Judge certifies $600-million class-action lawsuit on behalf of former residents of Ontario’s training schools

An Ontario Superior Court judge has certified a class-action lawsuit seeking $600 million in damages against the Ontario government on behalf of former residents of the province’s training schools.

The certification order, signed by Justice Danial Newton in Thunder Bay and released Tuesday, defines the class as all individuals who resided at 13 of the province’s training school facilities between Jan. 1, 1953, and April 2, 1984.

“This is an important milestone for the boys and girls from the training schools,” said lead plaintiff Kirk Keeping in a statement issued by Koskie Minsky, the law firm representing him and other class members. Keeping alleges he was sexually, physically and psychologically abused while attending Pine Ridge Training School in Bowmanville in 1968 when he was 15.

“We have all lived with this for years and we are glad this case is moving forward,” he said.

Training schools were institutions set up and operated by the provincial government to house and educate thousands of children between the ages of 8 and 16 who were deemed by the courts to be “incorrible” or “unmanageable.” Children sent to training school need not have committed any crimes; transgressions such as petty theft, truancy, or running away from home could land a child in training school. Many children sent to the institutions came from abusive or poverty-stricken homes.  (more...)

Judge certifies $600-million class-action lawsuit on behalf of former residents of Ontario’s training schools

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Lawsuit arising from alleged abuse at Ont. training school certified as class action