Nova Scotia should ‘wake up’ to issue of child sexual abuse

Bob Martin, right, and Dale Sutherland were victimized by Port Hawkesbury businessman
Ernest Fenwick MacIntosh.

On the eve of finally receiving the justice they’ve sought for almost 20 years, Bob Martin and Dale Sutherland did not celebrate. Instead, the two men, who were abused as boys by Ernest Fenwick MacIntosh, spent the night meeting another victim.

There have been a lot of meetings to reach this point.

On Friday Justice Minister Lena Diab introduced an amendment to the Limitation of Actions Act, which gives existing victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence the right to sue their abuser in civil court. When the bill was introduced last fall, it was not retroactive, a shortcoming deemed yet another slap in the face by victims.

“How dare someone tell me that I can’t sue the person that raped me,” said Sutherland. “Child sexual abuse in Nova Scotia is rampant and Nova Scotia should wake up.”  (more...)

Nova Scotia should ‘wake up’ to issue of child sexual abuse