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	Multimillion-Dollar Lawsuits Launched against Ontario Catholic Dioceses Canwest News Service in the Ottawa Citizen January 29, 2008 http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=f6d2c672-fc61-4246-8e11-ea1403e87258&k=16061 Seven multimillion-dollar lawsuits have been launched against three Ontario Catholic dioceses, with an eighth suit set to be launched in two months. The lawsuits are against seven Roman Catholic priests, six of whom are dead, for alleged sexual abuse, said lawyer Rob Talach Tuesday. Talach's firm, London, Ont.-based Ledroit Beckett Litigation Lawyers, is representing the seven plaintiffs who are seeking $4.5-million each for pain and suffering and mental distress stemming from the alleged sexual assaults. The eighth lawsuit is set to name the Ontario government. The Catholic dioceses of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and London along with the Congregation of the Resurrection in Ontario were named in the suits. Talach said the plaintiffs, who are now all middle-aged, are finally ready to talk about their abuse, which is alleged to have occurred in Sudbury, North Bay and the Guelph-Brantford area. "This is not something that people get over," he said. "They adapt, struggle through it and go on with life but there's a piece of them that never recovers." He said that some of his clients, now in their 40s and 50s, still break down and cry when they recall what happened to them as youngsters. "These people suffered from education sufferings, relationship breakups, employment shortcomings," he said. Talach added that many of the plaintiffs came from very religious families. He couldn't say when the lawsuits will be heard in court but said the whole process is expected to take years. The Sault diocese was also served three other lawsuits alleging sexual abuse in February 2007 for $4.5-million each.
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