A Class action is a way for individuals to hold powerful people and entities to account. A class action is designed to address systematic wrongs, where someone is doing the same thing over and over again to many people.

People tend to get involved in class actions because they believe it is the right thing to do. For a class action to be started, one person has to stand up and say "this is wrong, and it is happening to me. So use me as an example, and if you agree that I am being wronged, there are many others."

This person is known as the "representative plaintiff," and the first step in any class action is to get the court's permission for that person to act as a representative for all of the people similarly situated. This is known as "certification" and is a key step in any class action.

When certification is obtained, the court will define the class -- setting rules to determine who is in the class and who is not -- and will determine which issues can be determined in common, and what will have to be resolved individually for each case.

Class actions often take more time to resolve due to their size and the increased complexity, and not many firms have the resources and expertise to take on such significant projects.

One of Canada's greatest shames has been the treatment of indigenous peoples, in particular they legacy of Residential Schools, where generations of children were ripped from their families and forced to attend government run facilities where the goal was to deprive them of their culture. This event was not something that happened in the distant past. Rather, many of the children who attended these schools are still alive today. Tragically however, many are not alive today because they died at these residential schools.

Farrell Law and Sunchild Law are co-counsel in a claim against the Federal Government of Canada brought on behalf of the families of those children who did not come home from residential schools, and whose bodies were buried in unmarked graves.

The claim alleges that Canada owed a duty to the families of these children to take reasonable care to ensure they returned home, and further that they owed a duty to take reasonable steps to ensure that the bodies of those who died were returned to their families, and that proper ceremonies were available to allow the families to mourn.

If you or someone you know has a family member who died at residential schools, or if you want more information about the status of this action, please contact us by using the "contact us" button on this webpage.