Former students of Sask. convent school look to launch class-action lawsuit

Survivors of the Montmartre Sacred Heart Convent are preparing to launch a class-action lawsuit for the alleged sexual, physical and emotional abuse they experienced as students.

Orson Thomson, a member of Carry the Kettle (CTK) First Nation, attended the convent school from Kindergarten to Grade 3.

“It’s kind of hard to come back to something that scarred you,” Thomson said, as he walked through Convent Park—the site of the former school.

“You’ve forgotten about this over the years and you never, ever think that it’s going to open up a wound again. When we open up our wounds back here at this place, it brings tears to your eyes. It brings sadness to your heart.”

Sacred Heart Convent operated from 1920 to 1983 before being torn down in 1987.

The Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Cross founded the school and operated it for decades. In 1969, the school division bought the building, but the nuns continued to teach there.

A cross stands in the middle of Convent Park in Montmartre, Sask. marking the site of the former school. (Allison Bamford/CTV News)

The school operated similar to a day school. Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students attended. Most of the Indigenous children were bused in from CTK, which is about 15 kilometres north of Montmartre.

“This wasn’t any better than residential school,” said Cindy Haywahe, who attended the convent school from 1968 to 1972.

“I went to residential school for one year and that was enough. So this wasn’t any better.”

By 1983, only Kindergarten to Grade 3 classrooms remained at the convent. Those grades moved to the main school and the convent closed.

Decades later, Thomson is part of a team looking to launch a class action lawsuit against those responsible for the school and the alleged abuse—the federal government, the Catholic church and the province.

“Our journey has to start somewhere. We have to start our healing,” Thomson said.

This sign recognizes the former site of the Sacred Heart Convent that stood from 1920-1987. (Allison Bamford/CTV News)

ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE

Thomson, as well as other associates, has been researching and compiling information on the school since October 2020. Based on interviews conducted as part of the lawsuit, he said hundreds of students from CTK went to the convent school, and most of the people interviewed allege they were abused in some way.

Haywahe said she doesn’t remember the education, but she remembers the physical abuse she endured.

“(I remember) getting hit with the ruler, getting pulled by the ears, being forced to attend that church over there and take whatever they put on your tongue,” she said.

Students were forced to attend catechism and take communion at the Catholic church across the street, whether or not they were a part of the Catholic faith, she said.

Orson Thomson looks up at the Catholic Church where he was forced to attend catechism as a student. (Allison Bamford/CTV News)

During interviews conducted for the class-action, Thomson said some survivors alleged priests sexually abused Indigenous students in the basement of the same church.

“Even though this school was called Sacred Heart, it wasn’t very sacred,” Haywahe said.

Kelly Thomson attended Grade 1 to Grade 3 at the convent school. He would get into fights on the playground with the white kids every day, he said.

One time, he got cut on the face and the nuns took him and his brother upstairs.

“I was bleeding over the sink and they were hitting me with a yard stick,” he said.

“They took my brother into the classroom and they were whacking him around with a yard stick, too.”

Like many former Indigenous students involved in the class-action lawsuit, Lydia Thompson said she was treated differently because she was from the reserve.

Teachers would divide the students for games based on their skin colour, she claimed.

“We always got picked last and when I did get picked I felt less than.”

One day after school, she went home and tried to wash off her skin.

“The more I washed it, the redder it was getting. I didn’t want the colour of my skin anymore because I didn’t feel like I belonged,” Thompson said.

None of these allegations have been proven in court as the claim has yet to be served.

A spokesperson for Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Justice said it is unaware of the nature of allegations being made and could not comment on potential litigation.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina is not aware of the potential lawsuit. But in a statement, a spokesperson said if the organization is named in the class-action it “will strive to proceed with transparency, accountability, respect, and compassion.”

“We will continue to work closely with Survivors and Indigenous communities in our Archdiocese in fostering, where desired, relationships where healing and reconciliation can continue to take place.”

Sacred Heart Convent School was not recognized in the Federal Indian Day School Settlement, because it was not federally operated, according to a spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

 

“Mission Schools, Joint Schools, Provincial and Territorial Schools and Band-Operated Schools are not eligible for compensation through this settlement, as Canada was not responsible for the administration of these schools,” spokesperson Matthew Gutsch said.

 

“The resolution of any claim related to the harms suffered by Indigenous students while attending schools that were not federally operated would need to include the provinces, territories and other operators of these institutions.”

 

Gutsch said addressing historical harms committed against Indigenous children “is a crucial step towards renewing Canada’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples,” and he encouraged all organizations involved to take steps to address such claims.

Survivor Dwayne Thomson believes recognition in a separate class-action lawsuit would lead to reconciliation.

“You want those stories to be heard. You want the government to be held responsible for the process that happened,” he said.

“I’ve heard stories of my grandparents and parents that attended Indian Residential Schools. The Montmartre Convent, when I attended, the stories were basically the same. There was abuse with the nuns.”

The Sacred Heart Convent is pictured on a sign marking the former site of the school. (Allison Bamford/CTV News)

LaVina Przepiorka is the lead investigator for the class-action lawsuit. She also attended the convent school.

She said it could take years before a settlement comes to fruition. However, she has secured annual funding to help with her investigation into the convent school.

A portion of that funding is dedicated to healing for survivors, she said.

The group plans to use that money to build a healing lodge for survivors on CTK that will be governed by a board, separate from the band council.

“They need a space, a safe place to be able to share their experiences to heal and that’s what they’re aiming to do. As leadership we’re standing behind them,” said CTK band councilor Terrina Bellegarde.