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	Bastarache to Meet with Abuse Victims By Craig Babstock Times & Transcript Staff April 22, 2010 http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1025689 Former Supreme Court justice Michel Bastarache wants to meet with people who were sexually victimized by the Bathurst clergy. Bastarache was hired by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bathurst a few weeks ago to track down victims of sexual abuse and offer them compensation on behalf of the diocese. The Ottawa-based lawyer says the diocese is trying to address the issue of compensation now, rather than wait until it comes before a judge in the form of a lawsuit. "They understand it's more or less unavoidable that these things would go to court unless there was some action taken," says Bastarache. "It's a way for the bishop here to acknowledge their responsibility. They're not going to fight and say they're not responsible." Lévi Noël, 83, a former parish priest on the Acadian peninsula, was sentenced to eight years in prison in January for committing sexual offences against young boys. Noël pleaded guilty to 22 sexual offences committed between 1958 and 1981 against individuals who were between eight and 16 at the time of the incidents. The Mounties began their investigation in May 2008 after someone came forward. Noël left the Diocese of Bathurst more than 30 years ago and is now retired. Bastarache says there are at least 18 victims connected to that priest, and there may be more. He is trying to get in touch with those individuals, but the compensation is not limited to Noël's victims. "They asked me to develop a process under which they would accept to make offers of compensation to all the victims of sexual assault perpetrated by members of the diocese," he says. Bastarache has published an open letter to abuse victims in Bathurst newspapers, asking that they contact him. He wants to meet with them in the coming weeks to explain the process and give each victim a claim form. He says the amount of compensation for each victim will depend on the severity of the assaults and the impact on each individual. Once he has met with the victims, the claim forms will be reviewed by experts such as doctors and psychologists. "By the end of the summer, or early October, I'll meet individually with them and make them an offer for compensation," says the lawyer. No one will be compelled to accept compensation but Bastarache says this is a way to avoid a lawsuit against the diocese and the victims testifying in court and reliving their abuse. "If it's a shorter and simpler process there will be more money available for compensation directly to the victims and not to the process," says the lawyer. Bastarache says it's too early to speculate on how much compensation each victim could receive.
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