Ottawa says lawyers don’t deserve $80 million for First Nation child welfare settlement – CBC
Oct 29, 2023
Legal bill to be paid on top of $23 billion for compensation and $20 billion for long-term reform
Ottawa wants to pay class action lawyers roughly half the amount they’re requesting in legal fees for a multi-billion dollar First Nations child welfare compensation case — the largest settlement agreement in Canadian history.
The federal government argued before Federal Court this past week that it should pay the class action lawyers between $40 million and $50 million, rather than the $80 million they’ve requested.
Federal Court Justice Mandy Aylen, who reserved her decision on Thursday, said the court must take into consideration the size of the settlement agreement and the fact that the case was based on more than 10 years of litigation at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT).
“This motion arises in what I would say are very unique circumstances,” Aylen said.
