Claude Paquin, a resident of Quebec who was wrongly convicted of a double homicide and later acquitted after 41 years, has reached a substantial 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 would help Mr. Paquin move on from this challenging period in his life without the need for a lengthy trial scheduled for the fall.
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. Following his conviction, Paquin spent 18 years in prison before being granted full parole in 2001 under strict conditions, which were upheld for the next 23 years. In 2024, the federal justice minister ordered a retrial after new evidence emerged, suggesting a potential miscarriage of justice. Consequently, Paquin, now 83 years old, was acquitted on November 6, 2024.
Paquin credited his acquittal to the diligent work of his legal team at Projet Innocence Québec, who discovered evidence challenging the credibility of Bernard Provençal, a key police informant in the case. 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, alleging misconduct by their agents, including Montreal police, the Sûreté du Québec, and the Quebec Crown prosecutor’s office.
The lawsuit claimed that authorities 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 tampered with or fabricated. Paquin’s legal team argued that his case was not just a miscarriage of justice but a narrative of a life stolen and an unjustly prolonged imprisonment. The lawsuit sought damages of over $89 million, although the exact settlement amount remains confidential due to a nondisclosure clause.
As the lawsuit was resolved through settlement, the claims were not litigated in court, and all involved parties have agreed not to provide further comments on the matter.