Jack Whalen heads home without commitment to end statute of limitations for abuse claims

Jack Whalen was honoured this week to sit in the public gallery of the House of Assembly and hear elected officials refer to him as a hero for children who have been abused.

Unfortunately for his cause, all those elected officials were sitting on the wrong side of the floor. 

Whalen, who estimates he spent more than 700 days in solitary confinement as a teen at the Whitbourne Boys' Home, has the full support of every non-Liberal MHA in his quest to have the province remove the statute of limitations on all forms of child abuse when it comes to civil claims. 

That change would mean Whalen could proceed with his case against the government and see reparations for his treatment.

As it stands, the time limits have long since expired.

"It's frustrating," he said after a session of the legislature on Wednesday. "What are we waiting for? Everybody has done it, so why don't we?"

In a meeting about budget estimates on Monday, NDP MHA Lela Evans asked the Justice Department if they'd made any moves to amend the Limitations Act. 

"I can confirm that there has been some prep work done looking at that issue," said assistant deputy minister Denise Woodrow. 

Exactly what that work is, or if it could lead to changes, remains to be seen.

Issue heading to court in October

Whalen has been undergoing cancer treatments at his home in Ontario since the fall. He put those on hold this week to be in St. John's for the discovery portion of his lawsuit against the provincial government. 

He has a two-week trial in October, when his lawyer — and daughter — Brittany Whalen will attempt to have the province's Limitation Act deemed unconstitutional. 

It's an uphill battle, but it could be Whalen's only recourse if the government will not amend the legislation in the House of Assembly. 

Whalen said his time at Whitbourne was split between running away and being thrown in solitary. Those experiences shaped his life — he went in with a sixth grade education, and came out with a Grade 6 education. He had a hard time trusting authority figures and always feared his own kids would be taken from him.

He said he's trying to use those experiences now to get him through these tough times.

"I have an attitude like I did when I was a kid. And that was never give up. When you'd run away you'd want to turn yourself in because you were cold and hungry. And I never did. No matter if it took me two days to get home, how cold it was. It would be worth it in the end. And that's how I feel about this. At some point it has to change, and it will be worth it."

Changes could have ripple effects

Whalen's case is not the only one that would be affected by a change in legislation. There is at least one other case before the courts in the province in which a complainant was abused while in the care of the province and is unable to sue for damages because the statute of limitations has expired.

In that case, the man's sister was able to sue because she had been sexually assaulted, and the province does not have a similar time limit for victims of sexual abuse. That was overturned in the 1990s following the Hughes Inquiry into the abuse at Mount Cashel. 

New Brunswick is the only other province in Canada with a statute of limitations for civil claims related to physical abuse against children.

The matter has been brought up more than 30 times in the House of Assembly, with the full backing of all PC, NDP and Independent MHAs. But it all means nothing if the government doesn't want to move on it.

Justice Minister John Hogan has said he cannot comment on the matter since it's before the courts. Several MHAs have urged the minister to take the matter out of court, however, and settle it in the House of Assembly.

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