Val d'Or Native Friendship Centre files class-action lawsuit

The Native Friendship Centre in Val d'Or filed a class-action lawsuit in Quebec Superior Court Tuesday, for discrimination and abuse of Indigenous people by Sûreté du Québec (SQ) officers in northern Quebec.

The lawsuit names both Quebec's attorney general and the SQ and needs to be approved in order to go ahead. 

In a statement Tuesday, the Friendship Centre said the provincial government is "liable to remedy the harm caused since it was committed by officers on duty, while SQ executives knew about these practices."

A spokesperson for the Friendship Centre told CBC that it won't be doing any interviews about the lawsuit because the matter is before the courts.

The centre wrote in its statement that Quebec has implemented several measures that have had a positive impact in Val d'Or since the town was rocked by a crisis six years ago. But the group says, "we also believe that there are many ways in which the Indigenous women of Val-d'Or can obtain redress." 

In 2015, several Indigenous women came forward with allegations of discrimination and sexual abuse by SQ officers working out of the Val-d'Or detachment.

The allegations led to a boycott of the mining town 600 kilometres north of Montreal by surrounding Cree and Anishinaabe communities who live, work and shop there and resulted in a provincial investigation and damning report by retired Superior Court Justice Jacques Viens.

Law firm Trudel Johnston & Lespérance is leading the litigation and any Indigenous people who feel they should be involved in the suit are invited to contact them or fill out a form on their website.

The Native Friendship Centre says it's happy to offer assistance to anyone who thinks they're concerned by the class-action suit — as well as their loved ones. Anyone looking for help or additional information can contact actioncollective@caavd.ca. 

"We hope that this class action will generate a sense of justice for the women, awareness and education within the province's police forces and concrete and perceptible changes within the Val-d'Or community," said the centre.