Television

The Children of Woodlands, W-FIVE's award-winning television documentary. Click here to go to W-FIVE's site.

Radio

Bill Good, CKNW interviews with We Survived Woodlands Group members, 2006

Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5

Print

Transition. Magazine of the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities. Summer 2006. "Woodlands School Survivors. Shut in, now shut out?"

The Children of Woodlands, Alan Fryer, W-FIVE. Accompanies Children of Woodlands TV documentary. http://www.ctv.ca/wfive. Go down to More Stories and click on "Children of Woodlands".

Documents

Reports & Briefs

Do the Right Thing, 2005, produced by the We Survived Woodlands Group.

The Need to Know: Administrative Review of Woodlands School, BC Ombudsman Dulcie McCallum, submitted to the Ministry of Children and Family Development, August 2001.

The Woodlands Project. A Report of the Public Guardian and Trustee of British Columbia. August 2004. Click on this link and go to Reports and Publications, scroll down to Special Reports (second link from top) and click on PGT Woodlands Project Report.

Settlement Agreement

To see the terms of the Settlement Agreement please to go http://www.kleinlyons.com/class/woodlands/settdocs.php

Woodlands Backgrounder

Woodlands School was a provincial institution that provided residential care between 1950 and 1996 for thousands of children who were deemed to have mental disorders. Woodlands School was closed in 1996. Former residents are attempting to gain compensation from the provincial government for the abuse they suffered at Woodlands.

Ombudsman Report finds systemic abuse at Woodlands

In 2000, Provincial Ombudsman Dulcie McCallum was asked to prepare a review of Woodlands School for the Ministry for Children and Families (now the Ministry of Children and Family Development). In her August 2001 report, called The Need to Know: Administrative Review of Woodlands School, she told the government that physical and sexual abuse of Woodlands residents had occurred and that the abuse was systemic --- it happened throughout the system. The provincial government refuses to acknowledge this, claiming that there were "a few bad apples" at Woodlands.

McCallum's Report stressed that former residents should not be forced to go to court in order to receive compensation.

The We Survived Woodlands Group

The We Survived Woodlands Group (WSW) was formed in 2002 by survivors of Woodlands School and their families and advocates. Many of these family members and advocates had participated in the fight to have Woodlands School closed. Now they became part of the struggle to get justice and compensation for the abuse suffered by former residents.

WSW produced its own brief, Do the Right Thing, in 2005, in which they called on the government to settle out of court with the former Woodlands residents. The brief has been endorsed by 222 community groups throughout the province.

The class action

With no movement on the part of the government, Woodlands survivors had to sue for compensation. The class action was certified on March 17, 2005 with Poyner Baxter, a North Vancouver law firm, as the counsel (lawyer) for the class. The class included all persons who had been resident at Woodlands School.

Representative Plaintiffs for the class action

On September 21, 2006, a decision by Supreme Court Justice N. Morrison confirmed William McArthur as the ongoing Representative Plaintiff for the class and added Mr. William Richard, who lives in the Yukon, as Co-Representative Plaintiff. Both are former Woodlands residents and Mr. McArthur is an active member of the Woodlands survivors' group and of the broader disability community.

Survivors want an out-of-court settlement with a "common experience payment"

Woodlands survivors have repeatedly asked the government to "do the right thing" --- to negotiate an out-of-court settlement with a "common experience payment". This means that everyone who was at Woodlands would be compensated and they would all receive the same amount. They wouldn't be forced to go through a trial to prove they had been abused and to describe the abuse they had suffered.

The government refuses to do this and insists on continuing with the court process, which drags on and on. The trial, which had been scheduled to start in January 2008 and continue for 27 weeks, has been postponed while other legal matters make their way through the system. This prolonged process is a hardship for the many former residents who are elderly and living on very low incomes, as well as for the family members and advocates who must act on behalf of survivors who are unable to speak for themselves.

