In February 2025, the Court of Appeal of Quebec authorized two Atikamekw women to go ahead with a class action lawsuit against the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Lanaudière (integrated health and social services centre or CISSS) and three doctors. The women say they were sterilized without their free and informed consent.
In the class action, the women claim that the CISSS tolerated systemic discrimination within its walls and failed to provide a safe and adequate health care environment for Indigenous patients. They also claim that the doctors involved did not obtain proper consent from them before performing sterilization procedures.
In Quebec, a judge must give permission to start a class action before it can go ahead. Judges only authorize class actions that show a reasonable chance of success. When a class action is authorized, the court identifies the alleged faults that will be examined during the trial. It’s only at the trial stage that the court decides whether the CISSS and the doctors committed the alleged faults and whether Atikamekw women were sterilized against their will.
Systemic discrimination in accessing safe health care
Everyone in Quebec has the right to equality and to access safe, quality health care. This means that health and social services institutions, their staff, and doctors are required to provide safe, quality care to all patients—regardless of their ethnic or national origin, social condition, or gender.
By authorizing this class action, the court recognizes the presence of racism and systemic discrimination against Indigenous patients at the Lanaudière CISSS. One of the faults alleged is that the CISSS failed to act to end this discrimination. As a result, Indigenous patients may not have received the same standard of care as others.
According to the allegations in the court documents, the systemic racism and discrimination tolerated within the CISSS may have contributed to forced sterilizations of Atikamekw women.
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Did you know? According to the Commission des droits de la personne et de la jeunesse (human rights and youth rights commission or CDPDJ), racism and systemic discrimination worsen inequalities experienced by certain groups, like ethnocultural minorities, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. These inequalities often result from policies and practices that appear neutral but reflect unconscious biases and fail to meet the real needs of these groups. |
Free and informed consent to health care
Adults generally have the right to make free and informed decisions about their health care. Health and social services providers, including institutions and medical professionals, must make sure that patients give their consent before receiving any care.
Consent is free if it’s given voluntarily. This means the patient isn’t forced or pressured to agree to the treatment. Consent is informed if the patient knows all the important facts when making their decision. This means that the health and social services providers must clearly explain the nature of any proposed treatment, along with its risks and benefits, before the patient makes their decision.
In the case of anesthesia or surgery, the patient must give consent by signing a document that is kept in their medical record.
In this authorized class action, one of the allegations is that the CISSS, its staff, and the doctors performed sterilizations on Atikamekw women without getting their free and informed consent.
Some women reportedly had their Fallopian tubes tied without knowing it, or after having consented to the surgery because they were led to believe it could be reversed. Some say that they were pressured into giving consent, and that doctors and staff threatened, insulted or made racist remarks towards them. In at least one case, there is no written consent form in the patient’s medical record.
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You can follow the progress of this class action by visiting Quebec Native Women’s website or the website of the law firm representing the Indigenous women involved in this case. |