For 2006-07, for Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada, as opposed to Indian Affairs, the total amount expended will be $244,600,000.
We can provide these numbers, Mr. Chairman. These are taken from the previous estimates process.
Operating costs—because we are having to build up a significant team to work with the survivors—are in the order of $93 million, and that's for our offices across the country.
I've already mentioned advance payments, but the existing process allowed for two things. One was for an alternative dispute resolution mechanism, where we have adjudicators who work with people and who work out a settlement. And the other is litigation, where individuals have gone before the courts and have received a result from the court that the Government of Canada has to pay.
Mr. Chairman, that amount this year, 2006-07, is $72 million.
If I add together what I already mentioned in answer to a previous question—the advance payments—and I add those settlements, that's a total of $154,700,000 that has gone to individuals.
Where is the $1.9 billion? The settlement agreement, which is the legally binding, court-approved, and court-supervised agreement between Canada, the church entities, and the aboriginal organizations, will come into effect once a number of things have taken place.
The first item is the support and the agreement of nine judges from across Canada. They met in Calgary on March 8. Eight have approved. The justice from Nunavut had a problem because of the weather and will come forward pretty soon, I would assume.
The settlement agreement lays out a number of things in addition to what I just referred to for 2006-07. It will effectively be a whole new program, Mr. Chair. The link between the two was the advance payments for the elders.
The new program will have several aspects to it. First of all, I've already mentioned the common experience payment. That is $1.9 billion that is currently in an account, effectively a special purpose account or a trust fund in the fiscal framework. So it is there. Following the implementation date, that will be made available through the regular appropriation process to Service Canada, which will be putting out the cheques.
The second item is that $60 million has been provided for a truth and reconciliation commission.
Third, $20 million has been provided to support commemorative activities, which will be a very important part of the ongoing process.
There is $125 million as an endowment to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.
There is $100 million in cash and services that will come from the churches for healing initiatives.
And we expect $100 million in payments for legal counsel for former students.
The final element of this, Mr. Chairman, is what is referred to as the independent assessment process. The common experience payment will be to all individuals who attended, as a resident, an Indian residential school. The independent assessment process will be run by a chief adjudicator and a series of adjudicators working for her or him who will be totally independent of the Government of Canada. It will assess damages, because this is part, obviously, of a class action response. It will assess damages in terms of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and psychological abuse. It is effectively an extension of the alternative dispute resolution process.
We do not know, Mr. Chairman, how much that will be, because we don't know how many individuals will wish to go through that process, nor do we know what the assessment will be by the adjudicators. The settlement agreement, however, indicates that the Government of Canada will provide those funds on a timely basis.
I hope, Mr. Chairman, this has provided a little more detail on the funding.