B.C. to settle class action over birth alerts that separated newborns from mothers

B.C. is set to become the first province to settle a class-action lawsuit over birth alerts, a practice where child welfare workers contacted medical practitioners, frequently resulting in the apprehension of babies shortly after birth. The proposed settlement is valued at $66 million, and while the total number of class members is unknown, the province has identified approximately 2,842 people as potentially being subjects of a birth alert. The settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing but includes a provision for a senior government official to make a public statement acknowledging the impact of birth alerts and for the province to facilitate roundtable discussions with class members. The practice officially ended in B.C. in 2019, and most other Canadian jurisdictions have also ended it. In the final 20 months B.C. issued official birth alerts, 58 per cent of the people involved were Indigenous, despite Indigenous people making up about 5.7 per cent of the province's population. B.C. is not the only province facing legal action over birth alerts; separate class actions have been filed in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. However, B.C. is the only province to indicate an intention to settle. The settlement is seen as a significant step by plaintiffs' lawyer Michelle Segal, who views it as part of a larger advocacy project around the child welfare system. Adrianna Zeleniski, the representative plaintiff, welcomed the settlement, stating that it allows class members to acknowledge the impact of the practice.

(Source：The Province)