Twenty-two former students were at Saskatoon’s Court of King’s Bench on Friday for the opening of their civil case against a Saskatchewan church-run school.
Two of the students launched a $25-million class-action lawsuit in August 2022 against Mile Two Church in Saskatoon, the provincial government and 23 other defendants.
Most of the defendants are former staff and board members of Mile Two’s adjacent school Legacy Christian Academy.
The students claim historical physical and sexual abuse occurred at the school during their time there and that the Ministry of Education has overlooked the school’s operations and policies.
These allegations have not been heard in court yet.
On Friday, the former students said they were simply excited that the day has finally come.
“It’s great to finally be in court now,” said former student and lead plaintiff Caitlin Erickson. “It’s been almost a year since this application was filed and it’s just good that the ball is rolling now.”
On Friday, Justice Naheed Bardai heard arguments regarding when case defendants should be required to file their statements of defence and share their positions.
As of right now, no party has filed their defence, which usually does not happen during a class action until after the lawsuit is officially certified by the judge.
- Small grocers, co-ops receiving boost from Loblaw boycott: ‘A lot of anger’
- B.C. man losing vision needs to find home for treasured book collection
- U.K. bans generic passwords over cybersecurity concerns. Should Canada be next?
- More foreign interference action coming after inquiry report, India arrests: LeBlanc
“It would be very beneficial for us and the court to know what their position is before the certification hearing,” said Grant Scharfstein, who is representing the plaintiffs in the case. “It can change what our position is, it can change who the defendants might be, it can add defendants, or it can remove defendants.”
The defence stated in court that it would be an ineffective use of time to file defences against a statement of claim that might be amended before the lawsuit is certified.
Erickson said she has no doubt about the students’ claim.
“A lot of students have shared their stories and what they have had to say is a lot of egregious things went on and there is really no denying that,” Erickson said. “We don’t want anyone to ever have the same experience that we had and we feel that there is still not those safety nets in place.”
“We are here to right an absolute terrible wrong that has occurred here in this province over decades where everyone has turned a blind eye to it, including the government,” Scharfstein said.
He also added that there are still two defendants that have not responded to the case in any way or retained any counsel, one of them being the former head of Mile Two Church, Keith Johnson.
“He is evading service,” Scharfstein said.
As for the result of Friday’s arguments, the judge reserved his decision about the timeline in which defendants need to file statements.
Comments