Settlement between sexual abuse victims and the Congregation of Holy Cross

Time extension requested from Superior Court

MONTREAL, July 6, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Implementation of the settlement agreement between the sexual abuse victims and the Congregation of Holy Cross continues. However, on July 4, a motion was filed with the Superior Court for a 6-month extension of the deadline for finalizing the compensation process, requesting a new completion date of February 28, 2013.

This adjustment to the compensation process schedule was made necessary by the slow pace of the claim filing process. The majority of the claims were filed, in some cases by the victims' representatives, at the very end of the period set forth in the agreement, namely, in several cases, in the days preceding the June 4, 2012 cut-off date.

The indemnification process had been scheduled to be completed within 90 days of that date, an objective that proved somewhat unrealistic, if only because of the steps required to validate each claim, a process which often involved consulting archival records held by third parties.

The Congregation of Holy Cross undertook, as did the victims' representatives, to do their utmost to finalize the indemnification process within a reasonable timeframe, and is continuing its efforts to do so. The Congregation regrets the fact that the extension was necessary, but wants to ensure that all claims are analysed and processed properly and fairly for all victims.

In an out-of-court settlement conference, the Congregation of Holy Cross had agreed to the settlement agreement with the representatives of the students who attended Collège Notre-Dame between 1950 and 2001, Collège Saint-Césaire between 1950 and 1991, and École Notre-Dame de Pohénégamook between 1959 and 1964 and suffered sexual abuse by a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross or by a layperson while attending one of these educational institutions.

Compensation will be paid to the victims and to their parents once the claims have been processed and liquidated in a final manner under the settlement.

Source: 
Province canadienne de la Congrégation de Sainte-Croix

Information: 
Elaine Mayrand
Massy Forget Langlois Public Relations
Office: [phone], ext. 24
Cell: [phone]
[email protected]