Could you imagine having to live thorough a treacherous childhood, and then having thousands of dollars stolen from you by a lawyer who was supposed to be helping you fight for your rights? Well, that is exactly what happened to 55 former residential school students who were scammed by a lawyer for a total of nearly $1 million.
When you think of a lawyer, there are most likely two versions that come to mind: an ethical person who truly wants to help, and the scheming lawyer who pretends to be overly ethical so that they can overcharge you. For Winnipeg lawyer Howard Tennenhouse, the latter description is the best illustration of him as he pleaded guilty on Tuesday of “professional misconduct for taking more than $950,000 in excess fees from former students he represented in federal compensation claims,” CBC News reported.
As a result, Tennenhouse has been permanently stripped of his license to practise law by The Law Society of Manitoba, and will have to reimburse the money that he took from the victims.
Allan Fineblit, the law society's chief executive officer, told CBC that, “many of these people are elderly, some of them are not in good health, and it's very important they get the money, like, right away.”
He also added that, “Many of these people — getting in touch with them is difficult because they don't live in Winnipeg… Many of them don't have telephones. A lot of them don't speak English as their first language. So it may take a little bit of time.”
The atrocious history of residential schools in Canada is no secret. Hundreds of thousands of young Aboriginal children were stripped from their homes and families in the 19th century and were forced to attend government-funded, church ran schools, so that the European-Canadians can brainwash and assimilate them into European culture.
The federal government is currently assembling a $5-billion settlement agreement to recompense some of the former students.
In a report from APTN, it alleges that Tennenhouse was planning on using the money to buy property in another country.
Do you think Tennenhouse’s punishment was enough for his crime? Write your thoughts below.
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