The Quebec Superior Court has authorized a class action lawsuit against more than a dozen members of the Catholic order Brothers of Charity order for alleged sexual assaults committed over the past eight decades.
The Arsenault Dufresne Wee law firm is representing the complainants and argued the case in a Montreal courthouse on Dec. 12. The case is centred around assaults allegedly committed between 1940 and the present.
"The Brothers of Charity had contested this first step," a news release from the law firm reads.
An heir of an applicant listed as A.B. is representing all the victims who were allegedly assaulted by either members of the clergy or lay persons connected to the religious order.
The order established itself in Quebec’s education system in 1873 and founded several schools in the province, including Mont-Siant-Bernard College in Sorel, Mont-Saint-Antoine in Montreal and College Saint-Bernard in Drummondville.
The law firm said that more than a dozen potential victims have contacted layers to register for the class action. All victims can register for the class action free of charge and in complete confidentiality by contacting the law firm by email at actioncollective@adwavocats.com. Lawyer Justin Wee said the victims could number in the hundreds.
All allegations must be proven in court unless a settlement is reached, the law firm adds.
The Arsenault Dufresne Wee Avocats firm has represented multiple plaintiffs alleging abuse from dioceses in Quebec.
Recently, the firm represented those that accused Cardinal Marc Ouellet of sexual misconduct.
Ouellet stepped down from his post at the Vatican at the end of January. He denies the allegations
- With files from The Canadian Press
