Former residents of Woodlands School in New Westminster have reached a tentative settlement with the provincial government for compensation over alleged abuses at the centre for people with disabilities.
Under the pact about 1,150 residents who attended the school from Aug. 1, 1974 until it's closure in 1996 can submit written claims related to sexual, physical and psychological abuse and injuries and receive compensation from $3,000 to $150,000 depending on severity, according to the plaintiffs' attorney David Klein.
A B.C. Surpeme Court judge could approve the settlement as early as Jan. 27.
Klein had argued residents of the century-old school who suffered abuse before the 1974 cut-off date should also be allowed to file a claim.
"So the 500 or so residents who left before that date receive nothing from the province," he said of government's decision to adhere to a court ruling on the class action lawsuit.
Bill McArthur, representative plaintiff for members of the class action lawsuit, is one of those left out.
McArthur, as a child diagnosed with hyperactive disorder, claims to have been beaten, drowned and sexually abused by staff at Woodlands.
He said former residents have been left disenfranchised through the process.
"How can you compensate someone for their stolen childhood?" he said. "I can never get that back. And to have the government tell me that my suffering does not matter because I fall on the wrong side of a calendar is wrong. It might be legal but it is wrong."
