Form 39.

08

2011 SUPREME COURT OF NOVA SCOTIA BETWEEN:

AUBREY PELLEY and DEANNA SMITH

Hfx. No. 343536

FEB 1 7 2012
PLAINTIFFS -ANDTHE NOVA SCOTIA HOME FOR COLORED CHILDREN, a body corporate and THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NOVA SCOTIA, representing Her Majesty the Queen in right of the Province of Nova Scotia

DEFENDANTS
Proceeding under the Class Proceedings Act, S.N.S 2007, c. 28 Affidavit of Garnet Smith

I, Garnet Smith of the city of Rexdale in the Province of Ontario, MAKE OATH
AND SAY THAT: 1. I have knowledge deposed to below. Where my knowledge is based on

information obtained from others, I have so stated below, and I believe that information to be true. 2. I am providing this affidavit in support of the Plaintiffs' motion to have the within

proposed class proceeding certified as a class proceeding. 3. I was born in Nova Scotia on May 17, 1938. I have three brothers and one sister.

4.

To the best of my recollection, my brothers and my sister and I were removed

from our family home in Weymouth Falls, Digby County in 1941 by a man who worked for the Children's Aid Society. We were taken to a farm in Digby County. 5. To the best of the my recollection, my siblings and I stayed at the farm for one or

two weeks. We were then brought to the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children. 6. I, and the other boys, slept in a dormitory at the Nova Scotia Home for Colored

Children. Female staff members Mrs. Jefferson and Mrs. Fowler would come into the boys' dormitory each night to check to see if anyone had wet the bed. Mrs. Jefferson would put her hands under my covers to feel if I had wet the bed. 7. The male residents wore nightgowns made out of old potato sacks or flour bags.

They did not wear any pants under these nightgowns. I recall on numerous occasions when Mrs. Jefferson touched my penis and left her hand there longer than was necessary to check for wetness. Sometimes Mrs. Jefferson played around with my penjs when she did this. These incidents happened almost every night when I was younger. 8. Mrs. Jefferson used to sit at the head of the stairs and all of the boys had to pass

her to get into the boys' dormitory. In those days, the staff used to wear bloomers underneath their dresses instead of underwear. Mrs. Jefferson had a hole cut in her bloomers and she made the boys kiss her private parts through the hole in her bloomers before they were allowed to pass and go into the dormitory.

9.

I recall that there was never enough food to eat and being constantly hungry

while living at the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children. Although the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children was a farm and it had chickens and livestock, the residents never had any eggs, meat or milk. The food was always the same. 10. Defective or stale baked goods were brought to the Nova Scotia Home for

Colored Children as food for the pigs on the farm. I would sneak out with the pigs at night and steal some of the pigs' food from the pig swill barrels. Because I was so hungry I would eat the pigs' food. 11. Sometimes I, and the other residents, snuck out in the middle of the night to try to

get something to eat. On one occasion, we stole some uncooked Navy beans and ate them raw because we were so hungry. Eating these raw beans caused me to have diarrhea. I received a beating from staff as a result of this incident. 12. Residents were made to work out in the fields, and we would try to steal

vegetables from the garden. A few times I got caught stealing, and I received a beating from staff. I was made to put my head between the legs of a farmhand, pull my pants down, and receive a beating with a belt or strap on my bare buttocks. Jefferson frequently stood and watched these beatings. 13. I witnessed Ms. Jefferson frequently beating other residents and frequently I recall Mrs.

watching the farm hands beat other residents as well. 14. The staff made myself and the residents stay outside all day. We were not

allowed inside to go to the bathroom. If any of us wet ourselves when we were outside, we would receive a beating from the staff.

15.

I recall being sick for a lot of the time that I was at the Nova Scotia Home for

Colored Children. I was sick on and off for seven or eight years. I recall spending a lot of time inside lying in my bed. Despite my frequent health issues, I never saw a doctor once during the entire time that I resided at the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children. I was never taken to a hospital once during the entire time that I was at the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children. 16. I recall I never had a toothbrush during the entire time that I was at the Nova

Scotia Home for Colored Children. When I was approximately 19 years old, I had numerous cavities and bleeding gums, and I had to have all of my remaining teeth removed. I was diagnosed with a condition called pyorrhea. I have had dentures since I was 19 years old. 17. My mother used to come and visit me and my siblings from time to time. My

mother often brought gifts of candy, oranges or clothing. The moment my mother left, her gifts were taken away from me and my siblings. We were never permitted to visit with our mother in private as one of the staff members always sat in on the visits. The staff members always told us not to say anything to our mother. The staff dressed me and my siblings in good clothes for our visits with our mother and made us put our rags back on as soon as she left. 18. I do not recall being visited by anyone employed by the Children's Aid Society

while I was a resident of the Home. 19. I left the Home in approximately 1955.

GARNET SMITH

Maria Del Carm~n Pereyra, aCommissioner, etc... Ci~ o.l Toronto, . For Albion Neighbourhood SeN Ices. Expires October28, 2013