Court approves $30M settlement over abuse claims at two Metro Vancouver schools

The B.C. Supreme Court has approved a $30-million settlement of a class action involving historical allegations of physical, psychological and sexual abuse at Vancouver College and St. Thomas More Collegiate.

The settlement is against the two Metro Vancouver Catholic schools and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver. More than 200 people came forward to join the class, and Justice Simon Coval approved a confidential, trauma-informed claims process intended to avoid the difficulties of a trial.

The lawsuit alleged that members of the Christian Brothers of Ireland in Canada had been transferred to the schools from the Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John’s, N.L. The ruling says four people transferred to Vancouver were later criminally convicted after abuse at Mount Cashel was exposed in the 1990s, including Edward English and Kevin Short.

Claims at Vancouver College span 1976 to 2013; those at St. Thomas More span 1976 to 1989. The case was filed in 2021, certified in 2023 and set for trial in 2024 before being adjourned. A settlement was reached in February 2026, subject to court approval.

The ruling records former students describing serious personal effects, including mental-health challenges, relationship and employment difficulties, substance use and loss of faith. Some class members opted out to pursue individual lawsuits. The schools said they had publicly expressed sympathy for victims, while the Archbishop of Vancouver submitted statements condemning failures to prevent and address abuse and pledging support for survivors.