Class Action for Students at Provincial Schools for the Deaf

TORONTO, Aug. 10, 2015 /CNW/ - On August 10, 2015, a proposed class action was commenced relating to abuse of students at four provincial schools for the deaf: Ernest C. Drury School for the Deaf in Milton; Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf in Belleville; Robarts School for the Deaf in London; and Centre Jules-Léger in Ottawa.  These schools are administered by the Provincial Schools Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Education.

It is alleged that the Province of Ontario failed to operate or supervise these four schools for the deaf so as to ensure the safety and well-being of its vulnerable students, most of whom lived in residence during the school year. It is alleged that students were physically, sexually and psychologically abused at these schools.

The action was commenced by Christopher Welsh, a former student who attended both Ernest C. Drury School for the Deaf and the Robarts School for the Deaf, and his counsel Koskie Minsky LLP, a leading Canadian class action law firm.

"This is another unfortunate example of the Province of Ontario failing to protect vulnerable students from abuse," says Kirk Baert, co-lead counsel at Koskie Minsky LLP, "Parents of deaf children trusted the Province to protect their kids, who often lived at these schools far from home. The Province breached that trust. Instead of a safe, supportive learning environment, students suffered in an atmosphere of fear and violence where their dignity was taken away."

Koskie Minsky LLP was counsel to the survivors of Huronia, Rideau, and Southwestern Regional Centers, three Ontario-run facilities for individuals with developmental disabilities. These three cases recently received court approval of three settlements with the Province of Ontario wherein the Province agreed to pay survivors more than $67 million and to provide an apology to former residents of the facilities for the harm they sustained while living there.

Koskie Minsky LLP was also counsel in Cloud v. Canada, the first Indian residential schools class action certified in Canada, which resulted in a $4 billion pan-Canadian settlement in which over 90,000 class members have made claims.

Kirk Baert and Celeste Poltak of Koskie Minsky LLP are lead counsel in this proposed class action.

Koskie Minsky LLP, based in Toronto, is one of Canada's foremost class action, pension, labour, employment and litigation firms. Its class action group is a leader in class actions and has prosecuted many of the leading and most important cases in Canada.

For further information:

Please contact Koskie Minsky LLP if you were a student at any of these schools, or you know any former students.

Email: [email protected]
Web: www.kmlaw.ca/SchoolAbuse
Toll-free: 1-877-309-9111

To access the Bell Relay Service please dial 711 and type in Koskie Minsky LLP's Toll-free hotline number 1-877-309-9111.

SOURCE Koskie Minsky LLP

For Media Inquiries: please contact Rob Gain of Koskie Minsky LLP at 416.595.2072 or at [email protected].