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Diocese of Quebec Sex Abuse Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: A Quebec judge has given the go-ahead to a class action lawsuit filed against the Catholic archdiocese of Quebec by people who say they were sexually abused by clergy members
- Why: The plaintiffs say multiple teens and young people were abused by members of the clergy since 1940
- Where: Quebec Superior Court
A judge has given the green light to a class action lawsuit filed against the Catholic archdiocese of Quebec by plaintiffs who say they were sexually abused by members of clergy.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Bernard Godbout authorized the class action lawsuit in a written ruling issued May 19, CTV News reports.
The class action was originally filed in 2020 and covers alleged sexual assaults committed from 1940 to the present day.
Class members include anyone who was sexually assaulted by clergy or lay personnel who were under the responsibility of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Quebec or the Roman Catholic archbishop of Quebec since 1940. Heirs of victims are also eligible to be represented by the Class.
According to the law firm representing the plaintiffs, Arsenault Dufresne Wee, more than 88 alleged victims have come forward so far.
The lawsuit is the first class action targeting all the members of a specific archdiocese who allegedly committed sexual assault, the firm told CTV News.
Change in Law Allowed Sex Abuse Lawsuit To Be Filed
In the original lawsuit, filed in 2020, lead plaintiffs Gaétan Bégin and Pierre Bolduc said they were sexually assaulted by priests of the Diocese of Quebec when they were teenagers.
After learning of the proposed Quebec sexual abuse class action lawsuit, the Diocese of Quebec reportedly indicated that its representatives had undertaken an “internal investigation.”
Bolduc denounced his alleged attacker, Father Jean-Marie Bégin, a decade ago. However, the statute of limitations prevented him from instituting a class action lawsuit in Canada because the abuse occurred over 30 years ago.
However, the statute of limitations law has since been abolished in Quebec, allowing Pierre and others to come forward. Until 2013, the statute of limitations in the province was three years. In 2013 the Parti Québécois government extended the restrictive time limit to 30 years.
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