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B.C. Birth Alerts Class-Action Lawsuit Leads to $66M Proposed Settlement
A class-action lawsuit over B.C. birth alerts has led to a $66 million proposed settlement, compensating Indigenous families who had their newborns flagged for child welfare intervention. A class-action lawsuit over British Columbia's birth alert practice has resulted in a $66 million proposed settlement, one of the largest of its kind in Canadian legal history. The lawsuit alleged that the B.C. government systematically discriminated against Indigenous families by issuing birth alerts to hospitals. Birth alerts were notifications sent to hospitals warning staff that a newborn might be at risk of removal by child welfare authorities. In practice, they disproportionately targeted Indigenous mothers. The British Columbia birth alerts settlement will compensate individuals who were subject to a birth alert between 2000 and 2019. Claimants could receive between $10,000 and $150,000 depending on the severity of their experience. The total fund is capped at $66 million. Birth alerts were officially discontinued in British Columbia in 2019 after years of criticism from Indigenous leaders and child welfare advocates. The practice was replaced with "safety plans" that involve collaborat...
