Claude Paquin, a man from Quebec who was wrongly convicted of a double murder and later acquitted after 41 years, has agreed on a multimillion-dollar settlement with Montreal and the provincial government.
In a joint statement released on Friday, the City of Montreal and the Attorney General of Quebec announced the settlement to avoid a lengthy trial scheduled for the fall. The statement expressed hope that the agreement would assist Mr. Paquin in moving forward from the challenging period in his life.
Initially convicted in 1983 for two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Ronald Bourgouin and Sylvie Revah in 1978, Paquin served 18 years in prison before being granted full parole in 2001 under strict conditions. New information in the case led to a retrial being ordered by the federal justice minister in 2024, resulting in Paquin’s acquittal on November 6, 2024.
Paquin, now 83 years old, credited his lawyers from Projet Innocence Québec for his acquittal, highlighting the crucial role they played. The case against Paquin heavily relied on the testimony of Bernard Provençal, a prominent police informant, whose credibility was brought into question by evidence discovered by Projet Innocence Québec over the years.
Represented by lawyers at Woods LLP, Paquin filed a multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit in May 2025 against the City of Montreal and the Attorney General of Quebec. The lawsuit alleges that the police and prosecution were aware as early as 1983 that the informant’s testimony was false, and any physical evidence linking Paquin to the crime had been manipulated or fabricated.
Paquin’s legal team described the case as more than just a miscarriage of justice, stating that it was a narrative of a life stolen and an unjust sentence that extended beyond prison walls. The lawsuit highlighted Paquin’s prolonged deprivation of liberty, considered the longest unjustified period in Quebec.
While seeking damages of over $89 million in the lawsuit, the exact settlement amount remains undisclosed due to a confidentiality clause. As the lawsuit was settled out of court, the claims were not subject to legal scrutiny, and the involved parties have decided not to provide further comments.