anglican churches, paid their portions years ago, but the Catholic Church has left it largely to individual parishes and diocese to come up with the money.

Archbishop of Regina Don Bolen, left, is shown with Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2017, when he made the case for a papal visit and residential school apology at Saskatchewan's Wanuskewin Heritage Park. (Submitted)

Bolen and others said individual dioceses don't have that kind of money. Church members were asked to contribute, but only $3.7 million had been paid from Catholic churches across Canada, according to the last publicly available figures.

Thomas said it would take only a fraction of one per cent of the Vatican's vast wealth to meet its obligations to residential school survivors. The extent of the Catholic Church's total wealth is not public, but Vatican officials released limited statements last year revealing $6 billion Cdn in Vatican Bank holdings.

Bolen said he was busy meeting with survivors and others on Monday and was not available for comment.

Thomas said the Catholic Church and Pope Francis need to take action and he'll help organize a possible visit in any way he can.

"They played a role in genocide. They were trying to get rid of the Indian problem," he said.

"This will be a continuing stain if they don't do what's right."

WARNING: This story contains distressing details

A growing chorus across Canada is demanding the Catholic Church pay the full $25 million it once promised to residential school survivors — saying it's shameful for the money to remain unpaid while tens of millions are spent on elaborate church buildings.

CBC News has learned of a $17-million fundraising campaign currently underway for cathedral renovations and new construction in the Archdiocese of Regina. That's in addition to a $16-million shrine/church that opened last year in Canmore, Alta., the $28.5-million cathedral built in Saskatoon less than a decade ago and other capital projects across the country.

The church, which ran many of Canada's residential schools, has been under increasing pressure for restitution and transparency since what are believed to be the unmarked burial sites of children's remains were recently found at or near former school sites in Kamloops, B.C., and at Cowessess First Nation, east of Regina. A similar discovery was revealed in B.C.'s South Interior on Wednesday.

"I think it's very disappointing. The Catholic Church has a lot of work to do to make amends," said Mayo Moran, provost and vice-chancellor of Trinity College at the University of Toronto.

"The least it could do is meet its commitments."

Former University of Toronto dean of law, Mayo Moran, is one of many saying the church needs to honour its original $25-million commitment to residential school survivors. (Nicole Ireland/CBC)

The church agreed to pay $25 million for school survivors in a historic settlement in 2005. The deal obligated the church to make "best efforts," and launch a fundraising campaign similar to that of a university or hospital.

After seven years, less than $4 million had been raised nationally. The church's lawyers argued in a secret court hearing it had made those best efforts and a judge agreed, absolving the church of further fundraising. The results of the hearing were published months later. 

The incomplete payment is "an absolute embarrassment." said Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), which represents Saskatchewan's First Nations.

"All efforts should be going to helping survivors and their families, not to buildings."

Moran, who spent 15 years chairing the compensation committee for residential school survivors, says spending millions on cathedrals and churches "casts doubt" on the church's claim it gave its best efforts to help survivors.

She said Pope Francis has been progressive on climate change and other issues, but that he and Vatican officials have not done nearly enough on abuse and residential school issues.

Saskatoon Catholics raised $28.5 million to build this cathedral in 2012. (Jason Warick/CBC)

"You can see a pattern of avoiding financial responsibility and extreme litigiousness. It doesn't reflect well on the church," said Moran.

In the Archdiocese of Regina, staff, volunteers and contractors have been working for two years on the $17-million campaign to renovate Holy Rosary Cathedral and construct a ministry centre.

"We have now received a total of $6.58M in gifts and pledges and are expecting that number to grow as donors are inspired to support the campaign … Together we can make it happen!" reads a letter from the campaign chairs on the Archdiocese website.

The website also contains detailed instructions for individual church parishes wanting to build or renovate. It recommends church members "identify a need for several donors to make donations in excess of $10,000 for your campaign to be successful." 

The website states the four keys to success are "prayer, involvement of pastor, choice of people [and] public relations/communications."

