Lawsuit/Canada: Newfoundland and Labrador Governments

“A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against the Newfoundland and Labrador government over alleged abuse at provincial facilities for young offenders and neglected children.

The suit, filed by the Morris Martin Moore law firm in Mount Pearl, alleges that children were physically, sexually and emotionally abused while in the care of the government at custodial and child welfare facilities between 1955 and 1989.

Lawyer Lynn Moore said the lawsuit not only alleges that abuse took place, but also that the government knew about the abuse at the time and ignored it.

“The really striking thing about this is that we’re alleging that the government knew and that they turned a blind eye,” she said. “They were more interested in staying out of the news then they were in protecting children.”

A Justice Department spokeswoman said the province could not discuss the case.

“Out of respect for the privacy of the individuals involved, and because this is before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment on the specifics of this case,” Amy Stoodley said in an email.

Meanwhile, Moore said her law firm uncovered alleged suppression and concealment by government officials, interspersed with disclosures of abuse.

The three decades covered in the lawsuit are bookended by two inquiries into the abuse of children at provincial facilities: the Magisterial Inquiry in 1955 and the Hughes Inquiry in 1988. In 1972, a former employee was convicted of abuse.

The lawsuit filed in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court alleges that abuse happened at facilities in a number of communities, including Whitbourne, St. John’s and Torbay.

The size of the class is not yet known, but Moore said hundreds of children went through the institutions over the span of more than three decades covered in the lawsuit.

“We know that there were between 50 and 70 children in these institutions per year,” she said. “There are hundreds of children that went through these institutions throughout the years. How many of them were abused is difficult to say, but we believe the numbers are significant.”

The children ranged in age from 10 to 17.

While some children ended up in the facilities because of trouble with the law, Moore said other children were neglected.

“These were places where children were living either because they couldn’t be controlled in the community from criminal activity or because they were neglected in their homes,” she said, noting that the facilities were later replaced with youth centres under the Young Offenders Act and foster care homes.

She alleges that staff instigated a cycle of abuse by physically, sexually and emotionally abusing children who would then go on to abuse younger or new children arriving at the facilities.

“We do have people who have told us that when they were younger they were abused by older boys,” Moore said. “We believe that those older boys in turn were abused by the guards.”

Moore said once the province files a defence, a date will be set for a judge to hear arguments on whether the class should be certified.”

Proposed class-action suit filed over alleged child abuse at N.L. facilities

[Toronto Sun 7/19/17 by The Canadian Press]

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