Residents of Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation in Manitoba who were patients at designated federal hospitals can now apply for compensation for past harms. The claims process officially opened on January 27, 2026, and covers people who were admitted to any of 33 Federal Indian Hospitals across Canada between January 1, 1936 and December 31, 1981.
The proposed settlement resolves the Hardy class action (Hardy v. Attorney General of Canada) — a class action that had sought $1.1 billion — and addresses reports of physical, sexual, verbal and psychological abuse. The settlement provides uncapped individual compensation and includes designated funding for healing and commemoration. Survivors and their families are eligible for payments ranging from $10,000 to $200,000 depending on the severity of harm experienced during their stay.
Many elders from the community were historically sent to regional facilities such as the Brandon Indian Hospital, the Clearwater Lake Indian Hospital (near The Pas), and the Dynevor Indian Hospital in Selkirk; other Manitoba sites in the settlement include Fisher River (Percy E. Moore) Indian Hospital, Fort Alexander (Pine Falls) Indian Hospital and Norway House Indian Hospital. These hospitals were part of a segregated medical system used during those years.
People have until July 27, 2028, to submit a Claim through the settlement claims administrator (see ihsettlement.ca). Local help is being coordinated through Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation, and free legal support is available through class counsel and designated legal services — for example, Koskie Minsky (and Cooper Regel are among the firms involved as class counsel).
Community members who need help with their application can contact the Sandy Bay Health Centre (phone listed by community sources) for in-person assistance; those concerned about privacy should ask the Health Centre or the claims administrator about available privacy measures. The settlement aims to provide some measure of redress for the loss of culture and autonomy many faced while in these facilities and to support healing for survivors and their families.
