VICTORIA— Just weeks before a class action lawsuit was to proceed, a proposed settlement has been announced by the B.C. government for some of the residents who were abused at the notorious Woodlands School in New Westminster.
But in keeping with a 2005 B.C. Court of Appeal decision, the settlement includes only those who experienced abuse after August 1, 1974—something Gregg Schiller, coordinator of the We Survived Woodlands Group, says “revictimizes” 500 former residents.
“The people who were in Woodlands before August 1, 1974 are going to be completely left out of that option for compensation and they’re the folks who were probably the most abused and the ones who started this whole process for compensation in the first place,” says Schiller.
Before it closed in 1986, many children suffered physical, sexual and emotional abuse at Woodlands, a government-run facility for the mentally disabled.
One of those excluded from the settlement is Bill McArthur, a former resident of Woodlands who was beaten and sexually abused by staff members. Having attended the school from age 5 to 14, he left just 10 days before the Aug. 1, 1974, cutoff date for compensation.
“[McArthur] has been involved from the very beginning and fought to get compensation and recognition for people, and he’s going to get nothing after the sexual abuse he’s been through. That’s really tragic—there’s no justice in that,” says Schiller.
Attorney General Mike de Jong said Tuesday that the proposed settlement “is the result of extensive negotiations to find a fair approach to compensate Woodlands residents who suffered abuse.”
Details of the settlement have not been released as it is subject to approval by the B.C. Supreme Court, which is expected to happen early in 2010. However, Schiller says 1,100 former residents will receive payments of between $3,000 and $150,000 each.
Opened in 1878 as the Provincial Asylum for the Insane, in1950 the name of the institution was changed to Woodlands School in recognition of its emphasis on education and rehabilitation.
Prompted by media reports of complaints by former residents, a 2001 review by former B.C. ombudsman Dulcie McCallum found evidence of systemic physical, sexual, and psychological abuse as well as unexplained deaths at Woodlands between 1976 and 1986.
An investigation of the school by B.C.’s Public Guardian and Trustee’s Office documented reports of sterilization, punishments involving restraints, overcrowding, sexually transmitted diseases, unexplained injuries, heavy doses of medication, and withdrawal of food and privileges, among other abuses.
Woodlands children were also used in genetic research and drug experiments for more than 30 years, ending in 1986. According to the Georgia Straight, between 1954 and 1978, almost three dozen research papers, including drug studies, were published by the then-medical director of Woodlands, Dr. Bluma Tischler.
But in keeping with a 2005 B.C. Court of Appeal decision, the settlement includes only those who experienced abuse after August 1, 1974—something Gregg Schiller, coordinator of the We Survived Woodlands Group, says “revictimizes” 500 former residents.
“The people who were in Woodlands before August 1, 1974 are going to be completely left out of that option for compensation and they’re the folks who were probably the most abused and the ones who started this whole process for compensation in the first place,” says Schiller.
Before it closed in 1986, many children suffered physical, sexual and emotional abuse at Woodlands, a government-run facility for the mentally disabled.
One of those excluded from the settlement is Bill McArthur, a former resident of Woodlands who was beaten and sexually abused by staff members. Having attended the school from age 5 to 14, he left just 10 days before the Aug. 1, 1974, cutoff date for compensation.
“[McArthur] has been involved from the very beginning and fought to get compensation and recognition for people, and he’s going to get nothing after the sexual abuse he’s been through. That’s really tragic—there’s no justice in that,” says Schiller.
Attorney General Mike de Jong said Tuesday that the proposed settlement “is the result of extensive negotiations to find a fair approach to compensate Woodlands residents who suffered abuse.”
Details of the settlement have not been released as it is subject to approval by the B.C. Supreme Court, which is expected to happen early in 2010. However, Schiller says 1,100 former residents will receive payments of between $3,000 and $150,000 each.
Opened in 1878 as the Provincial Asylum for the Insane, in1950 the name of the institution was changed to Woodlands School in recognition of its emphasis on education and rehabilitation.
Prompted by media reports of complaints by former residents, a 2001 review by former B.C. ombudsman Dulcie McCallum found evidence of systemic physical, sexual, and psychological abuse as well as unexplained deaths at Woodlands between 1976 and 1986.
An investigation of the school by B.C.’s Public Guardian and Trustee’s Office documented reports of sterilization, punishments involving restraints, overcrowding, sexually transmitted diseases, unexplained injuries, heavy doses of medication, and withdrawal of food and privileges, among other abuses.
Woodlands children were also used in genetic research and drug experiments for more than 30 years, ending in 1986. According to the Georgia Straight, between 1954 and 1978, almost three dozen research papers, including drug studies, were published by the then-medical director of Woodlands, Dr. Bluma Tischler.
