Abuse and harassment survivors 'silenced' by non-disclosure agreements fight for change to B.C. law

WARNING: This article contains references to sexual abuse and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​abuse or know someone affected by it. 

Not even the death of her father could free Susan MacRae from the legal restraints that prevent her from talking about the sexual abuse she allegedly suffered as a child.

Four years ago, a B.C. judge dismissed MacRae's application to nullify the non-disclosure agreement she'd signed in 1997 as part of a legal settlement, court documents show. 

Not only that, MacRae was ordered to pay her father's estate $500 in court costs.

"It's so insulting," the Vancouver woman said.

Though she is legally forbidden to speak about what happened to her when she was a child, MacRae's 84-year-old mother Marie is not and has confirmed MacRae told her about the alleged sexual abuse long before the NDA.

Now they've both joined the fight to have the provincial and federal governments bring in legislation that would severely limit the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), banning them entirely in cases of abuse, harassment and discrimination. 

"People cannot heal if they are still silenced about what happened to them," MacRae said.

The movement is quickly picking up steam in Canada.

Just this spring, Prince Edward Island officially became the first province to limit the use of NDAs, and similar legislation has been introduced in Nova Scotia and Manitoba.

In B.C., representatives of the anti-NDA Can't Buy My Silence campaign say they've been meeting regularly with government staff.

A spokesperson for the attorney general's office told CBC in an email that the ministry is watching developments in other provinces to see whether any changes should be made to B.C. law.

"We know non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality agreements can serve useful roles when used appropriately.  But we don't want NDAs to be misused to silence survivors of harassment, abuse and discrimination," the email said.

The Can't Buy My Silence campaign was launched by Julie Macfarlane, a professor emerita in the law department at the University of Windsor in Ontario, and Zelda Perkins, a former assistant to disgraced movie producer and sexual predator Harvey Weinstein.