Restoring Justice

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Photo provided by the Public Archives of Nova Scotia Journey to light Restorative inquiry an innovative approach to examine past abuses at Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children There’s an old African motif – the Sankofa – that has been embraced by present-day Black communities in North America, including here in Nova Scotia. The image of a bird going forward, with its head turned back and paying close attention to an egg, provides wisdom with a universal message. troubled youth are properly cared for by diligent staff. In the bad old days, when it was an orphanage housing African- Nova Scotian and biracial youngsters, it was a different story. Michael Lightstone Freelancer It teaches people this: we must look at and learn from our past for guidance for our future. The Sankofa – it’s a Ghanaian word essentially meaning “reach back and get it” – is a symbol former residents of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children have been using in their meetings together. Its design has also been adopted by the restorative inquiry looking into past abuse at the Home. A traumatic past. A contemporary coping, or perhaps, an enduring emotional struggle. Bigotry. A community’s history. A brighter future. This inquiry is about all of that. The Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children currently operates as a short-term, child-welfare centre where Last year, <strong>Justice</strong> Arthur LeBlanc of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia approved a $29-million settlement stemming from a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of survivors of abuse at the Home for Colored Children. The agreement with the provincial government finally put about 15 years of litigation to bed. In 2013, the court signed off on a $5-million settlement between the Home’s administration and abuse survivors. As well as compensation, public apologies have been issued to former residents by Premier Stephen McNeil and a representative of the Home’s board. These statements and settlements came after previous boards and governments failed to address a multitude of allegations of mistreatment. 34 The Society Record
The premier promised an inquiry into past abuses at the orphanage, the process of which was explained months ago at an event in Upper Hammonds Plains. Recommendations will be made, and the outcome from the survivors’ “journey to light” will not only affect the province’s African-Nova Scotian communities but society as a whole, the briefing about the inquiry heard. “What happened at the Home, while tragic, is just one aspect of what’s going on in our society around us,” former resident Tony Smith told the event last June at a local church in the historic Black community. “The Home is the lens that is reflective of a bigger picture within the province,” he said. On a table to his left sat a sculpture of the Sankofa. At press time, the restorative inquiry into the Home was scheduled to start sometime in November. It’s a combined effort, overseen by a council of parties that includes former residents, a member of the Home’s board, government officials and members of the African-Nova Scotian community. Though a judge will be involved in the process (we’ll get to that later), the inquiry has been designed to have participants collaborate with one another without the presence of legal professionals. Nova Scotia is certainly not foreign territory when it comes to public inquiries of the type presided over by a judge or former jurist, with sworn testimony, cross-examination and legal counsel representing multiple parties. Examples over the years of this kind of more traditional probe include an inquiry into the death of a Halifax teacher’s aide, the review of Nova Scotia’s response to institutional abuse, the Westray mine disaster inquiry and the Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr., Prosecution. Inquiries are established by governments and cover matters of concern to communities and the public at large. In the past, recommendations (which aren’t legally binding) from such proceedings have been implemented. Others, however, have been ignored. And the cost to the taxpayer of these fact-finding missions is not cheap. (See the sidebar on page 36.) The upcoming inquiry into the Home for Colored Children is a restorative model focusing on avoiding further harm to abuse survivors. Establishing culpability is not the goal of the examination of what went wrong. Personal and community healing, truthseeking, learning from misdeeds of the past and preventing future maltreatment of vulnerable children are components of the endgame of this less adversarial, more collaborative process. “The Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children restorative inquiry will reveal and address part of the harmful legacy of racism in Nova Scotia by examining the Home and the experiences of former residents, as well as the impact on their families and communities,” a government website says. The budget for the inquiry, which could last up to two-and-a-half years, is $5 million. Sessions are to be held at various locations in the province. According to the restorative inquiry’s guiding principles, not all meetings will be in public “or open to everyone who wishes to participate.” However, “every process will consider how to ensure knowledge and learning gained therein is accessible to the broader public. The overall work of the (inquiry) must be done in the public interest and for public benefit.” The health and welfare of abuse survivors will be key elements of support provided to them during the proceedings, according to the provincial government. The Province issued a call for applications by September 10, for a health-support leader who’s to ensure “all inquiry processes proceed in a (trauma-informed) manner” to help make sure survivors aren’t subjected to further harm. A government posting for other term positions included one for a community-engagement leader, to act as a liaison between the African-Nova Scotian community and the inquiry. In an interview, Smith said he believes the inquiry will help expose hard truths and ultimately provide justice for individual survivors of abuse at the Home for Colored Children. He’s also confident it will speak to the “harmful legacy of racism” in the province, and will be carried out for the public good. “We’ll look at what went wrong, what we can do to improve and why it matters” to Nova Scotians, Smith said. Although the inquiry into the Home will not be the more adversarial type of probe, he said, it will still have subpoena powers “that would only be used in extreme cases.” Class counsel Mike Dull, of the Halifax firm that worked on the former residents’ behalf, said one jurist – the Honourable Pam Williams, Chief Judge of the Provincial and Family Courts – is the only judge involved in the restorative inquiry, and is to be “part of a team of individuals who will decide on questions of subpoenas.” Dull, of Wagners law firm and a member of the restorative inquiry’s design group, said Williams won’t be hearing evidence or making findings of fact. The inquiry is not a legal process. “Hence, legal professionals are not required. We see judges’ and lawyers’ involvement in such a restorative process as perhaps inhibitive to the ultimate goal,” said Dull, in an email interview in September. Last spring, the provincial government announced plans for an amendment to the Public Inquiries Act that Smith, who’s also on the inquiry’s design team, said should help former residents speak more freely during the sessions. The change was expected to pass in the fall session of the legislature. “That immunity is for us so we can name the perpetrators without fearing that they would take civil suit against us,” Smith said. Some Fall 2015 35
Page 1 and 2: the SOCIETY RECORD VOLUME 33 | NO.2
Page 3 and 4: Contents VOLUME 33 | NO 2 | fall 20
Page 5 and 6: Photo by Mike Dembeck/NSBS At the o
Page 7 and 8: BRIEFS 2015 CALL TO THE BAR The Soc
Page 9 and 10: BRIEFS NOVA SCOTIA’S NEW MINISTER
Page 11 and 12: society news Photos by Mike Dembeck
Page 13 and 14: society news The details are nearin
Page 15 and 16: “I’d say you’re looking at a
Page 17 and 18: people in a unique position to prot
Page 19 and 20: This edition of the Society Record
Page 21 and 22: understanding of issues and harms,
Page 23 and 24: Therapeutic and restorative approac
Page 25 and 26: We are able to do this by continuou
Page 27 and 28: Reflections on Dalhousie’s Facebo
Page 29 and 30: Nova Scotia’s Restorative Approac
Page 31 and 32: Pictou keynote: The Hon. Justice Th
Page 33: Family Group Conference: Mi’kmaq
Page 37 and 38: Former residents, who were essentia
Page 39 and 40: An enduring mystery Why Nova Scotia
Page 41 and 42: Peter left home at age 18 and got c
Page 43 and 44: How do the standards work in relati
Page 45 and 46: Summation The first time I heard ab
Page 47: [ Keeping real estate transactions

Restoring Justice

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