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We are bilingual, trained in both common law and Quebec civil law, and have experience before the courts at all levels.
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Constitution architecture dramatically altered following Quebec Appeal Court decision: legal experts
The architecture of the Canadian Constitution has been dramatically altered, with the emergence of a third level of government, after the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled that Indigenous people possess an […]
Hidden residential school: the Algonquins of Kitcisakik demand justice
Louvicourt: the Algonquin community of Kitcisakik in Abitibi-Témiscamingue faces many challenges, in addition to living without running water or electricity, most of the adult population want to sue the federal government. From 1975 to 1991, almost all of the elementary school children were housed at the Pavillon Notre-Dame de la Route in Louvicourt. They believe they suffered the same damages as those who attended residential schools.
On February 10, 2022, the Quebec Court of Appeal released its judgment regarding the constitutionality of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families. In finding the Act mostly constitutional, the Court emphatically confirmed that s. 35 of the Constitution Act?1982 protects Indigenous peoples’ right to self-government. No appeal court in Canada has ever taken this step, and the Court’s judgment will have far-ranging consequences for the rights of Indigenous peoples. Jameela Jeeroburkhan and Nicholas Dodd of Dionne Schulze assisted an intervening party in preparing its written submissions and Nicholas has prepared a short summary of the major takeaways from the decision to help you understand more.
The residential school survivors Canada tried to forget
In the tiny Anishinaabe village of Kitcisakik, almost everyone over the age of 40 was shipped to Louvicourt on orders of the federal government. The priest-run residence was known for its brutality; children as young as four years old were beaten, starved and forced to trade sexual favours with their captors in exchange for food or less brutal treatment.
But Louvicourt was never formally recognized as a residential school. Its survivors never got to unburden themselves at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, they were never compensated for the horrors visited upon them and they didn’t receive a formal apology from the Canadian government — all because of a loophole.
