Claude Paquin, a man from Quebec who was wrongly convicted of a double murder and later acquitted after 41 years, has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with Montreal and the provincial government. The agreement was announced by all three parties in a joint statement on Friday. The City of Montreal and the Attorney General of Quebec expressed their hope that this settlement, which avoids a lengthy trial scheduled for this fall, will help Mr. Paquin move forward from this challenging period in his life.
In 1983, Paquin was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder related to the deaths of Ronald Bourgouin and Sylvie Revah, a couple who were killed in the Laurentians in 1978. He spent 18 years in prison before being granted full parole in 2001, subject to strict release conditions that lasted for the next 23 years. In 2024, the federal justice minister ordered a retrial due to new information suggesting a potential miscarriage of justice. Paquin, now 83 years old, was acquitted on November 6, 2024.
Paquin credited his acquittal to the efforts of his legal team from Projet Innocence Québec, highlighting the importance of their work. The case against him heavily relied on the testimony of Bernard Provençal, a notable police informant. However, Projet Innocence Québec uncovered evidence over time that cast doubt on Provençal’s credibility.
Represented by lawyers from Woods LLP, Paquin filed a multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit in Quebec Superior Court in May 2025 against the City of Montreal and the Attorney General of Quebec. The lawsuit alleged failures by their agents, including the Montreal police, the Sûreté du Québec, and the Quebec Crown prosecutor’s office. It claimed that police and the prosecution were aware as early as 1983 that the informant’s testimony was false and that any physical evidence linking Paquin to the crime had been falsified or tampered with.
The lawsuit characterized the case not just as a miscarriage of justice but as the narrative of a life stolen, an extended sentence that went beyond the confines of prison. Paquin’s legal team argued for compensation for what they described as the longest unjustified deprivation of liberty documented in Quebec. The lawsuit sought over $89 million in damages, although the exact settlement amount remained confidential due to the agreement’s terms.
As the lawsuit was resolved through a settlement, the claims were not litigated in court, and all parties agreed not to provide further comments on the matter.