The province is facing a new lawsuit from people who say the government failed to protect them, launched by two former foster children.
So far nearly 300 people have come forward saying they were abused while living in foster care. And the suit says this abuse happened in every part of the province and is still taking place to this day.
“I was raped, sodomized, sexually assaulted, and sexually humiliated in every way, shape, and form from the ages of five to 10,” says Toni Grann. “From the first days I arrived to the day I left.”
Grann lived in fear for most of her childhood. She was abused while living in foster care and along with Holly Pappassay has filed a $110-million class action lawsuit against the provincial government.
Jonathan Ptak is the co-lead counsel on this case and says the lawsuit centres on victim compensation. He says children living in foster care were never told about the criminal injuries compensation board, a fund that victims of abuse can apply to for financial compensation.
The suit also says the province never told the children in their care they could file personal injury claims against their abusers. Ptak says hundreds, perhaps thousands of children have missed out on this financial help, money that could have helped in their recovery.
“Once they're in the province’s care, the province had the responsibility to investigate cases of abuse in the past as well as ongoing and once they know about it to make claims on their behalf or at least preserve the evidence and tell the kids about these claims so they can be made at a later date,” says Ptak.
The class action includes all children who have been crown wards since 1966, the year the province took responsibility for children removed from their parents’ custody. Of course not every foster child is abused. For those who have had experiences similar to Grann and Pappassay’s, the goal of the lawsuit is to help.
“The hope is you're adopted into a home or go into a foster home where you will be loved and cared for. In my case it turned out to be the complete opposite. I was given to a pedophile – literally – and when I left I left because I thought I was going to die,” says Grann.
“I just want change I just want to know there will be no kids suffering or having to live through what I did. It took me a long time to be the person I am today. I suffered alcoholism, drug abuse, bad relationships because I never knew what love was,” says Pappassay.
None of these allegations against the province has been proven in court.
We reached out to the government today and they said they cannot comment on pending litigation. In terms of a timeline, this case needs be certified as a class action by a judge and that process could take several months.
In the meantime Koskie Minsky, the law firm taking the lead on this, is asking anyone who suffered abuse while living in foster care to come forward.