Provincial government rejects the most vulnerable survivors

In June 2007, the provincial government filed its application to have the class definition amended to exclude individuals who were resident at Woodlands prior to August 1, 1974, the date that the Crown Proceedings Act came into force. On February 29, 2008, Madame Justice Satanove decided that the Crown could not be held liable for acts committed before the Crown Proceedings Act came into force. Her decision was based on an October 2005 Court of Appeal decision known as Arishenkoff No.2. The amended definition of the class means that all survivors who were no longer residents at Woodlands as of August 1, 1974 are to be denied participation in the class action and will not be entitled to any compensation. This means that the oldest, sickest and most vulnerable survivors have been cast aside.

Appeals denied

The Woodland survivors filed an appeal to the BC Court of Appeal from the order of Madame Justice Satanove that would exclude pre-1974 residents. In their opinion, every child who was confined at Woodlands School, from the time that it opened in 1950 until it closed in 1996, was a victim of a government that failed to protect them.

The appeal was lost. Survivors then applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, but this leave was also denied. 

The refusal of the Supreme Court of Canada to hear the appeal, means that there are no further legal steps that can be taken for the pre–August 1, 1974 Woodlands Residents. There are, however, many Woodlands residents and supporters who are continuing to pursue this matter politically and in the press. 

Contacts

For more information on Woodlands, please contact:

Jane Dyson, BCCPD, Tel: 604-872-1278, email jwd@bccpd.bc.ca.

Bill McArthur - Tel: 604-520-3418

Woodlands School survivor and co-plaintiff in the survivors' class action suit.

Gregg Schiller - Tel: 604-688-7001

Co-ordinator, The We Survived Woodlands Group

July 8th, 2010 

Woodlands School Survivors’ Historic Settlement Agreement Approved By Court But Some Survivors Still Left Out                                                 

VANCOUVER – On July 7th the Supreme Court of British Columbia approved a Settlement Agreement in the class action brought by former residents of Woodlands School in New Westminster. This means that some former Woodlands School residents can now apply for compensation for the abuse they suffered at the institution. People who were at Woodlands after August 1, 1974 now have approximately 14 months to apply for compensation for the sexual, physical and psychological abuse they suffered while at the institution.

The settlement is a long awaited victory for those survivors who were at the institution after the August 1, 1974 cut-off date. They will now be able to apply for compensation ranging from $3,000 to $150,000.

For survivors like representative plaintiff Bill MacArthur, this is a bittersweet day. While delighted for those who can now apply for compensation, he is heartbroken for the approximately 300 former residents who are excluded. The government will not allow them to apply for compensation because it was impossible to sue the Province before August 1st 1974.

The survivors continue to urge the provincial government to offer compensation to all former residents. There are fewer former residents able to apply for compensation than originally thought, meaning the Province could include all the survivors within its compensation budget at no extra cost to BC’s taxpayers.

“The government has now determined that there are a lot less survivors who will be applying for compensation,” said MacArthur. “They now think it will be less than 900, down from an earlier estimate of 1,168.”

“The pre-’74 survivors are the oldest former residents. They cannot continue to wait for justice. We are once again calling on the Province to do the right thing and include all Woodlands survivors in the Agreement, now,” said MacArthur.

For more information:

Bill McArthur, Woodlands Survivor, 778-222-3617

Gregg Schiller, Coordinator, We Survived Woodlands Group, 604-868-7001

Jane Dyson, BC Coalition of People with Disabilities, 604-875-0188

May 12, 2010

Woodlands Class Action Settlement Outreach Meetings

Wednesday January 27, 2010

Woodlands Settlement Agreement Goes Before BC Supreme Court for Approval

Good News Day Spoiled by Exclusion of 500 Woodlands School Survivors From Compensation

VANCOUVER – An historic Settlement Agreement that will mean some former residents of Woodlands School can apply for compensation for the psychological, physical and sexual abuse they suffered at the institution goes before BC Supreme Court Justice Robert Bauman today. If approved, people living at Woodlands after August 1, 1974 will be eligible to apply for compensation ranging from $3,000 - $150,000.

This should have been a good news day for Woodlands Survivors who have waited years to see the abuse they suffered recognized by the Province, but it is spoiled by the exclusion of about 500 former residents who were at Woodlands before August 1974. The government will not allow people who lived at Woodlands before August 1974 to apply for compensation because it was not possible to sue the Province before that date.

