Can Catholic schools be considered "private property"? (Canada).

Vancouver, BC--The fate of two Catholic Vancouver schools in BC hangs in the balance because of events which happened 30-40 years ago in Newfoundland. Vancouver College has 1,000 students, boys from Grades 1 through 12, while the co-educational St. Thomas More Collegiate in nearby Burnaby has 500. Both schools are administered by the Christian Brothers, who, for legal purposes, hold some shares in them in trust.

In 1996 the Brothers liquidated their assets to the value of $4 million to pay damage claims for the victims molested at the Brothers administered Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John's, NE. Compensation and legal costs have, however, run to more than $11 million; thus the Newfoundland government is suing the Brothers in order to recover their expenses. Lawyers representing the claimants are now arguing that the BC schools--valued at $40 million if sold--should be added to the order's assets.

In February the case moved before the Supreme Court of BC. Lawyers representing the two schools contend that the schools, which were bought and sustained by tuition fees and charitable donations, are not owned by the order but belong to the Catholic community at large. When the schools were founded in the 1920s, the Brothers were merely acting as trustees on behalf of the community in order to get the work off the ground.

The hearings are expected to continue for several months.