By Canadian Press

$14.7-million settlement in sex abuse class action against Montreal archdiocese

Apr 13, 2023 | 1:36 PM

MONTREAL — A Montreal law firm says it has reached a $14.7-million settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought against the Montreal archdiocese.

The lawsuit covered victims of sexual abuse since 1940 by priests and lay employees of the Montreal archdiocese, and the lawsuit was authorized by the Quebec Superior Court in 2021.

The class action was brought in April 2019 by a victim of Brian Boucher, a priest who had been jailed for sexually abusing boys under his supervision.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Alain Arsenault, says the settlement will need to be approved by the court in the coming weeks and that a delay will be in place to allow the maximum number of victims to come forward.

Arsenault says it’s the first time in Quebec a diocese has settled a class-action lawsuit, and he estimates there could be as many as 120 victims.

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For its part, the Montreal archdiocese says it welcomes the settlement and hopes it will permit the victims to continue healing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2023.

The Canadian Press