The City of Montreal and the Government of Quebec have reached a settlement with Claude Paquin, a man who was acquitted in 2024 after being tied for decades to a double homicide conviction that his lawyers said was rooted in false evidence.
Long fight for recognition of a possible miscarriage of justice
Paquin filed a civil action in Superior Court last year arguing that police and representatives of the justice system knew for years that his 1983 murder conviction rested on unreliable testimony. The lawsuit alleged that those state actions led to what his legal team described as the longest unjustified deprivation of liberty ever documented in Quebec.
Officials for the city and province said in a news release that they hope the settlement will help Paquin "turn the page on a difficult episode of his life." The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.
How the case unfolded
The events outlined in court filings and public statements trace a long, complex history:
- Paquin was tied to the 1978 murders of Ronald Bourgouin and Sylvie Revah and was later convicted in 1983.
- He served 18 years in detention and spent more than 23 years on parole under strict conditions.
- In 2024, the Crown prosecutor’s office declined to retry him for the killings; a federal review had determined a miscarriage of justice likely occurred and ordered a new trial.
“The Plaintiff holds the grim record for the longest unjustified deprivation of liberty ever documented in Quebec,”
Those words, taken from court documents submitted by Paquin’s counsel, depict a legal process his lawyers called "Dantean" — a sequence of "grave, gross, and malicious state errors" that they say consumed the better part of his adult life.
Evidence and review
Advocates with Projet Innocence Québec and Paquin’s legal team have pointed to material that was not presented at the original trial. That includes the recantation or changed testimony of a key informant who, according to court papers, received money and favours in exchange for testimony. Defence records also cite statements from another witness who said Paquin was not involved and raise questions about how the crime scene was handled.
The federal justice department’s decision to order a new trial in 2024 followed its conclusion that there were new and significant issues warranting review — a determination that set the path to Paquin’s eventual acquittal when provincial prosecutors declined to retry the case.
Human cost and civic response
Paquin was 81 years old at the time of his acquittal, meaning he spent more than half his life living under the constraints tied to his conviction and parole conditions. The lawsuit — and now the settlement — highlight not only legal questions but also the human consequences of long-running criminal cases on individuals and their families.
Montreal and Quebec have not released details of the settlement beyond the statement that they hope it will help Paquin move forward. The absence of a disclosed figure leaves outstanding questions about compensation and about any measures the authorities might take to address the systemic concerns raised by the case.
For many Montrealers, the settlement will renew attention on how criminal investigations and prosecutions are scrutinized and reviewed, particularly in cases where new evidence or procedural concerns emerge decades after the fact. The case also underscores the role of federal review mechanisms in prompting provincial action when miscarriages of justice are suspected.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1978 | Murders of Ronald Bourgouin and Sylvie Revah |
| 1983 | Paquin convicted of murder |
| 2024 | Federal review orders a new trial; Crown declines to retry; Paquin acquitted |
The settlement closes one chapter in a long legal saga, but it is likely to keep alive conversations in Montreal about accountability, review processes and the safeguards necessary to prevent wrongful convictions. Both civic authorities and advocacy groups will be watching how lessons from the case are absorbed into policing and prosecutorial practices going forward.
