Nova Scotia’s Justice Minister says he will discuss tightening legislation that puts a time limit on bringing child sexual assault allegations to court.

The Limitation of Actions Act puts a six-year limit on pursuing legal action in child sexual offense cases.

“If there are ways to improve our legislation, to hold people accountable, I’m always open for those discussions and dialogue,” Minister Ross Landry said in the Legislature. “The protection and safety of our children, I spent a lifetime in that universe. I’m still committed, will always be committed, to do the right thing.”

N.S. is one of three provinces in the country which has a statute of limitations of child sex offenses, including P.E.I. and Alberta. It imposes upon the victim to prove in court that they could not have brought the case forward earlier.

Landry’s comments came in response to Liberal MLA Michel Samson’s statements during Question Period Tuesday.

“We did this government circulate changes to the Limitation of Actions Act that they knew would prevent some victims of child sexual abuse from obtaining justice in our courts,” Samson said in the House.
 
In April 2011, Samson said the Department of Justice circulated a discussion paper and draft legislation to amend the act to modernize it, in line with the rest of the country, but there was no change made to the time limit within which abuse claimants must come forward.

The act is being used as a legal tool as dozens of former residents of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children come forward with allegations of abuse stemming back to the 1960s and 70s.

The Children’s Aid Society of Halifax is named as one of the defendants in a number of individual lawsuits and is trying to get the suits dismissed based on this statute.