Church eligible for better residential schools deal.

The Anglican Church of Canada is renegotiating the terms of the 2003 residential schools agreement that it signed with the federal government following an announcement Nov. 23 of a new $1.9 billion compensation package that will be offered to tens of thousands of aboriginal Canadians who attended Indian residential schools.

In its renegotiations, the Anglican church has invoked the "most favoured nation" clause in its agreement that states that if the federal government reaches more favourable terms with another denomination involved in the residential schools, Anglicans can ask for the same terms.

Under the terms of the new agreement in principle, signed by the government and legal counsel for former students and churches and announced by Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, the Roman Catholic church agrees to fund healing and reconciliation programs, but "is not required to pay any compensation," noted Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, primate of the Anglican "Church participating alleged they had been abused there," said Bishop Ashdown. Mr. Rowe, who traveled around northern Ontario in the 1970s and 1980s to lead church services and take Boy Scout troops on trips, stayed at the house but had not lived there, said Bishop Ashdown.

Bishop Ashdown, who did not attend the demolition, said he has performed ceremonies to "reclaim" areas where Mr. Rowe abused children. "There's a nice place called St. James Point where (Mr.) Rowe used to take the Scouts. (After the abuse became known), no one wanted to go near there, so I went there and did a prayer service and reclaimed the place," he said.

In 1994, Mr. Rowe pled guilty to sexually abusing 16 boys between 1976 and 1981. He was convicted on 27 counts of indecent assault and one count of common assault and sentenced to six years in prison.

He is currently facing an additional 56 sex-related charges that were laid in May 2003 by the Ontario Provincial Police's Northwest Region Crime Unit. They were alleged to have taken place between 1971 and 1986, involving boys between the ages of six and 16.

Mr. Rowe's lawyer, Robert Sinding of Kenora, Ont., claims the additional charges violate the terms of an agreement between Mr. Rowe and the crown attorney in 1994 that stated Mr. Rowe would not be subject to additional jail time for incidents similar to the ones that were the subject of his guilty plea. Mr. Sinding claims the new charges violate Mr. Rowe's rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Pretrial hearings began in August and were scheduled to resume this month before a trial date can be set.

MARITES N. SISON

STAFF WRITER