Legal representatives agree to a $55 million settlement regarding legal fees in First Nations child welfare case.
Class action attorneys have reduced their request for legal fees by $25 million in connection to an $80 million claim linked to a multi-billion dollar settlement concerning First Nations child welfare.
Five legal firms have reached an agreement with Ottawa, stipulating that the federal government will pay $50 million for fees incurred until October 31, 2023, and an additional sum of up to $5 million for ongoing efforts to implement the settlement.
In addition to the agreed-upon fees, Ottawa will be responsible for covering disbursements and applicable taxes for the legal representatives.
Jennifer Cooper, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada, stated, “We consider this fee, which is $25 million less than the originally requested amount, to be reasonable.
The resolution followed a 2016 decision by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, which determined that Canada had willfully and recklessly discriminated against First Nations children and families by neglecting to offer them equivalent family services provided in other areas.
This development closely followed the tribunal’s 2019 decision, instructing Canada to pay the maximum human rights penalty of $40,000 per First Nations child and family member.
The approval of the $55 million legal fees remains pending in the Federal Court, and these funds are slated to be disbursed from public coffers.
During the recent session before the Federal Court, the government contended that the initial $80 million fee request was excessive, proposing instead a payment of approximately half that amount.
The allocated fees are designated for five firms: Sotos LLP, Kugler Kandestin LLP, Miller Titerle + Co., Nahwegahbow Corbiere, and Fasken Martineau Dumoulin.
Importantly, none of the legal fees will be drawn from the federal compensation pool exceeding $23 billion or the additional $20 billion designated by Ottawa for the long-term reform of First Nations child and family services.
In accordance with the compensation settlement, over 300,000 First Nations individuals are set to receive substantial sums due to Ottawa’s historical underfunding of on-reserve child and family services. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal highlighted that such underfunding created incentives for foster care systems to remove First Nations children from their homes, communities, and families.
