A federal court judge approved a $2.8 billion settlement agreement between the Canadian government and plaintiff groups representing survivors of Indigenous residential schools.

Judge Anne Marie McDonald said in her ruling on Thursday that the settlement aims to help take measures to obtain compensation for the loss of language and culture caused by Indigenous residential schools to former day students.

The judge also described the agreement as "historic" and "transformative" and added that the settlement does not exempt the Canadian government from future lawsuits related to children who died or went missing in residential schools.

The federal government had initially reached a settlement with the plaintiffs in January, but the federal court also had to approve this agreement under which Canada contributes $2.8 billion to be placed over 20 years into a nonprofit trust fund independent of the government.

The lawsuit was originally filed more than ten years ago by the former leader of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Indigenous community, Shane Gottfriedson, and the former leader of the Indigenous Shishalh Nation, Gary Fishuck. These two members were not eligible for the 2006 settlement reached between Canada and full-time students.

The federal government had signed an agreement with the plaintiffs, that is, with 325 nations participating in the collective work of the Gottfriedson group.

Now begins a period during which the decision can be appealed, after which the funds will be transferred to a nonprofit fund managed by a council of Indigenous elders.

For his part, Gottfriedson told the federal court judge in Vancouver that reaching an agreement with the federal government "means everything" to him. He told the court in late February that "the time has come for Canada to step aside" and let the First Nations decide for themselves how to mitigate the harms caused to them by residential schools.

The two leaders filed the class action lawsuit seeking justice and compensation for day school students who were mistreated while attending residential schools.

The original lawsuit essentially included three categories of plaintiffs. However, in 2021 all parties agreed to focus their efforts on first reaching an agreement with the survivors and their descendants to ensure they receive compensation during their lifetime.