Plaintiffs in Horne lawsuit may get counselling: lawyers

About 70 plaintiffs in a lawsuit involving former Nunavut teacher and convicted sex offender Ed Horne may get access to counselling, even though the suit has yet to go to trial.

Duringpre-trial motions Wednesday, Geoff Budden, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told the Nunavut Court of Justice that both governments should offer some form of treatment to the plaintiffs, all of whom claim Horne was their teacher in eastern Arctic communities duringthe 1970s and 1980s.

Horne, now 64, was convicted of eight sex-related charges in 1987, then convicted on 20 more charges in 2000. A third trial based on allegations from four more former students ended last month.

The 70 plaintiffs allege that both the N.W.T. and Nunavut governments failed to protect them from Horne. In 2002, both governments reached a $21-million out-of-court settlement with 82 former students.

Nunavut was part of the Northwest Territories before becoming its own territory in 1999.

Robert Dewar, who is representing the Nunavut and N.W.T. governments in the lawsuit, told the court both governments are considering Budden's request.

However, Dewar said they want more time to meet with officials from Nunavut's Health and Social Services Department, in order to determine what services are already available in that territory.

Dewar stressed that the request for more time is not a stall tactic on the part of the defendants. Nunavut Justice Beverley Browne granted the request, and the matter will be discussed again in mid-March.

Browne reserved judgment on several other key issues during the pre-trial motions, which ran Tuesday and Wednesdayin Iqaluit.

Lawyer wants to question former N.W.T. premier

One such issue is whether former N.W.T. premier Joe Handley and other government officials can be ordered to court for questioning.

Budden told the court Wednesday that he wants to question Handley on a letter he wrote as N.W.T.'s deputy education minister in 1985 the same year Horne was arrested for sex offenses that may cast some light on who in the N.W.T. government knew about Horne's past as a sex offender, as well as when they knew about it and what was done about it.

The contents of Handley's letter are currently sealed, but Budden said it is an important piece of evidence that could speak to the plaintiffs' claims of government negligence.

Budden said he also wants to ask Handley about comments he made some time ago suggesting that perhaps some plaintiffs made up stories of sexual abuse.

However, lawyers for the defendants said they have appointed Mark Cleveland, another former N.W.T. deputy minister of education, to answer questions on behalf of both governments.

Lawyer Robert Dewar said Cleveland has an extensive background in the department and was deputy minister just as Horne's activities were becoming public.

But Budden said Cleveland is not sufficiently informed to answer many questions put to him in court, particularly any questions relating to Handley. Dewar said Cleveland can be called again to respond to further questions the plaintiffs may have.