Claude Paquin, a resident of Quebec who was mistakenly found guilty of a double murder and later acquitted after 41 years, has come to a multimillion-dollar agreement with Montreal and the provincial government.
The settlement was jointly announced by all three parties on Friday, aiming to avoid a lengthy trial scheduled for this fall. It is hoped that this resolution will assist Mr. Paquin in moving forward from this challenging period in his life.
In 1983, Paquin was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder related to the deaths of Ronald Bourgouin and Sylvie Revah, a couple who were killed in the Laurentians in 1978. Following 18 years of imprisonment, Paquin was granted full parole in 2001 under strict conditions that persisted for the subsequent 23 years.
In 2024, a retrial was ordered by the federal justice minister due to new evidence indicating a probable “miscarriage of justice” in the case. On November 6, 2024, Paquin, now 83 years old, was acquitted of all charges.
Paquin expressed gratitude to his legal team from Projet Innocence Québec, stating that his acquittal would not have been possible without their dedicated efforts. The case against him heavily relied on the testimony of Bernard Provençal, a prominent police informant. However, evidence uncovered by Projet Innocence Québec over time raised doubts about the informant’s credibility.
Represented by lawyers at Woods LLP, Paquin filed a civil lawsuit in Quebec Superior Court in May 2025 seeking damages from the City of Montreal and the Attorney General of Quebec for alleged failures of their agents, including the Montreal police, the Sûreté du Québec, and the Quebec Crown prosecutor’s office.
The lawsuit contends that authorities 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. Paquin’s legal team argued in the lawsuit that this case was not just a miscarriage of justice but a narrative of a life robbed, an existence unjustly taken away.
The lawsuit highlighted Paquin’s prolonged unjust deprivation of liberty, which was described as the lengthiest ever documented in Quebec. Although the lawsuit sought damages exceeding $89 million, the exact settlement amount remains confidential due to a non-disclosure agreement.
Since the lawsuit was resolved outside of court, the claims were not subjected to legal scrutiny, and the parties involved have agreed not to provide further statements on the matter.