The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia approved a class action settlement against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish on 10 September 2009, covering all persons sexually assaulted by any priest of the diocese since 1 January 1950. The contemporaneous settlement release, filed by class counsel the day of approval, states the approved fund at just over 13 million dollars, a 12 million dollar settlement fund plus a 1 million dollar expense fund, exclusive of a separate costs fund. Later reporting on the completed payout, finished in 2012, gives a larger total: 15 million dollars ultimately paid to 125 claimants, the diocese having sold a large number of parish properties, liquidated the bank accounts of many of its churches and borrowed 6.5 million dollars from private lenders to complete the payment. Both figures are recorded, the variance named, rather than picking one. No individual accused or claimant is named; both sources describe an aggregate court-approved settlement.
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Victim EstimateThe Wikipedia article, citing CBC News and the Globe and Mail, gives 125 claimants compensated by the completed 2012 payout; the class covered anyone assaulted by a diocesan priest since 1950, so this is the confirmed claimant count rather than an estimate of total abuse incidence. Key FindingThe gap between the fund approved in 2009 and the total actually paid by 2012 is itself the notable finding both sources point to: completing the payout required the diocese to sell a large number of parish properties, liquidate the bank accounts of many of its own churches and borrow 6.5 million dollars from private lenders, a financial strain distinct from, and larger than, the headline settlement figure approved by the court. 2 Inquiry Profile
Kind of Record JurisdictionNova Scotia, Canada (Supreme Court of Nova Scotia) 1 Publication Year Period Covered, From Period Covered, ToThe completed payout finished in 2012, distinct from the 10 September 2009 court approval already recorded as the period's start year. Cross-Tradition Connections
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