News Releases and Media Advisories

Dan Shapiro Named Chief Adjudicator for IAP

July 17, 2013

Ottawa, July 17, 2013 -- Saskatoon lawyer Dan Shapiro has been selected as the new Chief Adjudicator of the Independent Assessment Process (IAP) that provides compensation to former students for abuse they suffered at Indian Residential Schools.

Mr. Shapiro takes over from Dan Ish, who announced in February that he would be stepping down once his successor was appointed.

“Mr. Shapiro is a senior adjudicator who knows the IAP extremely well,” said Mayo Moran, the chair of the IAP Oversight Committee that managed the search for the new Chief Adjudicator. “He has extensive experience in the areas of aboriginal law, civil litigation, medical negligence, insurance, injury claims and labour relations,” said Ms. Moran. The Oversight Committee monitors the implementation of the IAP and includes representatives of former Aboriginal students and their counsel, Churches and the Government of Canada. The Oversight Committee’s selection has been ratified by the Supervising Courts of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

Mr. Shapiro completed his law degree at the University of Saskatchewan in 1978 and is a member of the Bar in Saskatchewan. He is a founding member of the law firm Brayford Shapiro in Saskatoon, and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1996.

Mr. Shapiro has been a Deputy Chief Adjudicator for the Indian Residential School Adjudication Secretariat (IRSAS) since 2007. Prior to that, he worked as a senior adjudicator under the Alternate Dispute Resolution system which preceded the Independent Assessment Process (IAP).

The IAP was established in 2007 under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA), the largest class action suit in Canadian history. The IAP is a claimant-centred process that also supports healing and reconciliation among former students, their families and communities.

As Chief Adjudicator, Mr. Shapiro will direct the work of the IRSAS, the administrative body that manages the IAP hearing process. IRSAS is a quasi-judicial tribunal that operates independently from the parties to IRSSA, including the Government of Canada.

Mr. Shapiro has appeared as counsel in all levels of Court throughout Saskatchewan and Alberta, as well as in the British Columbia Supreme Court, the Tax Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada. He has also chaired numerous labour and administrative tribunals. He has taught at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Law as well as at a number of Continuing Legal Education programs.

“I am pleased to welcome Mr. Shapiro as the new Chief Adjudicator of the IAP,” said Ms. Moran. “We are confident that he is a worthy successor to Dan Ish. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Ish for his outstanding contributions to IRSAS since the SAPI was established in 2007,” she said.

Mr. Shapiro will take up his new duties as Chief Adjudicator on July 29, 2013. He will work out of the IRSAS offices in Regina, Saskatchewan.

As of May 31, 2013, IRSAS had received 37,797 applications for compensation under the IAP. 21,336 cases have been resolved and more than $1.982 billion has been paid out in compensation by the Government of Canada.

Contact:

Michael Tansey
Senior Communications Officer,
Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariat
(819) 934-1444

Michael.Tansey@irsad-sapi.gc.ca