Last day for residential school abuse claims to be filed

Aboriginal Canadians who suffered physical or sexual abuse in residential schools have until the end of today to apply for federal compensation.

Applications for claims under the Independent Assessment Process must be sent electronically or postmarked no later than 11:59 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

Compensation under the Independent Assessment Process is different from the Common Experience Payments that many former students received in recent years.

The Common Experience Payment gave eligible former students $10,000 for the first year they had to attend residential schools and $3,000 for each successive year.

The deadline for those payments passed in 2011, although Wednesday is the final deadline for applications that are being filed late due to a claimant's disability, undue hardship or exceptional circumstances.