Judge keeps Nunavik detention class action in Montreal

A Quebec Chief Justice has ruled that a class action lawsuit alleging Inuit detainees were held longer than legally permitted before receiving bail hearings will remain in Montreal instead of moving to Amos, where many members were jailed.

Lawyer Alexandre Brosseau-Wery, who represents plaintiff Michael Carrier, argued that the same transportation challenges cited in the lawsuit would make it harder for class members to participate in the case.

Carrier, who is from Kangirsuk, filed the lawsuit in 2018 after he was detained for 10 days at St-Jérôme detention centre in Montreal before he received a bail hearing.

The class action argues that “adjournments beyond three clear days result in unlawful detention, unless there has been consent,” and that Carrier’s experience is systemic due to a lack of correctional facilities in Nunavik. As of 2019, more than 2,400 Inuit had joined the class action.

The chief justice had raised the possibility that the trial could take place in Amos because it’s geographically closer to the events that led to the lawsuit, said Brosseau-Wery in French during an interview Wednesday.

“The law gives the chief judge the right to transfer a file from one district to another if she judges that it would be appropriate for all kinds of reasons,” he said.

But to attend proceedings in Amos, many class members would have to fly from Nunavik to Montreal, often staying overnight, then take a more than eight-hour bus ride.

Many of those who have joined the class action also opposed moving the case to Amos because they associate the city with the detention system they allege violated their rights, Brosseau-Wery said.

In her July 10 decision, Chief Justice Marie-Anne Paquette agreed that transferring the case to Amos would not be in the best interests of the parties and class members, and ordered that it remain in Montreal.

“It’s a logical recommendation because Montreal is much more accessible for people in Nunavik,” Brosseau-Wery said.

A 2022 report by criminal lawyer Jean-Claude Latraverse made 60 recommendations aimed  at improving justice and youth protection in the region.

It called for the director of prosecutions, which handles criminal cases, to be based in Montreal rather than in Amos, where there are staff shortages, contributing to delays.

“This decision goes in the direction of these recommendations, which could perhaps serve to support whether it continues to go in that direction,” Brosseau-Wery said.

The class action seeks $75 million in punitive damages from the Quebec government.