Around 30 Atikamekw women have joined a class-action lawsuit against the regional health authority, the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Lanaudière, and three doctors for alleged forced or non-consensual sterilizations. The lawsuit, spearheaded by two Atikamekw women, pertains to patients who claim to have undergone the procedure without their consent from 1980 until now.
The Atikamekw community, with a population of roughly 8,379 individuals as per Quebec government data, primarily resides in Manawan, within the northern part of the Lanaudière region, as well as in Wemotaci and Obedjiwan in the Haute-Mauricie region. These women allege that they were subjected to sterilization without proper consent while seeking healthcare services in the Lanaudière region, including at the Centre hospitalier de Lanaudière, commonly known as the Joliette hospital.
According to attorney Léa Lemay Langlois from the law firm Dionne Schulz representing the women, one woman discovered that a tubal ligation, a procedure preventing pregnancy, had been performed without her knowledge during a C-section. Another woman claimed that she was pressured by a doctor, under discriminatory remarks, to undergo sterilization without signing a consent form for the procedure.
The group initiated the class action in November 2021 on behalf of all Atikamekw women who allege they did not consent to procedures affecting their fertility. This request was authorized by a Quebec Superior Court judge in August 2023, covering the three doctors, one of whom passed away in 2019. Subsequently, in February of the current year, the Court of Appeal allowed the class action to proceed, expanding its scope to include the CISSS de Lanaudière overseeing the Joliette hospital.
Following the Superior Court’s decision, the law firm Dionne Schulze highlighted the Court of Appeal’s recognition that the women’s arguments regarding the direct responsibility of the CISSS and its employees were valid. Since the class action’s authorization, more women have shared similar accounts, some being misled about the necessity and reversibility of the procedures.
Marjolaine Étienne, president of Quebec Native Women, emphasized that forced sterilization is a recognized issue beyond the Lanaudière region. She referred to a report from the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue identifying at least 22 cases of forced sterilization of Indigenous women in Quebec between 1980 and 2019. The report attributed this practice to systemic racism.
The death of Joyce Echaquan in 2020 at the Joliette hospital was another trigger for change. Echaquan, an Atikamekw mother of seven, livestreamed racist behavior she faced from hospital staff before passing away. Her husband, Carol Dubé, revealed that she had been pressured into undergoing sterilization against her wishes after several traumatic incidents at the hospital.
Quebec Native Women and advocates have criticized the Coalition Avenir Québec government for its denial of systemic racism. Despite ongoing legal proceedings, the women in the class action seek compensation for the alleged suffering endured by them and their families. The CISSS de Lanaudière declined to comment citing the active legal process, and none of the claims have been proven in court yet.
