Claude Paquin, a resident of Quebec who was falsely convicted of a double homicide and later acquitted after 41 years, has reached a substantial settlement with Montreal and the provincial government. The agreement was disclosed by all three parties in a collaborative statement issued on Friday, aiming to allow Mr. Paquin to move forward from the challenging phase of his life without a prolonged trial. In 1983, Paquin was convicted of two first-degree murder charges related to the deaths of Ronald Bourgouin and Sylvie Revah, a couple murdered in the Laurentians in 1978. Following 18 years of incarceration, he was granted full parole in 2001 under stringent conditions that persisted for the subsequent 23 years. In 2024, the federal justice minister ordered a retrial, citing new case details suggesting a potential miscarriage of justice. Consequently, Paquin, now 83, was acquitted on November 6, 2024.
Paquin attributed his acquittal to the dedicated efforts of his legal team from Projet Innocence Québec, who uncovered discrepancies in the testimony of police informant Bernard Provençal, a key witness against him. Paquin, represented by Woods LLP lawyers, initiated a multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit in Quebec Superior Court in May 2025 against the City of Montreal and the Attorney General of Quebec. The lawsuit alleged that law enforcement and the prosecution were aware as early as 1983 that the informant’s testimony was false and that any physical evidence linking Paquin to the crime had been manipulated or falsified. The legal team emphasized that this case was not just a miscarriage of justice but a narrative of a life stolen and a sentence that transcended prison bars, portraying an existence seized from Paquin. The lawsuit outlined Paquin’s claim for damages exceeding $89 million, although specifics were not confirmed due to a confidentiality agreement within the settlement.
Given the resolution of the lawsuit outside of court, the claims were not subjected to judicial scrutiny, and all involved parties declined further statements on the matter.