Saskatoon city councillor, Saskatchewan government named in amended lawsuit

Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer and the Government of Saskatchewan have been named in the amended version of a lawsuit filed in Saskatoon, originally against a local church and school.

Grant Scharfstein, legal counsel for the plaintiffs, was joined by representative plaintiffs Caitlin Erickson and Coy Nolin on Tuesday morning to update media on the lawsuit launched against Mile Two Church and Legacy Christian Academy.

The class-action suit that commenced out of the Court of King’s Bench in Saskatoon on Aug. 8 on behalf of current and former students of Legacy Christian Academy — formerly Christian Centre Academy — initially alleged psychological, physical, sexual, mental, emotional and spiritual abuse against students at the school by a number of named defendants.

Scharfstein said an amended statement of claim was filed on Monday.

The amended lawsuit adds three new individual defendants — Donauer, John Thuringer and Darcy Schuster — as well as the Government of Saskatchewan.

Donauer has been listed as a “principal defendant” in the lawsuit, alongside former Christian Centre Church pastor and Christian Centre Academy principal Keith Johnson, who is allegedly responsible for creating the culture of abuse at the church and school.

The lawsuit alleges Donauer “was at various applicable times an employee, leader and/or agent of the church.” He is said to have participated in children’s church activities on behalf of the church, including activities that were not on the church’s property.

Notably, Scharfstein said they have been unable to serve Johnson with the lawsuit yet.

“Keith Johnson is evading service,” the lawyer said, noting he has been informed Johnson is in Texas and won’t accept service.

Principal defendants are noted to have been “instrumental in the development and implementation of the policies and procedures taken by Mile Two Church Inc. and its employees, agents and representatives in the church and school,” according to the lawsuit.

Scharfstein said Donauer is alleged to have participated in the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual abuse of children in connection to his position within Mile Two Church.

In connection to Nolin, the amended lawsuit includes reference to Donauer, stating when Nolin was 16, Donauer accused him of “gossiping and making jokes about fellow camp counsellors dating.” The lawsuit claims Nolin was then paddled by Donauer.

The amended lawsuit also gives more detail about the inclusion of Schuster, a former children’s director at the church who participated in children’s church activities. He is alleged to have sexually abused minors when in that position of leadership.

That “reprehensible activity,” according to the lawsuit, happened several times while the minor was in grades 3, 4 and 5.

Thuringer is a former principal of the school.

Asked for comment, Donauer issued a statement.

“I deny the allegations made against me in the Statement of Claim and will vigorously defend them,” he wrote.

Government failed to protect children, lawsuit alleges

Scharfstein said the amended claim alleges the Saskatchewan government, through the Ministry of Education, had certain legal duties and responsibilities to the plaintiffs while they were students at Legacy Christian Academy — an independent school authorized to operate by the province since 1982.

An added claim to the amended lawsuit lists compensation and/or damages against the Ministry of Education for “misfeasance in a public office” against the government.

“The alleged duties and responsibilities of the government are many,” Scharfstein said.

Outlined in the amended claim, Scharfstein noted those duties, obligations and responsibilities include but are not limited to supporting the growth and development of children attending school; ensuring students are safe, healthy, properly educated and able to develop to their full potential; to monitor, supervise, inspect and oversee to ensure school operations are in compliance with the law; and to ensure the school teaches proper curriculum in accordance with provincial standards.

Scharfstein said the ministry also had a duty to suspend or cancel registration of the school when those responsibilities and requirements weren’t followed, noting the amended claim alleges the government “totally failed to fulfill its legal obligations, duties and responsibilities owed to these students.”

Those failures included the ministry not ensuring qualified teachers were teaching at all times, not ensuring proper curriculum was being taught, not properly inspecting the school and misleading the public to believe the proper procedures were being followed with those school inspections.

Erickson and Scharfstein noted that, contrary to government messaging, Freedom of Information facts obtained by the plaintiffs reveal that the school was inspected once instead of three times each school year, if that. Erickson said those checks sometimes only happened at the end of the school year.

Caitlin Erickson speaks to media at the offices of Scharfstein LLP on Dec. 13, 2022. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

The lawsuit noted the rebranding of Christian Centre Academy to Legacy Christian Academy took place with the approval or acquiescence of the ministry, and that the ministry “knew of or ought to have known of” the principals expressed in publications by Johnson and Mile Two Church Inc., such as a handbook suggesting corporal punishment against children.

The government, the amended lawsuit alleges, is responsible for “wilful misconduct and a marked departure from the standard by which responsible and competent agencies in charge of education habitually govern themselves.”

“The actions or inactions of the ministry was careless and reckless and established a fundamental breakdown in the proper exercise of authority which we believe may establish bad faith on behalf of the ministry,” Scharfstein explained.

Also alleged in the amended claim is that the ministry owed fiduciary duty to the plaintiffs which was breached, akin to a duty of trust. Scharfstein said the ministry’s duty to children at the school is akin to that of a parent and child, where the plaintiffs were in a relationship of dependency upon the ministry to defend them.

Scharfstein clarified the lawsuit is not directed towards any political party.

“This is not political. This is a total failure of the institution,” Scharfstein told the media on Tuesday.

In a statement, Ariane Whiting of the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General said the ministry could confirm the government had been served.

“We are unable to comment further on matters that are before the courts,” Whiting wrote.

Systemic failings

Erickson is grateful she came forward. Scharfstein said more than 100 people have come forward with interest in being involved in the lawsuit against Mile Two Church Inc. over the past number of months and several individuals named as defendants have been removed from school environments.

For Erickson, it’s important that alleged abusers who would have still otherwise been teaching are not anymore.

“If the student group had not come forward when they did, several of these individuals who are alleged prolific abusers would still be around minor children today,” she shared.

She called the situation a systemic failure in the province at different levels of government and called out the province for misinforming the public.

“We didn’t go into this lawsuit thinking that our pursuit for justice would end up with the government named,” Erickson said.

Calling out the government, Erickson shared frustration that the province has inaccurately stated the government had not received correspondence from Erickson and has misled the public about their diligence in overseeing Legacy Christian Academy since 2012.

She also said the government’s touting of the closure of Grace Academy, another qualified independent school in Saskatoon, is inappropriate.

“This is not a pat on the back for closing a school that should never have been opened,” Erickson said.

Scharfstein said no new information has been communicated to him or the name plaintiffs in the case by the Saskatoon Police Service regarding its investigations into the criminal complaints laid against various individuals connected to Legacy Christian Academy and Mile Two Church.

While that’s not unusual, Scharfstein said he is a “tad disappointed” at the time it’s taking for police to work on claims filed several months ago. He said police investigations and interviews are still taking place.

Overall, Erickson said there has been overwhelming support for her and others who have alleged abuse against Mile Two Church and Legacy Christian School. The goal of the lawsuit moving forward is to ensure protections are put in place for students at school in Saskatchewan.

Allegations in the lawsuit have not been proven in court.