The Archdiocese has hired the same professional fundraising firm that helped Saskatoon Catholics raise $28.5 million for a new cathedral.

The doors of St. Paul's Co-Cathedral were painted in protest after the discovery of 751 unmarked graves near the former Marieval Residential School on the Cowessess First Nation on Thursday. (Donna Heimbecker/Facebook)

Archbishop Don Bolen was not available for an interview Wednesday morning, but an official confirmed details of the campaign. Last week, following the discovery at Cowessess First Nation, Bolen said he hopes to revive the fundraising for survivors. No details have been announced and no money has been committed at last word.

In Saskatoon, Bishop Mark Hagemoen has declined several interview requests, but in a statement issued Wednesday morning said he would "very much support" more fundraising for survivors.

Both reiterated their apology to survivors for the Catholic Church's central role in running many of the schools for more than a century.

Moran and others say these vague statements are meaningless. They say Catholics in every parish across Canada need to take action.

"Catholics need to push their church to do the right thing. All the pressure needs to be brought to bear. There are forces within the church that could be mobilized. There needs to be a lot of voices pushing," Moran said.

Cameron and others said that if Canadian churches and members refuse to help, the Vatican should pay. They point to the Vatican Bank's partial records release, which showed $6 billion US in assets, land holdings that cover a total area larger than the province of Saskatchewan, and the Vatican's collection of renaissance paintings, sculptures and other art.

All other church denominations that were part of the settlement — Anglican, United, Presbyterian — paid their full shares years ago.

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and those who are triggered by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

Catholic bishops in Saskatchewan are restarting fundraising efforts for residential school survivors and their families.

The announcement follows calls for a church boycott until action is taken to fulfil the $25-million fundraising pledge made by church bodies in the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.

It also follows a CBC News investigation this week into the political and legal events that resulted in less than $4 million being raised.

"We have heard the strong request, from Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people in various quarters to initiate a new fundraising campaign to support survivors and engage more deeply in our own ongoing commitment and response to the Truth and Reconciliation process," states the joint letter from Saskatchewan's five bishops.

The letter states consultations have begun within the dioceses and they "look forward to responding with more details in the near future."

Officials from the Regina diocese, Saskatoon diocese or the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops couldn't be immediately reached for comment Sunday. It's unclear when the campaign will begin, what the goal amount will be or whether bishops in other provinces will follow.

Saskatchewan bishops are promising to restart fundraising efforts for residential school survivors. The announcement comes amid calls to boycott church services until the 2005 fundraising pledge of $25 million is fulfilled. The front doors of St. Paul's co-cathedral in downtown Saskatoon were again marked with red hand prints Friday morning. (Jason Warick/CBC)

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron, Kinistin Saulteaux Nation Chief Felix Thomas, Okanagan Indian Band Chief Byron Louis and others had recently called for Catholics to boycott Sunday mass until the remaining $21 million was paid.

On Sunday, Thomas and Cameron said they're encouraged by the development, but will wait to see dates, financial targets and other details before they decide to continue or revoke the boycott calls.

"We have some good faith, but we had that previously and it didn't materialize," Thomas said.

Cameron said the Church must "follow through with their vows to raise $25 million as once committed for these survivors and their descendants."

They are also calling on the Catholic church to immediately release all records related to residential schools, and for Pope Francis to come to Canada to issue an apology, as outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action.

New effort 'must be highly transparent'

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, director of the University of British Columbia's Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre reviewed the bishops' statement.

"This is interesting news coming from the Bishops in Saskatchewan. I commend them for their announcement," said Turpel-Lafond, a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, located approximately 100 kilometres north of Saskatoon.

She said she's eager to see details.

"In the past, such announcements were not followed through, even though they were ordered by the Court, and Canadians and First Nations were left completely in the dark. To be credible, this new effort must be highly transparent and monitored by someone outside the church," she said.

