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A proposed $30-million settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit brought by former students at two Catholic schools in Metro Vancouver.
The agreement would resolve claims against Vancouver College Limited and St. Thomas More in Burnaby, according to a notice of settlement approval hearing.
The settlement was reached without a trial against the defendants and requires approval from the B.C. Supreme Court before any compensation can be paid.
If approved, the settlement will allow former students who attended St. Thomas More between 1976 and 1989 and Vancouver College between 1976 and 2013, and who claim to have experienced abuse by a current or former member of the Christian Brothers, to apply for compensation.
How the lawsuit began
The case started with former Vancouver College student Darren Liptrot, who went public with allegations of physical and sexual abuse against Edward English, a man well known in Newfoundland and Labrador as one of the abusers at Mount Cashel in the 1970s.
Vancouver College and St. Thomas More Collegiate at the time were run by the Christian Brothers, a lay order of teachers closely connected with the Catholic church in Canada. The group also ran the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John’s, NL.
Unbeknownst to Liptrot, his teacher, English, had confessed to police in St. John’s in 1975 about abusing boys at the orphanage.
But a coverup was concocted and several Christian Brothers were sent out of Newfoundland. Six of them, including English, were transferred to the two schools in B.C. The allegations against them weren’t made public until 1989, by which time they’d been teaching at the Metro Vancouver schools for more than a decade.
A nearly $105-million settlement was awarded for the victims of Mount Cashel and Newfoundland and Labrador clerics in July 2024.
Liptrot filed his lawsuit in 2021.
In March 2023, the B.C. Supreme Court certified the lawsuit as a class action, allowing the case to proceed on behalf of other former students who say they experienced similar abuse.
Schools say settlement a step forward
In a statement, St. Thomas More said the proposed settlement represents “a significant step forward” for the school and the community.
“The present day STMC is dedicated to working with — and walking alongside — survivors, taking every step we can to support their journey,” the statement said.
Vancouver College said it “has and will” condemn abuse in any form and described the settlement as part of a trauma-informed reconciliation process.
“We understand and support the importance of ensuring that victims of any abuse have their experiences heard,” the school said.
If the court approves the deal, class members who receive compensation would no longer be able to pursue further legal claims related to the alleged abuse against the defendants involved in the settlement.
The proposed settlement applies to the two schools and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver, which established the schools.
Court documents show several individual defendants connected to the Christian Brothers, including English, are not part of the settlement so the lawsuit could continue against them.
Who the settlement applies to
According to the court notice, the class includes people who attended Vancouver College between 1976 and 2013 and St. Thomas More between 1976 and 1989 and say they experienced abuse by a current or former member of the Christian Brothers.
The proposed settlement sets out a two-tier compensation process for survivors.
Under the first tier, claimants can submit a written claim describing the abuse and its impact, with compensation of up to $30,000. The process is intended for claimants with “less severe or short-term effects” or who do not wish to provide the personal information or evidence that may be needed for a tier-two claim.
A tier-two claim is for survivors who say the abuse had “moderate to severe impacts” on their lives. It involves a more detailed review and may require claimants to provide additional information, identify witnesses and participate in a formal interview.
The settlement agreement acknowledges that many of the alleged events occurred decades ago and says a lack of documentation will not automatically prevent someone from submitting a claim.
Settlement hearing scheduled
The proposed settlement will be reviewed by the B.C. Supreme Court on April 30 and May 1 in Vancouver.
At that hearing, the court will consider whether to approve the proposed claims process.
It will also consider legal fees for class counsel, which could amount to up to one-third of the settlement, according to the notice.
