OVERVIEW

Indigenous Youth in Quebec

The Claims: This case makes two types of claims.

Child Services: First, it alleges that Canada and Quebec (1) did not adequately fund child services for indigenous children; (2) implemented funding structures and policies that prioritized removing Indigenous children from their homes instead of providing Indigenous parents with services to care for their children at home; (3) failed to consider placing Indigenous children in customary care; and (4) placed Indigenous children in culturally and physically unsafe settings, in which the children had limited to no access to their families, communities, cultures, or languages.

Essential Services: Second, it alleges that the governments of Canada and Quebec failed to provide, or delayed in providing essential health and social services to Indigenous children.

All of these problems were exacerbated for Inuit children in Nunavik.

The Class: This case seeks to represent:

(1) All Inuit children in Nunavik who were removed from their homes while they were under the age of 18, since November 11, 1975;

(2) All Inuit children in Nunavik who were denied prompt access to an essential service, since November 11, 1975;

(3) All off-reserve Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) children in Quebec who were removed from their homes while they were under the age of 18, since 1992; and

(4) The caregiving parents and grandparents of those children.

Our Partners: We are bringing this claim and parallel claims in other provinces with a consortium of firms across the country, including Kugler Kandestin and Coupal Chauvelot Avocats (Quebec), Cochrane Saxberg (Manitoba), Murphy Battista (BC), and Miller Titerle (BC).

The court will decide at a later date if the case will proceed as a class action.

Updates

September 25/26, 2023: The court heard the motion for authorization to proceed as a class action. The decision is under reserve and will likely be released in the next few months.
September 21, 2023: The Court has made a confidentiality order in this matter. The title of the proceeding and all references to the petitioners are to “A.B.” and Tanya Jones. Please find the decision here.
September 1, 2022: We filed a Modified Application for Authorization.
February 21, 2022: We issued an Application for Authorization.

Documents