Claude Paquin, a resident of Quebec who was wrongly convicted of a double homicide and later acquitted after 41 years, has reached a substantial settlement with the city of Montreal and the provincial government. The agreement was announced jointly by the three parties on Friday to avoid a lengthy trial scheduled for this fall.
In 1983, Paquin was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in relation to the deaths of Ronald Bourgouin and Sylvie Revah, a couple murdered in the Laurentians in 1978. Following 18 years of imprisonment, Paquin was granted full parole in 2001 under strict release conditions that lasted for the next 23 years.
In 2024, the federal justice minister ordered a retrial due to new information suggesting a potential miscarriage of justice. Paquin, now 83 years old, was acquitted on November 6, 2024. He credited his legal team from Projet Innocence Québec for his exoneration, highlighting the questionable credibility of police informant Bernard Provençal, a key figure in the case.
Represented by lawyers from Woods LLP, Paquin filed a multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit in Quebec Superior Court in May 2025 against Montreal and the Attorney General of Quebec. The lawsuit alleges that authorities were aware as early as 1983 of the informant’s false testimony and the fabrication or alteration of physical evidence linking Paquin to the crime.
Described as a “stolen life,” the lawsuit portrays Paquin’s prolonged incarceration as an unjust sentence that transcended prison walls. His legal team emphasized the extensive deprivation of liberty suffered by Paquin, seeking damages exceeding $89 million in the lawsuit. However, the exact settlement amount remains confidential as per the agreement terms.
Since the lawsuit was settled outside of court, its allegations were not subjected to legal scrutiny, and the involved parties have chosen not to provide further details or comments.