For Bill McArthur who was abused at Woodlands and missed the deadline by 10 days, this long-awaited Agreement is a tough pill to swallow. Pleased that some former residents will be able to apply for compensation, he is broken-hearted that the oldest of them are being denied justice.

“It’s so cruel to determine compensation in such an arbitrary way,” said McArthur. “If you lived at Woodlands before August 1974 you suffered the same abuse as if you were there after August 1974. It was devastating to have to tell the older Survivors they are being left out.”

“The government could include all Survivors,” said Jane Dyson of the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities. “Their lawyer (David Klein) has told us the law does not prevent the Province from providing all former residents the opportunity to apply for compensation.”

While severely disappointed, the Survivors are encouraged by the support they have as they urge the government to reconsider. In December 2009, a Province editorial called on BC “to do the right thing on this file,” and compensate all victims of abuse at Woodlands.

“We know British Columbians support the Survivors. Over 200 community groups have told us they support an out-of-court Settlement, and they didn’t mean for a select few,” said Survivors Group Coordinator, Gregg Schiller.

For more information contact:

Bill McArthur: 778-222-3617, Woodlands Survivor

Greg Schiller: 604-868-7001, We Survived Woodlands Group Coordinator

Jane Dyson: 604-875-0188; BC Coalition of People with Disabilities

To see the Agreement please go to: http://www.kleinlyons.com.

December 15/09

Woodlands School Update: Compensation will be available for only some Survivors of the institution

After years of attending lengthy court hearings and believing the abuse they suffered at Woodlands School would never be recognized, about 1,100 former residents of the New Westminster institution finally have a proposal for a Settlement Agreement of their class action. The Court will hear the request for approval on January 27th, 2010.

Once approved, the Settlement will provide Woodlands Survivors with compensation ranging from $3,000 - $150,000 for the sexual, physical or psychological abuse or injuries they suffered at the Woodlands institution on or after August 1st, 1974.

People applying for compensation will not have to go to court. They will be required to submit written materials which will be reviewed by a judge who will decide whether they are entitled to compensation and if so, how much. Any compensation awarded will have no impact on the income supports (disability benefits or basic social assistance) that people receive from the province.

To see the terms of the Settlement Agreement please to go http://www.kleinlyons.com/class/woodlands/settdocs.php

The BC Coalition of People with Disabilities (BCCPD) is pleased that some former residents of Woodlands will finally have their abuse recognized after years of waiting. We have worked with the We Survived Woodlands Group for many years to convince the provincial government to do the right thing and take responsibility for the abuse that occurred at Woodlands. Most of the former residents live on very low incomes and struggle to afford the most basic necessities of life.

We are, however, extremely disappointed for the approximately 500 former Woodlands residents who the government says are not eligible for compensation because they were at the institution before August 1974. The oldest, most fragile residents who have waited the longest to have their abuse recognized are effectively being told that nobody cares about what they went through in what was supposed to be a safe place.

The government says people who lived at Woodlands before August 1st, 1974 cannot seek compensation under the Agreement because it was not possible to sue the province before that date, except in very exceptional circumstances. The BC Supreme Court and the BC Court of Appeal ruled in the government’s favour and the Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear the Survivors’ appeal.

The BCCPD will continue to urge the provincial government to include all victims of abuse, which it could easily do. For example, the victims of abuse at Jericho Hill School who were there before 1974 were not excluded from receiving compensation. The Survivors have been through so much, they are devastated that part of their community has been left out from the Agreement, and again are asking the government to do the right thing.

Contact information

The law firm Klein Lyons is counsel for the Survivors. David Klein and Shauna Tucker have worked tirelessly for the former Woodlands residents. They are the best people to contact for information about applying for compensation under the Settlement Agreement and can be reached at 604-874-7171

BCCPD: Jane Dyson, Executive Director, 604-875-0188, jwd@bccpd.bc.ca
We Survived Woodlands Group coordinator: Gregg Schiller, 604-868-7001