Demolition of two B.C. Catholic schools? (News in Brief).Vancouver--Two prestigious Catholic schools are threatened with expropriation The taking of private property for public use or in the public interest. The taking of U.S. industry situated in a foreign country, by a foreign government. Expropriation is the act of a government taking private property; Eminent Domain is the legal term describing the , in order to pay compensation to victims of sexual abuse in Newfoundland. (See C.I., Jan./01, pp. 25 and 26; Nov. /01, p. 25.) Vancouver College and St. Thomas More Collegiate St Thomas More Collegiate is an independent Catholic school located in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. History St Thomas More Collegiate opened in September 1960 with an enrolment of 110 boys in grades 7, 8 and 9. Since 1998, STMC has allowed girls to attend. in Burnaby have lost their appeals not to be considered the property of the Christian Brothers. The highest bidder HIGHEST BIDDER, contracts. He who, at an auction, offers the greatest price for the property sold. 2. The highest bidder is entitled to have the article sold at his bid, provided there has been no unfairness on his part. would take hold of the properties: both schools have been listed at a combined price of $42 to $45 million. The eighty Newfoundland claims for compensation submitted so far total about $80 million. The schools were held in trust and operated by the Christian Brothers of Ireland in Canada. After nine Brothers were convicted for beating or sexually abusing children at Mount Cashel Orphanage in Newfoundland from the 1950s to the 1970s, the victims' lawyers have argued that the B.C. schools were part of the Christian Brothers' patrimony PATRIMONY. Patrimony is sometimes understood to mean all kinds of property but its more limited signification, includes only such estate, as has descended in the same family and in a still more confined sense, it is only that which has descended or been devised in a direct line from the . On the other hand, the schools' lawyers say that the Brothers were only the trustees, holding the property on behalf of Vancouver Catholic parents. Moreover, the two schools were built with funds collected from parents in the local community. Assets of the Brothers have already been sold in Ontario and Newfoundland to pay compensation claims, and the Canadian branch of the order has been put into liquidation. The Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (French: Cour suprême du Canada) is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system.[1] has favoured closure of the B.C. schools, a decision made on May 23, after a six-year struggle. The Court refused to hear an appeal. Thereupon there·up·on adv. 1. Concerning that matter; upon that. 2. Directly following that; forthwith. 3. In consequence of that; therefore. the B.C. Court of Appeal denied an injunction against the claim of sale but referred the matter back to the Ontario Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as Ontario Court of Appeal) is headquartered in downtown Toronto, in historic Osgoode Hall. The Court is composed of 22 judges who hear over 1 500 appeals each year, on issues of private law, constitutional for final disposal. Under provincial law, the schools ought to be protected from closure. Comment: Vancouver College has an eighty-year history and an enrollment of 900 students, while St. Thomas More is over forty years old and has 700 students. It would be a shame and tragedy to punish all these students in B.C. in order to compensate victims elsewhere in Canada. Parents and alumni in B.C. have spent millions of dollars over the past six years on the legal battles for the preservation of their schools. Notwithstanding the need to adequately compensate legitimate victims of abuse, the situation is truly unfair to the parents and students in B.C. (With files from N. Post., May 24, June 4; Globe, May 29, June 3.) |
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