WATCH | Director of UBC's Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre addresses Catholic Church compensation deal:

Turpel-Lafond and others have said that remaining $21 million is a "starting point" to repairing the church's relationship with survivors. They say concrete action by the Catholic church is especially urgent following the discovery of more than 1,000 unmarked graves at former residential school sites in Kamloops, B.C., the Cowessess First Nation in southern Saskatchewan and elsewhere.

They'd like to see fundraising campaigns for church buildings put on hold until the money for survivors is paid. They also favour diverting to the survivors' fund some of the tens of millions being raised for Regina's Holy Rosary Cathedral, Toronto's St. Michael's Basilica and other current building projects.

Survivors and others have said that if Canadian Catholic churches won't pay, the Vatican should. They pointed to the Vatican Bank's estimated $6 billion in assets, and the church's global land holdings. 

That includes speculative real estate investments of more than $500 million in one London office building alone, according to charges against 10 officials announced this weekend by Vatican prosecutors.

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and those who are triggered by these reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for residential school survivors and others affected.

People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

WARNING: This story contains distressing details

As Canada grapples with its dark history of residential schools, another search for unmarked graves of children forced to attend is underway in Saskatchewan.

Ground-penetrating radar is currently being used on land near the former Thunderchild Residential School near Delmas, about 32 kilometres northwest of North Battleford.

When that search ends in mid-July, another will begin on land around the former Battleford Industrial School near North Battleford, said Neil Sasakamoose, executive director of the Battleford Agency Tribal Chiefs (BATC).

"We're preparing for the worst," Sasakamoose said.

"There's people [buried] down by the river, we were told. There's people down by the school.  There's people in different places, children."

Sasakamoose said five separate locations to search for graves have been identified. 

In some cases, they've relied on the memories of survivors who are in their 80s, poring over maps and placing an "X" where they remember gravesites, or even seeing children being buried.

"We have some of the people — that actually dug the graves for some of those people — that are still alive and they've told us, 'right here is where I remember being,'" Sasakamoose said.

They have to understand what's there. There's children there and they're on these lands.

- Neil Sasakamoose

Sasakamoose expects the radar search of the two residential schools to be the start of a second wave of discovery of unmarked residential school graves.

In May, the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation in British Columbia announced the preliminary discovery of215 unmarked burial sites of children's remains near the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

In June, Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan said that ground-penetrating radar identified 751 unmarked graves at the former Marieval Indian Residential School. 

Sasakamoose said searching property on and around the North Battleford-area residential school sites is complicated because it is privately-owned land.

"It's really difficult because you don't know how to start. You don't know how to talk. You want to get access to the site, but you don't want to scare them," he said.

"But they have to understand what's there. There's children there and they're on these lands and they're not very deep."

The Roman Catholic Church operated the Thunderchild Residential School from 1901 to 1948 at Delmas, just outside the Thunderchild reserve. The Anglican Church operated the Battleford Industrial School from 1883 to 1914.

A photo of the original Thunderchild Residential School building. (Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan)

Death rates among children forced to attend the Thunderchild Residential School were up to five times higher than for non-Indigenous children attending provincial schools, according to Shattering the Silence, The Hidden History of Indian Residential Schools in Saskatchewan, a report written by the University of Regina's faculty of education.

"The accounts of some survivors...point to the practice of burying some of the dead children in a common grave on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River and the bones of others being discovered during excavation in the town itself," the report stated.

It listed typhoid, tuberculosis, pneumonia and jaundice among the causes of death.

There were also reports of abuse.

On July 3, five Catholic bishops in Saskatchewan announced they were restarting a stalled fundraising campaign for residential school survivors and their families. The announcement came in the wake of calls to boycott church services after CBC revealed the church had only raised less than $4 million of the $25 million it had pledged in the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.

"The easiest part of this whole process is the ground radar project," said Sasakamoose, adding that both sites should be completely searched by the end of August.

"The fallout is where the trouble is. And you're dealing with a lot of people. You're dealing with a lot of angry people, too, and you're dealing with relations between church and Indigenous people."

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and those who are triggered by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.