And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
From: "chris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: "John Shafer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Church and feds liable for abuse
Date: Sat, 4 Sep 1999 13:30:50 -0700
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Saturday, September 04, 1999
Anglican church, Ottawa liable for sex abuse
Ruling sets precedent for thousands of suits over mistreatment at
residential schools
Stewart Bell
National Post
For the first time, a national church and the federal government have been
found directly responsible for sexual abuse at an Indian residential school,
setting a precedent for similar cases across Canada and threatening to
bankrupt the religious groups that ran the notorious boarding schools.
The British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that the Anglican Church of Canada
and the government were "jointly liable" for the abuse of a nine-year-old
boy in the early '70s. But it said the church "bears greater fault" because
it covered up the abuse.
Madame Justice Janice Dillon was ruling in a lawsuit brought by Floyd
Mowatt, who attended the St. George's Indian Residential School in Lytton,
B.C., from 1969 to 1973. He was repeatedly molested by his dorm supervisor,
Derek Clarke, who has been imprisoned for the crime.
"It is the first time that a church and Canada have been found directly
liable for a sexual assault," Allan Early, one of Mr. Mowatt's lawyers, said
yesterday. He said potentially thousands of other cases hinge on the ruling.
"It is a precedent."
The Cariboo diocese of the church along with its national body, the General
Synod, were found liable for the abuse.
The Cariboo bishop was considering declaring bankruptcy as a result of the
ruling, and the church could appeal. The court assigned 60% of the blame to
the church and 40% to the government.
"We are disappointed by that finding and do not believe it represents an
appropriate share of the government's liability," said Archdeacon Jim
Boyles. The Cariboo diocese might not be able to pay, he said. The amount of
the settlement cannot be disclosed under the terms of the agreement.
Thousands of aboriginal children were sent to religious boarding schools
this century as part of a federal government effort to educate and
assimilate native youths. The schools were operated by Canada's major
churches with money provided by Ottawa.
As accounts of horrific abuse have emerged, hundreds of former students have
filed individual and class-action lawsuits, seeking damages for their
suffering. This is the first time the church and the government have been
found directly liable because they failed in their duty to protect a
student. It is also the first time the church has been apportioned the
majority of the blame in such a case.
After living in foster homes, Mr. Mowatt was enrolled at St. George's at age
eight. Clarke was his dorm supervisor. The abuse began as fondling under his
bed blankets and progressed to sodomy and oral sex. He was one of six
victims who were known at the school as "Clarke's boys."
The stories of abuse surfaced in 1973 when Mr. Mowatt told school officials,
but "nothing was ever done," the judge wrote. Clarke resigned, citing
personal reasons. "The affair was cleansed," Judge Dillon wrote.
The judge said the abuse was covered up because Andrew Harding, the
principal, was also molesting boys. A councillor had also just been caught
having sex with a female student, and there were fears a police
investigation would result in the closing of the school.
The ruling said the "social architecture" of the school and "Anglican
hierarchical ethos" made Clarke a powerful influence in the lives of the
children and made it unlikely the children would complain. Clarke's room was
also adjacent to the dorm, which increased the risk.
"The employer could not have possibly given the employee a greater
opportunity to abuse children, except, perhaps, allowing the children to
reside away from others in the supervisor's own home," the judge wrote.
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