Claude Paquin, a man from Quebec who was wrongly convicted of a double murder and later acquitted after 41 years, has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with Montreal and the provincial government. The agreement was announced jointly by the three parties in a statement released on Friday, aiming to help Paquin move on from the challenging period in his life without a lengthy trial scheduled for the fall.
In 1983, Paquin was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder related to the deaths of Ronald Bourgouin and Sylvie Revah, a couple murdered in the Laurentians in 1978. After spending 18 years in prison and being granted full parole in 2001 with strict release conditions for the following 23 years, Paquin’s case was revisited in 2024 by the federal justice minister, who ordered a retrial due to new evidence suggesting a potential miscarriage of justice.
Subsequently, Paquin, now 83 years old, was acquitted on November 6, 2024. He credited his lawyers from Projet Innocence Québec for his acquittal, as they uncovered evidence casting doubt on the credibility of Bernard Provençal, a key police informant in the case.
Represented by Woods LLP lawyers, Paquin filed a civil lawsuit in Quebec Superior Court in May 2025 against the City of Montreal and the Attorney General of Quebec, alleging failures by law enforcement agencies and the prosecution. The lawsuit claimed that since 1983, authorities were aware of false testimony by the informant and alleged fabrication or alteration of physical evidence linking Paquin to the crime.
Describing the case as a “stolen life,” Paquin’s legal team argued that it was not just a miscarriage of justice but an unjust deprivation of his liberty beyond prison walls. The lawsuit sought damages of over $89 million, though the exact settlement amount remains confidential due to the agreement’s terms.
As the lawsuit was resolved through the settlement, the claims were not litigated in court, and all involved parties have agreed not to provide further comments on the matter.
