Settlement close in Dartmouth home alleged abuse case

A settlement is in the works in a class-action lawsuit against the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children thatinvolvesmore than 100 claimants.

Those claimants allege they suffered physical,sexual and emotional abuse while they were residents of the home.

A spokesperson forWagners law firm,which isrepresenting the claimants,said the major terms of the civil case against thehome have been agreed upon.

The firmis still pursuing action against the Province of Nova Scotia, which oversaw the home.

The firm's spokesperson was confident a settlement will be reached, but said claimants will wait a long time to receive compensation.Any money granted will be held until afterbusiness with the province has been settled.

"The apology is very important, the money aspect of it is symbolic of the apology. It's never ever going to replace the childhood that we missed, the abuse that we sufferedno amount of money can ever bring that back," said Tony Smith, a former resident of the orphanage.

"This adds more sincerity to the apology."

John Kulik, the lawyer representing the home, said negotiationsin the civil case are ongoing.

"They are on the road to a settlement but we could still be knocked off the road," he said.

Kulik said he'soptimistic a settlement will be reached withinthe next two weeks.

Veronica Marsman, who was executive director of the home, has said she has no knowledge of staff abusing residents and instead alleges it may have been the children themselveswho physically, sexually and mentally abused each other, according to an affidavit filed with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court last month.

Marsman said that with the exception of individual claims and media reports, she was only aware of one incident through the home's records in which a staff member was alleged to have had sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl, and that was in1983. The accused staff member was suspended and eventually fired, the affidavit said.

"It is never possible to prevent all such abuse in a residential environment, but it was carefully monitored in accordance with standards at the time," Marsman said in the affidavit.

The Home for Colored Children opened in 1921 as an orphanage for black Nova Scotian children.

LastMarch,RCMP formed a special investigative team to look into abuse allegations and asked people to come forward.

Forty complainants came forward, who are now living in several provinces including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Alberta. The team visited the witnesses in each location.

In December, the RCMP said the evidence collected was not enough to support criminal charges.

The home is currently a short-term centre for fosterchildren of all races and cultures. The homealso provides outreach services to vulnerable families in the African Nova Scotian community.

According to the home's website, the main funding for the centre comes from the province's Department of Community Services. Additional funding comes from the home's annual telethon anddonations from the community