Montreal — Claude Paquin, the Quebec man who spent more than four decades fighting a conviction for a 1978 double murder and was acquitted in 2024, has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the City of Montreal and the Government of Quebec.
Settlement ends long-running legal battle
The three parties announced the agreement in a joint statement Friday. City and provincial officials said the settlement should help Paquin "turn the page on this difficult chapter of his life," though they did not disclose the exact amount. The civil litigation had been scheduled to go to trial this fall before the parties reached terms.
Paquin, who was 81 at the time of his 2024 acquittal and is now 83, had launched a Superior Court civil suit last year alleging that police and the justice system had wrongfully deprived him of liberty for decades. His lawyers argued in court documents that he held "the grim record for the longest unjustified deprivation of liberty ever documented in Quebec."
“The Plaintiff holds the grim record for the longest unjustified deprivation of liberty ever documented in Quebec,”
Background: conviction, parole and new evidence
Paquin was found guilty in 1983 of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Ronald Bourgouin and Sylvie Revah, a couple killed in the Laurentians in 1978. He served 18 years in custody before being granted full parole in 2001 under strict conditions that remained in place for the following 23 years.
In 2024 the federal justice minister ordered a new trial, concluding that newly identified information raised serious doubts about the fairness of the original process. That determination followed a review that highlighted evidence not presented at trial, including changes in testimony by an informant whose statements had been central to the prosecution.
Paquin was acquitted on Nov. 6, 2024. Lawyers connected to Projet Innocence Québec said the acquittal was made possible by material showing the principal informant, Bernard Provençal, had altered his story and received money and favours in return for his testimony. Other witnesses reportedly placed Paquin elsewhere and there were questions about how the crime scene had been handled.
What the lawsuit said
In court filings, Paquin's lawyers described a lengthy sequence of state actions they labelled "grave, gross, and malicious" errors that led to his prolonged deprivation of liberty. The lawsuit said the informant later admitted to perjury and, in effect, to being responsible for the offence he had implicated Paquin in.
Those allegations form the core of Paquin's civil claim: that police and prosecutors possesssed information that could have secured his release earlier but failed to disclose it or act on it. The suit also detailed personal consequences, saying Paquin "lost everything: his son, his freedom," while imprisoned and under prolonged supervision.
Local implications and questions for authorities
The settlement will likely close the civil litigation, but it leaves broader questions about past investigations, oversight and the use of informant testimony. In recent years there has been increasing scrutiny in Quebec and across Canada of how police handle informants and of safeguards to prevent wrongful convictions.
- Key milestones: murder (1978), conviction (1983), full parole (2001), federal ordered retrial (2024), acquittal (Nov. 6, 2024), settlement (2026)
- Core issues: credibility and compensation of an informant, handling of the crime scene, late-disclosed evidence
- Official stance: city and province framed the settlement as a way to avoid a protracted trial and help Paquin move forward
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1978 | Deaths of Ronald Bourgouin and Sylvie Revah |
| 1983 | Paquin convicted of two counts of first-degree murder |
| 2001 | Granted full parole under strict conditions |
| 2024 | Federal justice ordered a new trial; Paquin acquitted Nov. 6 |
| 2026 | Settlement reached between Paquin, City of Montreal and Quebec |
While the settlement avoids a civil trial that would have examined these allegations in depth in court, it does not equate to an admission of wrongdoing by the government parties. Public statements from Montreal and the province framed the deal primarily as a pragmatic resolution.
What comes next
For Paquin, the agreement provides financial redress and the prospect of closure after a legal ordeal spanning decades. For the systems implicated, the case will continue to be cited in conversations about reforms to evidence disclosure, informant management and review mechanisms intended to prevent miscarriages of justice.
As the settlement removes the immediate prospect of a fall trial, watchdogs and legal advocates are likely to press for continued transparency about lessons learned from the case — without, however, the detailed public airing of facts that a full trial would have produced.
This file will remain of interest across Quebec as policymakers, legal experts and families of those convicted continue to assess how best to balance public safety, effective policing and the protection of the wrongly accused.
