Abuse allegations at Quebec orphanage: Health authority, religious order agree to $65M settlement

WARNING: This article contains details of abuse.

Jean Simard says it's taken him 25 years of therapy to deal with the abuse he suffered at the hands of staff at a Quebec City orphanage when he was as young as 12 years old.

Around 50 years later, he is among the former residents of the orphanage represented in a class-action lawsuit that has just reached a $65-million settlement deal with the local health authority and the religious order — the Soeurs de la Charité de Québec — that ran the Mont D'Youville orphanage.

The lawsuit represents people who say they were victims of physical, sexual and psychological abuse between 1925 and 1996.

For months, Simard says he was beaten two to three times a week by a man at Mont D'Youville.

"He savagely beat me," said Simard. "Hitting me with the strap on my back.… He would ask me to kiss him after he hit me. He was really a pervert and a sadist."

Simard says he ran away from the orphanage and committed crimes, resulting in him being transferred to other "more secure centres" before he was sent to prison for eight-and-a-half years.

He says the news of a settlement came as a relief.

"We felt we'd been re-victimized throughout the process," said Simard, speaking with Radio-Canada.

"The objective was to be compensated for our suffering."

After six years of work on this case, lawyer Robert Kugler says parties reached the historic settlement through mediation.

Launched by law firms Kugler Kandestin and Quessy Henry St-Hilaire, the lawsuit was approved in 2020.

The class action against the religious order and the local health authority means they will not have to go to trial in September.

"It is the largest settlement of a class action of this nature in Quebec history which is excellent, yet at the same time it's an indication of just how many people were affected by abuse at this institution," said Kugler.

"In a way, this historic amount is a historic sad story because it's an indication of just how many children were mistreated."

He says the law firms took on this case when one former resident of the orphanage was willing to speak out.

"Instead of doing it only for himself, he agreed and we agreed to make it a class action in order to enable what we assumed were many others to access justice as well, instead of continuing to suffer in silence," said Kugler.

To date, nearly 600 survivors have come forward, but Kugler says he expects more.

He says over the years, the organizations responsible for the school tried to blame other entities such as insurance companies, school commissions or the attorney general of Quebec.

As part of the settlement, which has yet to be approved by a judge, the health authority and the religious order did not admit guilt and have not apologized.

Following the approval of the settlement, Kugler says lawyers will work with the victims to determine how much money each plaintiff will receive.

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.