Class Action for Victims From Nunavik

In a column published by Thomson Reuters, our partner Annie-Claude Trudeau and our lawyer Jean-François Hamel comment on a December 2022 decision disposing of an application for authorization of a class action on the lack of support from public authorities in the process of public compensation for victims of crime in the territory of Nunavik.

In granting the application for authorization of a class action, the judgment in Gordon-Kawapit v. Attorney General of Quebec also raises pertinent questions about current legal, social and political issues.

According to the authors, this decision serves to highlight the current obligations of the Quebec state to protect and support more vulnerable groups, such as the Inuit community. On the merits, the members of the targeted group could win their case if it is proven that the State failed to fulfill its obligations towards the Nunavik victims, resulting in discriminatory treatment towards them. The notion of access to justice was thus raised as they were not only crime victims but also members of a vulnerable community.