Nova Scotia legislature passes sex abuse statute of limitations fix
An amendment to fix what the minister of justice calls an error in a law designed to give sex crime victims the right to sue their abuser has been passed by the Nova Scotia legislature.
The original bill, introduced in the fall, removed a statute of limitation in cases of sexual abuse, but only applied going forward, not retroactively.
At the time, Justice Minister Lena Diab said repeatedly no other similar law in Canada allowed for retroactivity. But that was incorrect and on Friday she apologized for that error.
"A mistake happened," Diab said. "People are humans. What I can tell you is this bill had been worked on for years and years and years. The issue itself was never brought forward in those years, as a you know. And it was missed."
Some of those who have been abused in the past called last fall's legislative mistake a slap in the face, including Bob Martin and Dale Sutherland, both victims of pedophile and former Cape Breton businessman Fenwick MacIntosh.
They are hard-pressed to accept Diab's apology.
"It feels good I mean but … I just didn't buy their excuse that they made yet another mistake,” Sutherland said. “Twenty years of mistakes but now we're going to finally do it right. I just find it a bit hard to believe."
Martin and Sutherland both say they plan to sue MacIntosh. He’s currently in jail in Nepal following a conviction for abusing a teenaged boy.
In 2010 and 2011, MacIntosh was convicted of 17 sex-related charges dating to the 1970s involving boys in Port Hawkesbury. Those convictions were subsequently tossed by the court of appeal, however, due in part to delays bringing MacIntosh to trial.
All three parties in the legislature agreed Friday to fast-track the amendment to the Limitations of Actions Act. It will remove a statute of limitation on the right to sue in sex abuse cases.
Jackie Stevens, executive director of the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre, said the change in the law is necessary to allow victims to come forward when they're ready to.
"People for various reasons aren't able to come forward, particularly when we're talking about children," she said. "They may not understand right away what has happened. There's fear. They may have been threatened or they're not believed."
