Former Priest, Scout Leader Pedophile Target of $110m Lawsuit
By Alexandra Paul
Despite dozens of criminal convictions, Rowe served only about five years in prison, the result of a deal Rowe's legal counsel arranged with the Crown in return for guilty pleas in nearly 40 cases against him. The 43-page suit was filed in the Ontario Supreme Court in Thunder Bay Thursday. Until it is formally certified by the courts it remains a proposed class-action suit and no statements of defence have been filed. It seeks $110 million in damages. Lawyers spearheading the proposed class action say it's time for the courts to acknowledge the harm done to successive generations of indigenous families because Rowe's abuse boys from 1971-1987 when he worked in the North. Alvin McKay, the only victim identified by name in the suit, alleged Rowe abused him sexually from the ages of five to seven in the 1980s. He's suffered a lifetime of addictions, mental-health problems and broken relationships as a result of the trauma, the suit alleges. "There's been a number of civil actions against (Rowe) over the years, some involving fairly large groups of people, 60-70 people which have settled under confidential terms," said Jonathan Ptak, a partner with the Toronto-based law firm Koskie Minsky, which is spearheading this suit. This is the first to include so many alleged victims, he said. "A light has not yet been shone on this horrific story from the Canadian North,'' Ptak said. "I can't speak to whether or not he's Canada's worst or not. I don't have a catalogue (of pedophiles). But this is something to the ordinary person that is absolutely shocking, when you see the numbers. "I mean, this is a man who is alleged to have sexually abused up to 500 people over the course of 12 years, which would mean literally unchecked behaviour and a frequency that's unfathomable." The Anglican church supplied Rowe, a trained pilot, with a plane that he used on his northern missions, the suit states. Rowe, Scouts Canada and the Anglican Synod of the Diocese of Keewatin are all named in the lawsuit. Rowe is believed to be living in British Columbia. The Anglican Church has said it is crafting a formal national apology for Rowe's actions and what the church describes as its "legacy of brokenness." In a statement released Jan. 20, the church acknowledged Rowe's abuse of indigenous boys in more than a dozen First Nations as playing a role in the ongoing tragedy of youth suicide in Canada's North. "We acknowledge that our past actions have helped create a legacy of brokenness in some First Nations... and we express our willingness, in spite of failings and false starts in the past, to renew our commitment to dialogue and discernment that will help us understand more deeply and act more effectively on our responsibilities," the church said in January. A 2012 report into sexual misconduct against boy scouts found Scouts Canada did not have the appropriate policies, standards or procedures prior to 2011 to suspend or terminate sexual predators from their ranks. That report, prepared by KPMG, was entitled Scouts Canada Review of Suspension and Termination, also concluded the policies that were in place were inconsistently and inappropriately followed. "The idea that a sexual predator could be unsupervised and unchecked and be able to commit that many atrocious crimes is something that is a concern for every parent, and it's of particular concern in the North," Ptak said. — with files from Canadian Press Contact: alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca
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