Judge allows women in Leduc civic sexual abuse settlement to reveal number of claimants, payment details

Leduc city council meets on Feb. 13, 2023. (CTV News Edmonton/Sean McClune).

A Calgary judge is allowing several female Leduc civic employees to make public how many of them claimed physical and sexual assault, harassment and bullying incidents on the job dating back to 2002, as well as how many and how much the city has paid to settle the claims.

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The written decision by Justice Johanna Price dated March 31 came a little more than a year after the women asked the court to let them reveal how many of them had made the claims and how had been approved, but were denied.

Price wrote that circumstances have changed since then as “a significant number of claims had been received and approved,” something she allowed the women to revisit if more people came forward with claims. Also, the claim period under the agreement has ended, Price said, and that all women making claims have agreed to allow the number of them to be revealed publicly.

• Public apology ‘acknowledgment to bad behaviour,’ first step in Leduc abuse settlement: victim

Last year, Leduc Mayor Bob Young in January formally apologized to the women for physical and sexual abuse they experienced on the job.

The public apology was part of a settlement approved in July 2023 between the city and employees who claimed physical and sexual assault, harassment and bullying incidents dating back to 2002.

The lawsuit filed in 2022 by former firefighters Christa Steele and Mindy Smith claimed the abuse of female firefighters was systemic, common and tolerated. Seven other Leduc employees subsequently joined the class-action suit. The claimants are eligible for payments between $10,000 and $265,000.

The settlement includes confidentiality for any woman who has worked for Leduc and wants to come forward.