Abuses by Nuns at the Institution des Sourdes-Muettes de Montréal
In Quebec Sign Language (QSL):
Latest news
On July 16, 2024, the Superior Court of Quebec rendered a judgment authorizing the Class Action seeking to compensate every person who was a victim of sexual, physical and/or psychological abuses by the nuns at the Institution des Sourdes-Muettes de Montréal. The Court of Appeal refused leave to appeal sought by the defendants.
We will keep you inform of the following steps over the coming months.
The Class Action
On June 9, 2021, la Maison des femmes sourdes de Montréal (MFSM) filed an application for authorization to institute a class action against the Communauté des Soeurs de Charité de la Providence and other related organizations, such as the Sisters of Providence. The class action seeks to compensate every person who was victim of sexual, physical and/or psychological abuses by the nuns at the Institution des Sourdes-Muettes de Montréal.
Given the despicable acts committed on particularly vulnerable victims, the class action seeks the defendants’ condemnation to punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages.
You can read the MFSM’s Application by clicking here (French only).
On September 24, 2021, the plaintiff filed an application with the Court to preserve confidentiality over the identity of the designated member and of all class members. Through this application, the plaintiff requested an order to maintain confidentiality over the identity of all abuse survivors in the context of this class action, as well as over all documents that might reveal their identities, which must be sealed. On October 28, 2021, this request was granted by Justice Granosik.
During September 2021, the defendants also filed three applications with the Court, as follow:
-an application for a stay of the class action pending a final decision on the application for authorization of another class action;
-an application for anonymity to remove from the proceedings the names of sisters who have allegedly committed abuse, on the Class Action Registry and the TJL website, and to prevent TJL and class members from freely sharing this information;
-an application for particulars about the identity of certain members of the group.
This first application was the object of an agreement between the parties for practicality and proportionality reasons. On October 19, 2021, Justice Granosik rendered a judgment recording this agreement. The hearing of the application for authorization to institute the class action was thus suspended until a decision was rendered on an application for authorization to institute a class action in another file.
On October 24, 2023, a hearing was held to decide two applications for relevant evidence submitted by the defendants, one of which related to a constitutional challenge of section 2926.1 of the Quebec Civil Code announced by the defendants. On December 4, 2023, the Court rendered its decision on both applications.
Are you a member?
The Class is defined as follows:
Every person who was victim of sexual or physical abuses committed before June 20, 1975, by any nun member of the Communauté des Sœurs de Charité de la Providence or a related organization, while they were students or boarders at the Institution des Sourdes-Muettes de Montréal;
(the “victims of sexual or physical abuses” sub-group)
and
Every person who was victim of psychological abuses committed before June 20, 1975, by any nun member of the Communauté des Sœurs de Charité de la Providence or a related organization, while they were students or boarders at the Institution des Sourdes-Muettes de Montréal, with the exception of persons covered by the “victims of sexual or physical abuses” sub-group;
(the “victims of psychological abuses” sub-group).
(OUR TRANSLATION)
Do not hesitate to communicate with us if you have any question regarding this case. All communication with our office is strictly confidential and covered by the lawyer-client privilege.
If you want to know what a class action is, you can also consult our page What are Class Actions?
To receive news, you can fill out the form below or communicate with La Maison des femmes sourdes de Montréal at 514-255-6376 or via Skype: accueil.mfsm if you need assistance filling the form.
A toll-free information helpline exists for sexual assault victims of all ages. This service provides free, bilingual and confidential support and guidance, and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, throughout Québec, at a toll-free number: 1 888 933-9007 or 514 933-9007 for the Montreal region.