On February 12, 2025, the Court of Appeal issued its decision in the class action brought by Atikamekw women who claim to have undergone sterilization procedures at the CISSS de Lanaudière without their free and informed consent. It allowed the appeal of the representatives, U.T. and M.X., and dismissed the appeal of the doctors, thus authorizing the class action against the CISSS de Lanaudière and the doctors.
The first-instance decision of the Superior Court of Quebec from August 16, 2023, had rejected any link between alleged systemic racism at the Joliette hospital and forced sterilizations. However, the Court of Appeal found that the representatives’ argument regarding the direct responsibility of the CISSS and its employees was neither frivolous nor manifestly unfounded.
The Court of Appeal therefore recognized that the allegations against the CISSS regarding the lack of measures to curb the systemic racism that allowed the sterilizations to be carried out with impunity, the failure to provide adequate and safe care, and the inaction of its employees were not unreasonable and that the members of the class should have the opportunity to raise them in the context of this class action.
The Court also confirmed that the action raises issues common to both the CISSS and the doctors, such as the lack of consent given the practice of forced sterilizations, the doctors’ modus operandi, and the discriminatory nature of this practice.
The certification of this class action contributes to access to justice by preventing victims from bearing the burden of complex litigation alone.