"United Church to appeal liability ruling over residential schools"

TORONTO - The United Church of Canada is appealing a B.C. Supreme Court ruling that found it jointly liable for the sexual abuse of students at a native residential school, the church announced last Thursday.

The church's decision brought an immediate and angry response from both victims and lawyers involved in the case.

"I think it's totally disgusting," Willy Blackwater, a B.C. man who suffered years of sexual abuse, told the Globe and Mail.

"The officials who are appealing weren't raped. We were."

Church representatives said the appeal is not intended to slight the victims.

"We aren't denying that the plaintiffs were abused, and that awful things were done to them, said United Church moderator Bill Phipps. "But the question is, what is our true liability?"

The ruling was cheered by native groups but sent shock waves through the ranks of charitable organizations and employers, who fear that it could establish a crippling new standard of accountability.

"Mr. Justice Brenner's decision contains a number of errors, which have wide implications not only for the church but for other charitable organizations," the general council executive of the church said in a statement.

Brenner ruled last month that the United Church and federal government must pay for the sexual and physical abuse children suffered at the Alberni Indian residential school on Vancouver Island because the school was a joint venture.

Brenner concluded that both parties are liable for the sexual assaults committed by Arthur Plint, a former dormitory supervisor at the now defunct school. The ruling related only to whether the church or Ottawa was responsible, and who should pay.

Phipps said the judge was wrong to conclude that the church should be held responsible for the sexual assaults committed by Plint.

"We had a part in the residential school system, said Phipps. "But it's a huge step to say that we are accountable for the actions of employees."

Another hearing is to be held to determine the amount of compensation.

The ruling was called a "major victory" by Vancouver lawyer Peter Grant, who represented most of the 30 people suing the church and government. Almost all the plaintiffs were sexually abused and beaten by Plint, who worked at the school between 1948 and 1968.

"Unfortunately, there is going to be a lot of damage to the church," Grant said of the appeal. "They can couch it in legal language to try and take the sting out of it, but the fact is, they are attacking the victims."

Plint, 80, pleaded guilty in 1995 to dozens of sexual assaults on aboriginal boys. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a judge who called him a "sexual terrorist."

The decision to appeal the ruling came at a special meeting of the church executive in Toronto on June 26.