Church Deemed Partly Liable For Residential School

Church Deemed Partly Liable For Residential School

Friday, October 21, 2005 at 16:21

The Supreme Court has ruled the federal government should pay the lion’s share of compensation stemming from a residential school abuse lawsuit.

In a ruling today concerning a case in BC, the high court decided that a lower court was right in ordering Ottawa to pay 75 per cent of the costs, with the United Church picking up the remaining 25 per cent.

The BC Court of Appeal ruled against that judgment. It said the federal government should be fully liable for any damages stemming from lawsuits, arguing the churches have charitable immunity.

However, the Supreme Court disagreed that charitable immunity applies in this case, and decided that the church and the government are jointly liable.

The high court’s judgment could have wide implications for similar cases involving other churches.