Claude Paquin, a man from Quebec who was wrongly convicted of a double murder and later acquitted after 41 years, has reached a substantial settlement with Montreal and the provincial government. The agreement was announced jointly by the three parties on Friday, aiming to help Paquin move on from the challenging chapter in his life without a lengthy trial scheduled for this fall.
In 1983, Paquin was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder related to the deaths of Ronald Bourgouin and Sylvie Revah, a couple killed in 1978 in the Laurentians. After serving 18 years in prison and being granted full parole in 2001 under strict conditions, new information in the case led to a retrial being ordered by the federal justice minister in 2024 due to the likelihood of a miscarriage of justice.
Paquin, now 83 years old, was acquitted on November 6, 2024, following the retrial. His legal team from Projet Innocence Québec played a crucial role in proving his innocence by challenging the credibility of key witness Bernard Provençal, a notable police informant whose testimony heavily contributed to Paquin’s initial conviction.
Represented by lawyers at Woods LLP, Paquin filed 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 alleges that authorities, including Montreal police, the Sûreté du Québec, and the Quebec Crown prosecutor’s office, 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.
Described as a case of a “stolen life,” Paquin’s lawyers argued that it was not just a miscarriage of justice but an unjustified deprivation of liberty that extended well beyond his imprisonment. The lawsuit sought damages of over $89 million, although the actual settlement amount remains confidential due to an agreement clause.
Since the lawsuit was resolved outside of court, its claims were not scrutinized through legal proceedings, and all involved parties have chosen not to provide further comments on the matter.