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From CBC News - Last Updated Fri, 21 Oct 2005

Ottawa not fully liable for residential school claims: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday that Ottawa should not be held fully liable for damages suffered by students abused at a church-run school on Vancouver Island.

INDEPTH: Residential Schools Timeline

The court also said charities such as the United Church of Canada cannot claim immunity from damage claims because they try to do good work.

"Parties may be more or less vicariously liable for a wrong depending on their level of supervision and direct contact," said the unanimous ruling in the case known as Blackwater v. Plint.

RELATED: A Lost Heritage: Canada's Residential Schools

The United Church carried out most of the day-to-day operations at Port Alberni Indian Residential School, where six aboriginal students claimed they were abused by a dormitory supervisor from the 1940s to the 1960s. The federal government appointed the school's principal and owned the land on which the building was located.

Originally, a British Columbia judge said vicarious responsibility for the students' physical, sexual and mental abuse should be split 75-25 between the federal government and the church. The provincial Court of Appeal then ruled that Ottawa held 100 per cent vicarious liability for damage claims by the former students.

Friday's ruling restored that portion of responsibility to 75 per cent, assigning 25 per cent of the liability to the United Church of Canada.

As employer, church had no immunity

The Supreme Court said people who worked at the school were employed by the United Church of Canada, so the church must accept some responsibility for their actions.

The justices rejected the B.C. Court of Appeal finding that the United Church held charitable immunity from vicarious responsibility in the case.

"Exempting non-profit organizations when government is present would not motivate such organizations to take precautions to screen their employees and protect children from sexual abuse," the ruling said. "The presence of the government does not guarantee the safety of children, particularly where, as in this case, the non-profit organization has day-to-day management of the institution."

Lead claimant to get $200,000

As a result of the decision, the United Church will have to pay one quarter of roughly $200,000 in damages awarded to the lead claimant in the case, Frederick Leroy Barney.

The ruling has implications for other Canadian churches that ran residential schools for native students throughout the 20th century, including the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian churches.

Many religious organizations have warned that having to pay damages in abuse cases will leave them severely short of funds, meaning they may have to sell off church buildings and restrict operations.

AFN Press Release on this ruling - OTTAWA, Oct. 21, 2005

Supreme Court Blackwater v. Plint Decision Re-Affirms Federal Government's Liability in Residential Schools Cases

The National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations acknowledged the Supreme Court of Canada' decision today in Blackwater v. Plint, commonly known as the Barney case.

The decision, written by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, reaffirmed that the federal government and the church are both individually and jointly liable for damages in residential schools cases. A plaintiff in the Barney case can recover 100% of his losses against either the federal government or the church. If the federal government compensates a plaintiff in full, it can, if it wishes, recover 25% of its payment from the church.

"Today's decision confirms our belief that the federal government must now accept 100% liability for the tragic circumstances of the residential schools," stated National Chief Phil Fontaine. "While churches may have run many of the schools, they did so at the behest of and with the approval of the Crown. Ultimately, the federal government established the residential schools, was in a supervisory position for the schools, and is responsible for what happened at the schools. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial judge's finding in Barney that the federal government was actually in a better position that the church to supervise the situation and prevent the loss. This Supreme Court's decision makes it clear that the government has no excuse for not paying damages in legal actions on residential schools."

The National Chief also reiterated his call for the Government of Canada to move swiftly to settle residential schools claims in a fair, just and expedient manner.

"We prefer negotiation over litigation when it comes to resolving this tragic legacy of the residential schools, but it is increasingly clear that there is going to be resolution one way or another," stated the National Chief. "The abuses many of us faced, as well as the loss of our languages, cultures and sense of community, affect us not only as individuals but as First Nations as a whole. There is a clear need for compensation, reconciliation and truth-sharing, but it must be done soon, because the average age of survivors is nearing 60 and the effects on our lives and communities continue to this day. There will be a First Ministers Meeting on Aboriginal Issues at the end of November. We want to talk about the future, and this compels us to resolve this outstanding legacy of the past so we can move forward together. The time to debate is over. We need resolution now."

The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada.

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For further information: Don Kelly, AFN Communications Director, (613) 241-6789 ext. 320, cell.: (613) 292-2787; Ian McLeod, AFN Bilingual Communications Officer, (613) 241-6789 ext. 336, cell.: (613) 859-4335; Nancy Pine, Communications Advisor, Office of the National Chief, (613) 241-6789 ext. 243, cell.: (613) 298-6382

From the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, Friday, October 21, 2005

High court decision denounced by chief

Regina (CP) - Aboriginals say the Supreme Court's refusal to review the sentence of a Saskatchewan man who sexually assaulted a 12 year old native girl is another example of a racist justice system.

"The justice system has never given Indian people a fair shot at anything." said Robert Whitehead, chief of the Yellow Quill First Nation, the girl's home reserve.

"If anybody from my community did that to a 12 year old girl it would be an automatic jail sentence - and it wouldn't be a lenient one, either."

Dean Edmondson escaped prison time when he was sentenced to two years of house arrest in 2003.

The girl's uncle, who can't be named to protect her identity, said the teen has turned to alcohol since the 2001 attack and has attempted suicide.

In an interview with the Canadian Press, he called the decision by the Supreme Court "awfully disappointing."

"The gilr's life is ruined, there is just no two ways about it," the uncle said.

From CBC News - Last Updated Oct 20 2005 12:42 PM CDT

High court declines to hear sex assault case 

Canada's highest court will not look into a high-profile Saskatchewan sexual assault case.

Dean Edmondson was convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old Cree girl in 2001.

During his trial, court heard Edmondson and two other men picked up the young girl.

Everyone was drinking, and eventually the men tried to have sex with the 12-year-old.

Edmondson was convicted and was given two years for his crime, to be served at home. He spent no time in jail.

The trials captured the public's attention across Canada, raising issues of racism and women's rights.

Saskatchewan's appeal court suggested that Edmondson should have gone to jail, but that it had no power to change the sentence.

That's why Saskatchewan's attorney general wanted the Supreme Court of Canada to look at the case.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal application. As is the normal court practice, no reasons were given.

Meanwhile, although the application to appeal was dismissed, the case is not over.

Two other men, Jeffrey Kindrat and Jeffrey Brown, face a trial next June.

Originally they were acquitted, but a new trial was ordered by the courts.