ST. JOHN'S (CANADA)
Saltwire Network [Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada]
May 4, 2026
By Tara Bradbury
Settlement agreement is fair and appropriate for the abuse claimants and Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s, judge determines
The court has approved a $45.8-million settlement between the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and survivors of abuse by Christian Brothers at the Mount Cashel orphanage and other locations within the St. John’s archdiocese.
“I agree that the settlement agreement is fair and appropriate, both for the abuse claimants and the (Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s),” wrote Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court Justice Garrett Handrigan in his decision Thursday, April 20.
Two survivors who asked to be included in the settlement were denied, since they had released the province in prior proceedings in 1996 and 2004.
Individual amounts for those awarded compensation from the province range from just under $6,000 to roughly $750,000, based on factors that include the type and timing of the abuse, and applicable laws relevant to the government’s responsibility for children at Mount Cashel, in Roman Catholic schools, and at other institutions.
The settlement agreement also includes a $500,000 counselling fund for the survivors.
Claimants have the choice to opt out of the settlement. If the total allotted compensation of those who opt out exceeds $9 million, the province can terminate the agreement.