Kangiqsualujjuaq families launch law suits

MONTREAL — Seven of the nine families who lost members to Kangiqsualujjuaq’s disastrous avalanche of Jan. 1, 1999 are seeking damages.

Notices of intention have already been filed, or will be filed, against the Quebec provincial government’s education department, its public security department, the municipality of Kangiqsualujjuaq and the Kativik School Board.

The total amount of damages being sought is around $1.8 million.

“But it’s not settled at all,” said lawyer Jacques Stuart.

S tuart and partner Eric Lépine are representing the families.

Stuart said the recently released coroner’s report couldn’t assign blame, but its conclusions didn’t remove a burden of responsibility from any of the parties.

In his report, coroner Jacques Bérubé said “many of those involved were lax in intervening or deciding not to intervene. As the saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”

“For us, the coroner’s report was just the beginning,” Stuart said.

In September, when Quebec’s public security minister, Serge Ménard, first learned that two families who lost members in the avalanche were undertaking legal action, he said he was surprised.

At that time, Ménard said he considered civil protection to be a local, municipal responsibility and not a provincial one.

“I didn’t expect that my department would be sued,” Ménard mused. “Maybe somebody will sue another department because, after all, we have no responsibilities for telling people where to build their houses, and where not to build their houses, or where they can circulate and where they cannot.”

Stuart said he finds it “aborrent” that Quebec’s public security department was willing to offer immediate compensation for lost skidoos and other material objects, but for not human life.

Stuart and Lépine were not willing to speculate about the outcome of the legal actions, but they said an out-of-court settlement is possible.

If so, a confidentialty clause will likely prevent the release of any details of a cash award.