MHAs set aside political stripes to remove time limits for survivors of child abuse

In a rare act of cohesion, all members of Newfoundland and Labrador's legislature came together on Tuesday to pass a piece of legislation that removes time limits for survivors of child abuse, and ends the provincial government's practice of fighting their compensation claims based on statutes of limitations.

Opposition members praised Justice Minister John Hogan for engaging with them after they lobbied the government for months to change the law.

The province's longstanding Limitations Act placed a two-year time limit on non-sexual abuse claims, which prevented people from holding their abusers and those liable for their treatment to account for physical or psychological abuse they endured as children.

"This day is a very important day. and it's going to be very important for many people in our province," said Progressive Conservative justice critic Helen Conway Ottenheimer.

The bill passed third reading Tuesday afternoon. Once it receives royal assent, it will immediately affect at least two cases currently before the courts in which the government is being sued for the mistreatment of children. 

In the most publicized case, former St. John's resident Jack Whalen sued the province over its use of solitary confinement at a youth detention centre in Whitbourne. He estimates he spent more than 700 days in solitary as a teenager at the Whitbourne Boys' Home in the 1970s. Lawyers for the provincial government didn't deny it happened, but said Whalen was out of time to come forward with his claim.

Whalen has spent the past year protesting the law, with the unanimous support of all non-Liberal MHAs. 

The government committed to amending the law in April, however its first pass limited the changes to survivors of assault causing bodily harm. That wouldn't have applied to Whalen's case.

"That was sort of restricted to being able to prove the harm, like with marks upon the body," said NDP MHA Lela Evans. "So for us, that was a huge concern."

A draft of the changes made its way to the media before it was tabled in the legislature, causing uproar in the House of Assembly. Opposition MHAs insisted they should be allowed to consult outside experts before debating a bill in the legislature, and asked Hogan to take a committee approach to the bill.

Tumult leads to teamwork

Over the ensuing days, MHAs from all parties said Hogan worked with them to craft an amendment to the bill that was acceptable to everyone.

In the end, an amendment, put forward by Evans and seconded by Conway Ottenheimer, included the phrase "trespass of a person," which covers assault, battery and false imprisonment. It's believed this section will apply to Whalen's case.

The amendment was accepted by the government and will become part of the bill. 

"I will never be able to speak about this act, the Limitation Act, without thinking about Jack Whalen," Evans said after it passed. "Jack Whalen was showing us what he and others have gone through and have been failed by the justice system. We were given the opportunity to correct that."

Evans also commended Independent MHAs Eddie Joyce and Paul Lane for using their limited time in the House of Assembly to repeatedly bring up Whalen's case and the petition to overhaul the Limitations Act.

Joyce used his time Tuesday to address Whalen, who was watching at home in Ontario. 

"Not only is this going to help you, but this is going to help a lot of people you will never meet. But because of you, they'll be much better off. They'll be able to get the services that they need and they'll be able to actually get closure, if there's any way to get closure."

Bill also removes limits for domestic violence

The new act also includes a pair of changes for survivors of domestic abuse.

The NDP amendment gave the same protections to people in intimate partner relationships as it did to minors, meaning a victim of domestic violence could sue their abuser without worrying about time limits.

The government's proposed changes also removed limitation periods for cases of sexual assault in intimate partner relationships.

That closed a loophole left behind by sweeping changes in the 1990s that were intended to allow survivors of sexual abuse at the Mount Cashel Orphanage to sue over their treatment.

Those changes applied only in situations where a person was dependent on their abuser or under their care.

Evans said the NDP were happy to see those changes and hope to see more in the future.

Hogan said the province still needs to amend a separate piece of legislation: the Proceedings Against the Crown Act, which prevents the government from being sued for its liability in sexual abuse cases before 1973.

"We didn't really have the time and we weren't prepared to rush and amendment to the Proceedings Against the Crown Act," Hogan said Tuesday.

He wouldn't give a timeline for the changes but promised the government will get it done.

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.