‘His name was synonymous with evil’: New book examines crimes of Ed Horne
More than 20 years after hearing about the story, Kathleen Lippa set to publish her work Feb. 4
Author Kathleen Lippa says she first heard about the crimes of Edwad Horne while she was a reporter and editor in the North. More than 20 years later, she’s releasing a book on his abuse and its impacts on communities. (Photo by Billy Akavak, Special to Nunatsiaq News)
Kathleen Lippa was reading through some back issues to prepare for her new role as editor at Nunavut News North in May 2003 when she came across a small story that grabbed her attention.
In Cape Dorset, residents had gathered to burn down an old school portable where teacher Edward Horne had worked and abused young boys.
“People were throwing rocks and sticks and screaming at the burning structure as if it embodied Horne, and I just thought there was something about the story,” Lippa recalled in a recent phone interview from St. John’s, N.L. “I felt there was more to it.” “I felt there was more to it.”
Now, more than 20 years later, the author who splits her time between St. John’s and Ottawa is set release today her new book titled Arctic Predator: The Crimes of Edward Horne Against Children in Canada’s North.
Ed Horne is seen leaving the Iqaluit courthouse in a 2008 file photo. He was on trial then for 10 counts of sex offences against children dating back to the late 1970s. Horne pleaded not guilty to all charges. (File photo)
Horne is a convicted sex offender who worked as a school teacher and principal in Sanikiluaq, Apex, Iqaluit, Kimmirut, Grise Fiord and Cape Dorset (now Kinngait) from 1971 until 1985.
The book explores his time working in the North and the devastating impact Horne’s abuses had on people’s lives.
“The crimes he committed against children make him one of the worst criminals in Canadian history, and nobody knew about it because it happened in the North,” Lippa said.
“It happened at a time when the northern media didn’t reach the south.”
Lippa said Horne’s work as an educator, including as an Inuktitut instructor, shielded him from suspicion for a long time. He even claimed to be Indigenous, which Lippa said she has debunked as false.
Horne was handed a six-year sentence for his abuses in 1987, and then in 2000 received a five-year sentence. He served about 10 years in jail for his crimes, pleading guilty to a total of 28 charges related to his time in the Arctic.
In 2022, after learning that Horne was on Facebook, Lippa sent him a message asking to meet for an interview in Toronto where he worked as a bicycle courier.
By that point, she had written most of the book. But she sat down with the then-78-year-old to ask him for answers to longstanding questions. They met at a Tim Hortons; Horne rode there on his bike.
“Edward Horne was notorious in the eastern Arctic, certainly when I lived there, and it was the kind of thing where his name was synonymous with evil,” Lippa said.
She hopes her book can help answer questions for people in communities where the crimes happened, shed light on the intergenerational effects of abuse, and educate southerners unaware of Horne’s crimes in the North.
“This book means that people will know what happened in the Eastern Arctic, they will know what happened to Inuit,” Lippa said.
“The people that talked to me, as difficult as it was, they ultimately understood that the only way that things can improve or get better is if people know the truth and it’s not hidden anymore.”
The writing process was difficult, as was her meeting with Horne. Lippa said she was inspired to keep going by all the Inuit who courageously shared their truth and helped her to piece together the story.
Sixty-six victims of Horne launched a lawsuit against the governments of Nunavut and Northwest Territories in 2004 seeking compensation for their abuse. In 2011, a $15-million settlement was reached. Before that, a separate case involving 85 victims was settled for $21.5 million.
Lippa’s book will be released by Dundurn Press on Feb. 4 and is available for pre-order through Amazon.
Its release will come just days after ex-Roman Catholic priest Eric Dejaeger was sentenced Jan. 30 to six years in prison for abusing children in Igloolik more than 40 years ago. And just over a year since former teacher Johnny Meeko was sentenced in October 2023 to 29 years in jail for sexually abusing students.
Lippa will hold a book launch on March 25 at Perfect Books on Elgin Street in Ottawa at 7 p.m., and on April 4 in St. John’s, N.L., at the Indigo Chapters store on Kenmount Road at 1 p.m.
Kathleen Lippa’s book Arctic Predator is an important step in bringing to light the horrors that so many in the North have lived through. But for survivors and their families, this isn’t just a history lesson—it’s still raw, still painful, and still present in daily life. People can’t just “move on” when the trauma is still so deeply embedded in our communities, when reminders of the past can surface at any moment.
When these abuses were happening, there was no real support. Who were people supposed to turn to? In many of Nunavut’s 25 communities in the 1970s, there was only one nurse, if any at all, and RCMP officers weren’t stationed in every community. If a crime was reported, people might have to wait months for an RCMP officer to come for a visit—if they came at all. By the time nurses left for holidays or transfers, many of them were completely burned out, stretched far beyond what one person should be expected to handle. But even if there had been more of them, it wouldn’t have changed one painful truth: Inuit didn’t go to the RCMP for help. From the moment the RCMP arrived in the North, they intimidated Inuit, instilling a fear that lasted for generations. They weren’t seen as protectors—they were seen as enforcers, people you avoided, not people you confided in.
There is still so much hidden trauma that hasn’t been addressed. I watched a video of someone who, as a child in the 1970s, told their mother about the abuse they endured from a Catholic priest. Instead of being believed, they were yelled at, told not to say such lies because a priest would never do such a thing. Imagine that—being a child, scared, hurt, desperate for protection, and the one person who should have protected you tells you to be quiet. What do you do when even your own family won’t listen?
That was the reality for so many. The government and churches placed these officials in our communities, and people trusted them. That trust was weaponized, and now, decades later, survivors are still carrying that pain. And yet, who do they turn to now? Nunavut is still lacking full-time mental health nurses, psychiatrists, and proper trauma support. There are still people suffering in silence, because even today, the resources just aren’t there.
This book is important because it forces the truth into the open. But awareness alone isn’t enough. Healing requires action. It requires real support, real services, real acknowledgment of what happened. And until that happens, until survivors have the help they need, we can’t talk about “moving on.” Because for many, the pain never left.
Heavy chatgpt diatribe, GF
On another note, severe emotional trauma to children and adults has occurred since time immortal; individuals have thrived in spite of that. If not, the human race would have succumbed hundreds of thousands of years ago
Beyond individual genetic makeup, the most significant impact on human behavior is social culture, whether in the family or broader community.
Ed Horne and another former teacher are the reason parents are afraid to bring their kids to school. It took years for someone to hear those victims because the one who were there to protect and serve the communities were friends with Mr Horne. I’ve heard a lot about him and I finally understood why my uncles suffered alcoholism. They had so much anger and so much anxiety. I hate what he did and I hate what I heard. He doesn’t not deserve to roam freely, he deserves to rot in prison.
Good for K. Lippa !!
Any other person, regardless of race or age, who wishes to report an abuser should tell
the RCMP.
Simple as that.
Ummm, my comments earlier, too inflammatory?
Joe