B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald Brenner: "in the atmosphere of the time, no one talked, no one suspected"

Nipawin - Sunday, July 29, 2001 - by: Mario deSantis

dollar
numbers
Our governments measure our standard of living with the dollar numbers produced by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Our federal government and churches set up Indian residential schools and destroyed children's lives, yet the establishment of these predatory schools increased the GDP and provided an addition to our standard of living.

B.C.'s
Limitations
Act
It is difficult to struggle against the demented mentality of our current leaders, and this struggle becomes more difficult as our justice system put money before people's lives. Take the case of the recent judgement provided by Chief Justice Donald Brenner of the B.C. Supreme Court between seven former students of an Indian residential school versus the government, the United Church and former dormitory supervisor Arthur Plint. In handing down the judgement, Justice Brenner took into consideration the B.C.'s Limitations Act and restricted his judgement to claims of sexual abuse for which there is no time limit.

$410,000
Arthur Plint was found guilty of pedophile acts, the government and church were ordered to pay a total of $410,000 to six victims while the claim of a seventh was rejected. Justice Brenner explained

damages

"My task is to set an award of damages sufficient to compensate the plaintiffs for the differences between the way their lives would have been... and the way their lives have been, given the additional, but by no means insubstantial, fact of the sexual assaults."

culture of
alcohol
abuse
Therefore, the $410,000 award reflected the fact that the plaintiffs grew up already in a culture of alcohol abuse and violence before attending school. Further, Justice Brenner rejected the plaintiffs' claims that the government and the church were negligent and breached their duty to care for the children and concluded

no one
suspected

that the authorities were not aware of Mr. Plint's actions. In the atmosphere of the time, no one talked, no one suspected.

7,500
lawsuits
I doubt that the government and church were not aware of the abuses going on in the residential school. In fact, the magnitude of the abuses can be put in a proper perspective when to day there are some 7,500 lawsuits from former residential students and there are reasonable speculations that some 25% of all native students who attended these residential schools have been abused by the schools' administration and their employees.

everyone
suspected
No, I don't trust Chief Justice Brenner's conclusions and my conclusion is that in the atmosphere of the time, no one talked, and everyone suspected.

------------------References

Seeking residential school justice, by William Johnson, July 28, 2001, The Globe and Mail

B.C. judge limits residential school sexual-abuse award, by Robert Matas, July 13, 2001, The Globe and Mail

Provincial Residential School Project outraged by BC Supreme Court ruling Canada NewsWire, July 12, 2001 http://www.newswire.ca/releases/July2001/12/c1643.html


Nipawin - Sunday, July 29, 2001 - by: Mario deSantis

dollar numbers	Our governments measure our standard of living with the dollar numbers produced by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Our federal government and churches set up Indian residential schools and destroyed children's lives, yet the establishment of these predatory schools increased the GDP and provided an addition to our standard of living.

B.C.'s Limitations Act	It is difficult to struggle against the demented mentality of our current leaders, and this struggle becomes more difficult as our justice system put money before people's lives. Take the case of the recent judgement provided by Chief Justice Donald Brenner of the B.C. Supreme Court between seven former students of an Indian residential school versus the government, the United Church and former dormitory supervisor Arthur Plint. In handing down the judgement, Justice Brenner took into consideration the B.C.'s Limitations Act and restricted his judgement to claims of sexual abuse for which there is no time limit.

$410,000	Arthur Plint was found guilty of pedophile acts, the government and church were ordered to pay a total of $410,000 to six victims while the claim of a seventh was rejected. Justice Brenner explained
damages	"My task is to set an award of damages sufficient to compensate the plaintiffs for the differences between the way their lives would have been... and the way their lives have been, given the additional, but by no means insubstantial, fact of the sexual assaults."

culture of alcohol abuse	Therefore, the $410,000 award reflected the fact that the plaintiffs grew up already in a culture of alcohol abuse and violence before attending school. Further, Justice Brenner rejected the plaintiffs' claims that the government and the church were negligent and breached their duty to care for the children and concluded
no one suspected	that the authorities were not aware of Mr. Plint's actions. In the atmosphere of the time, no one talked, no one suspected.

7,500 lawsuits	I doubt that the government and church were not aware of the abuses going on in the residential school. In fact, the magnitude of the abuses can be put in a proper perspective when to day there are some 7,500 lawsuits from former residential students and there are reasonable speculations that some 25% of all native students who attended these residential schools have been abused by the schools' administration and their employees.

everyone suspected	No, I don't trust Chief Justice Brenner's conclusions and my conclusion is that in the atmosphere of the time, no one talked, and everyone suspected.

------------------References

	Seeking residential school justice, by William Johnson, July 28, 2001, The Globe and Mail

	B.C. judge limits residential school sexual-abuse award, by Robert Matas, July 13, 2001, The Globe and Mail

	Provincial Residential School Project outraged by BC Supreme Court ruling Canada NewsWire, July 12, 2001 http://www.newswire.ca/releases/July2001/12/c1643.html