An Alberta judge has approved a multimillion-dollar settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by former students of a Calgary junior high school who were allegedly abused by two former teachers. Justice Michele Hollins certified the $15.7 million payment to 55 former students of John Ware School on Thursday. The certification follows an agreement reached in November between the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and members of the lawsuit, who said they were abused by Fred Archer and Michael Gregory while the two were teachers at the school between 1988 and 2004. Gregory, who taught at the school for 20 years, was charged in 2021 with 17 counts of sexual assault and sexual exploitation. At the time, police said several former students had come forward with allegations against the teacher. A few days later, police said Gregory had died, and his death was not believed to be criminal. In the statement of claim, three representative plaintiffs alleged the school division failed to act on reports of abuse by Gregory and failed to ensure appropriate policies were in place to prevent abuse and exploitation. Long journey for victims It’s been a long journey for Eryn MacKenzie, who says she was 12 years old when her teacher began sexually abusing her. Those memories all came up again when Gregory was arrested five years ago. She hopes the settlement brings peace for the students whose lives have been forever changed. “I think the settlements that people are going to get will help people move on with their lives, get counselling, to get a bit of a break,” MacKenzie said, “because the reality is that life doesn’t stop for any of us going through this.” She also hopes the stories she and other class-action members shared encourage people to speak up when they suspect wrongdoing. “I think people are starting to speak up more, starting to realize how rampant child sexual abuse is, how unacceptable it is, so hopefully this is another page in the book of moving forward with it,” she said. The CBE earlier apologized for the harm experienced by the class-action members and the effect it had on them. It commended the strength and courage of the members who came forward to share their experiences and to participate in the court process. Relief for plaintiffs Class-action lawyer David Corrigan says individual amounts will be approved on April 29, and members are expected to get paid in May. He told reporters it comes as a relief to many of his clients. “It’s been a long process. For the lawyers, it’s only been five years, but for the people who experienced this, in some cases, almost 40 years,” he said. “I think the majority of people are very relieved to see this, to have some closure and to know they’ll be able to move forward, get the help they need and hold their heads high.” Archer is scheduled to stand trial in March for allegations of abuse on two other boys. — with files from The Canadian Press
