Quebec Catholic school ordered to pay up to $27M for sexual assaults

A member of the faithful holds a cross in old Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

The Brothers of Saint-Gabriel congregation will have to pay between $9.4 million and $26.9 million for the sexual assaults committed by some of its employees and volunteers.

Superior Court Judge Sylvain Lussier confirmed the settlement agreement reached last May in the class-action filed in December 2019 against the religious order on Thursday.

Under this agreement, the average compensation for each member will be between $150,000 and $175,000.

There were 76 claimants at the start of the proceedings, but three of them have since died.

'UNPLEASANT' TRIAL AVOIDED

Lussier emphasized that this agreement was "not only fair and in the best interests of the class members, but also confers significant benefits on the class members."

One of the most important benefits is that the agreement avoids having to prove the sexual assaults suffered and the after-effects in the context of a trial where they could be cross-examined, "a cumbersome, painful and potentially costly process that constitutes an obstacle to access to justice for many members of the group," the judge pointed out.

The victims of these assaults, in some cases dating back to 1940, are aged between 60 and 80.

A number of them expressed their relief in anonymous emails, which Lussier used extensively in his decision, excerpts of which are reproduced below:

"For me, this legal action is a godsend. I was convinced that I would die with my secret and inherent shame suppressed at great cost for more than 50 years. I am relieved to have been heard and to have obtained a form of justice in spite of a shattered life."

"I know that financial compensation will never bring me complete healing for the deep psychological damage I have carried since childhood, but I will nevertheless feel that I have obtained some redress."

"The recent news of this class action against this congregation has rekindled an old wound that I have carried since childhood. But it has also given me some hope of relief at the prospect that this unjust and odious act against me, which has gone unpunished until now, will finally be recognized and compensated."

"I was just a child. Barely 10 years old, a boarder at Collège Saint-Gabriel on the slopes of Mont Saint-Bruno. A child who knew nothing about sexuality, deviance or the harm it could cause."

"I've always been affected by Brother X's attack. It has affected whole areas of my life. My relationships with others, both friends and lovers, have been irreparably altered. I fear the company of young children and have never considered starting a family."

"My parents, now deceased, my sister, my friends, those closest to me knew nothing of what I endured in silence either out of embarrassment or fear of being turned into the guilty party. Therein lies the victim's dilemma; we come to believe that it was our fault."

THREE MONTHS TO SUBMIT A CLAIM

The total amount of the settlement will depend on the number of claims accepted by the adjudicator, and the Brothers of Saint Gabriel must set up a fund capable of absorbing all the approved claims.

Members now have three months to submit a claim, and other people who have suffered sexual assault at the hands of the Brothers of Saint Gabriel, their employees or volunteers could be added to the claimants already registered.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 12, 2023.