Montreal Institute for the Deaf and Mute

The Montreal Institute for the Deaf and Mute was a boarding school operated by the Clercs de Saint-Viateur (English: Clerics of St Viator) between 1848 and 1983 in Montreal, Quebec.[1]

A photo taken in 2019 of the building that used to be the Montreal Institute for the Deaf and Mute partially obstructed by trees as seen from rue Saint-Denis.
Montreal Institute for the Deaf and Mute building (2019).

History

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The Montreal Institute for the Deaf was founded as L'Institut catholique des Sourds-Muets[2] (The Catholic School for Deaf Boys) in 1848[3] in Faubourg, Quebec, a neighbourhood in the northeastern corner of Montreal.[4] In 1850, the Institute moved to the Mile End area, at the corner of Boulevard St-Joseph and Rue Saint Dominique in Montreal.[4][5] By 1887,[6] workshops for teaching the trades such as bookbinding, shoemaking and printing had been built within the school.[5]

In the 1921, the Institute moved[7] to a new building at 7400 Boulevard Saint-Laurent[8] in Montreal.[9] The building is now listed as a heritage building by the City of Montreal.[10]

In 1983, the Institute ceased teaching at the 7400 Boulevard Saint-Laurent location.[11]

The following year, the Institut catholique des Sourds-Muets changed its name to L'Institut Raymond-Dewar (English: The Raymond Dewar Institute).[12]

Sexual abuse settlement

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In 2012, 60 former students of the Institute filed a class action suit claiming they were sexually abused by priests in the school.[13] The initial class action was joined by other former students, bringing the total number of plaintiffs claiming abuse to 150 students with claims of abuse ranging between 1942 and 1982.[14] The claims by former students were not legally contested by the Clerics of St Viator.[15] This led to a settlement in 2016 of $30 million from the Clerics of St Viator and the Raymond Dewar Institute.[14][16] The settlement was the largest settlement ever awarded for a sexual abuse case in Quebec history.[14][17] The settlement, authorized in the Superior Court of Quebec, provided for a payment of $20 million from the Canadian Clerics of St. Viator, and $10 million from the Raymond Dewar Institute, the name the school adopted in 1984.[18][19][20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Montreal school for the deaf's ex-students allege horrific abuses". CBC. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  2. ^ Carbin, Clifton F.; Smith, Dorothy L. (7 February 2006). "Deaf Culture". Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  3. ^ Besner, Linda (23 April 2013). "Distinct Society Discovering Montreal's vibrant Deaf culture". The Walrus. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  4. ^ a b Desjardins, Yves (20 July 2014). "4.2 : La famille Beaubien et l'église du Mile End". Memories of Mile End. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  5. ^ a b Atherton, William Henry (1914). Montreal, 1535-1914 ... Vol. 2. Chicago. pp. 488–. Archived from the original on 12 November 2008.
  6. ^ Legislative Assembly, Ontario (1887). Sessional Papers. pp. 2–.
  7. ^ "Il était une fois..." Centre des Loisirs des Sourds de Montréal. Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  8. ^ Rapport. La Société. 1949.
  9. ^ Lypny, Natascia (June 2011). "Privatizing Montreal". Spacing Montreal. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Les Clercs de Saint-Viateur, Institution des Sourds-Muets". Ville de Montreal. 26 August 2012. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  11. ^ "Réhabilitation - ancienne Institution des sourds-muets" (PDF). Ville de Montreal. Retrieved 25 June 2016.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "Historique". raymond-dewar.qc.ca. Government of Quebec. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  13. ^ John Cornwell (4 March 2014). The Dark Box: A Secret History of Confession. Basic Books. pp. 85–. ISBN 978-0-465-08049-6.
  14. ^ a b c Solyom, Catherine (17 February 2016). "Deaf students abused by priests at Clercs de St. Viateur win record $30-million settlement". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  15. ^ Nguyen, Michael (6 November 2015). "La version des victimes ne sera pas contestée par les Clercs". Le Journal de Montreal. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  16. ^ Marin, Stéphanie (18 February 2016). "Les victimes des Clercs de Saint-Viateur se partageront 30 millions". Le Devoir. Retrieved 25 June 2016. Website's URL is excluded from the Wayback Machine and cannot be archived.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  17. ^ "Historic $30M settlement reached in Montreal deaf school sex abuse suit". CBC. 17 February 2016. Archived from the original on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  18. ^ "Centre de la communauté sourde du Montréal métropolitain c. Institut Raymond-Dewar" (PDF). adidem.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  19. ^ "Indemnisation record dans un dossier d'agressions sexuelles sur mineurs". Radio-Canada. 17 February 2016. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  20. ^ Nguyen, Michaël (17 February 2016). "30 millions pour les 150 sourds agressés sexuellement". TVA-Nouvelles. Archived from the original on 18 February 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.

45°32′08″N 73°37′18″W / 45.53550°N 73.62154°W / 45.53550; -73.62154