Calgary judge permits class-action lawsuit over priest’s residential-school remarks – Cochrane Saxberg

23 Apr 2024

A proposed class-action lawsuit filed by a residential-school survivor against a priest and entities associated with the Catholic Church will move forward after a Calgary judge struck down a motion to dismiss the case on Monday.

Sphenia Jones, a 79-year-old elder of the Haida Nation in British Columbia who attended the Edmonton Indian Residential School in the 1950s, is the representative plaintiff in the proposed lawsuit. It names Rev. Marcin Mironiuk as a defendant. He is accused of making defamatory statements about residential-school survivors in 2021 and causing harm to their reputations by denying reports of unmarked graves.

Also named as defendants are the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton, which placed Father Mironiuk on indefinite administrative leave after calling his comments “thoroughly unacceptable,” and the Oblate Fathers of Assumption Province.

The defendants presented arguments Monday to strike the claim, a procedural option available if a party believes the case has no merit. Justice James Farrington, in a same-day decision, said he is satisfied the claim has a “reasonable chance of success and completes the basics.”

Read More: https://cochranesaxberg.com/2024/04/23/calgary-judge-permits-class-action-lawsuit-over-priests-residential-school-remarks/