Victims of abuse at Mount Cashel Orphanage can’t be fairly compensated without the sale of metro schools.

That’s according to a lawyer for claimants in their suit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s.

The Church still owns most of the schools in the city but the province has been running them since the late 1990s.

Lawyer Geoff Budden is sticking by his initial estimate of $50 million needed to settle all claims.

About half of that has been raised so far, mostly from the sale of churches and the property they sit on. But Budden says they’ll need the schools, too.

He notes justice in such cases in Canada is financial compensation, and he says it’s hard to see how victims can be fairly compensated in this case without significant proceeds from the sale of schools.

The Supreme Court will decide next month to what extent schools can be sold to settle abuse claims.

It’s believed the province would be a likely buyer and continue to operate the schools under such a scenario.