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Paul Daly/The Globe and Mail
For most people, it’s just another shopping plaza. They come and go from the liquor outlet, hair salon, medical centre and grocery store, loading their purchases into cars in a parking lot that fronts a busy street.
But John Doe No. 26 will never forget what used to be here.
The 80-year-old grandfather can still vividly see the notorious Mount Cashel orphanage that stood at this St. John’s site until it was demolished in 1992. He was a resident there for seven years, until he was 15 years old, and suffered unspeakable violence and abuse at the hands of men who were supposed to care for him.
On Christmas Day, the sequel to 2017 s
Wonder Woman, which smashed box-office records, opened not only in theatres but also on the streaming service HBO Max. In Canada, with theatres closed in many major cities due to COVID-19 restrictions, customers can rent the film online for $29.99. For film fans who ve gone a year without any big-screen comic-inspired chaos, it s a convenient option. But for the theatre industry, it s a dramatic change to the way the public consumes tentpole pictures that is, movies made to be shown in theatres. For decades, the exhibition business has fought to protect the theatrical window, that period of time when movies are exclusive to cinemas before appearing on streaming and rental services.
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Damning decision: Supreme Court of Canada ruling to come on Mount Cashel Orphanage. Children were physically and sexually abused from the 1950s to the 1970s. The Roman Catholic Church denies responsibility.
Damning decision
Mount Cashel victims hope the Supreme Court of Canada holds the Roman Catholic Church responsible for years of child abuse they suffered at the orphanage in St. John s decades ago.
By Ryan Cooke
December 28, 2020
John Doe No. 26 places two weathered hands on his dining room table, smoothing out creases in a holiday tablecloth as he talks about the monsters of a Christmas past.