Survivors group points to cracks in visa system for foreign priests after 8-year-old First Nations girl abused
CBC – June 4, 2023
There are too few checks and balances for international members of the clergy who come to work in Canada, according to a group that advocates for survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of religious leaders.
A Roman Catholic priest has been accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl in a remote Manitoba First Nation, and the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) says it's too easy for a foreign priest to be seconded into a Canadian congregation by using religious visas, with little, if any, scrutiny of their backgrounds.
CTV News (Montreal) - September 13, 2026 Montreal, QC - Former Montreal priest Brian Boucher’s statutory release has been revoked following allegations he viewed child sexual abuse material on public transit. The Parole Board imposed stricter conditions for any future release. Boucher remains detained on new charges and is due back in court in November.
The Canadian Press - September 8, 2026 Montreal, QC - Former Montreal priest Brian Boucher, 64, will remain in custody until his next court appearance on Nov. 23, 2026, after waiving his right to a bail hearing on new charges involving child sexual abuse material. Boucher was previously sentenced to eight years in prison in 2019 for sexually assaulting two boys and was released into the community in 2024. He was stripped of his priesthood in 2020.