HALIFAX -- The Nova Scotia government has been named as a defendant in a proposed class action lawsuit alleging systemic sexual, physical, and mental abuse against children who attended two segregated residential schools in the province.

The schools named in the notice of intended action are the School for the Deaf in Halifax and the Interprovincial School for the Education of the Deaf in Amherst.

The claim alleges the province, which was responsible for the operation and oversight of the institutions, chose not to properly investigate or stop the abuse and mistreatment of the children, and that its actions constitute negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

The intended named plaintiffs, Richard Robert Martell of Halifax and Michael Harry Gerald Perrier of Dartmouth, are represented by class action lawyer Ray Wagner.

The notice of intended action says the plaintiffs will seek compensation and-or damages, along with costs and any further relief as deemed appropriate by the court.