By Canadian Press

Feds, lawyers in First Nations child-welfare case reach $55M deal over legal fees

Nov 10, 2023 | 5:33 PM

OTTAWA — The federal government and the class-action lawyers who worked on a historic settlement over First Nations child welfare have reached a $55-million deal over legal fees.

The Federal Court approved a landmark $23-billion settlement last month to compensate more than 300,000 First Nations children and their families for chronic underfunding of on-reserve child-welfare services.

The class-action lawsuit settlement came after a years-long battle with the federal government, which included a 2016 Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision that the underfunding was discriminatory, and a 2019 ruling awarding $40,000 in compensation for each affected person.

The proposed agreement reached today, not yet approved by the Federal Court, would see five firms receive $50 million in legal fees, plus $5 million for ongoing work to implement the settlement — with none of that money coming from the money earmarked for compensation.

The lawyers involved in the class-action suit had initially argued the federal government should provide $80 million in compensation, but Ottawa argued that was too much.

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Indigenous Services Canada says it considers the amount in the proposed agreement to be reasonable and it is in line with legal fees paid for previous class-action lawsuits.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2023.

The Canadian Press