B.C. birth alerts class-action lawsuit leads to $66M proposed settlement

A class-action lawsuit for people who were the subject of "birth alerts" in B.C. has resulted in a proposed $66-million settlement, according to class counsel lawyers.

"Birth alerts," also called "hospital alerts," were a controversial practice that allowed child welfare workers and agencies to tell a hospital that an expectant parent's child might need protection after birth.

The practice disproportionately affected Indigenous families, according to a news release from class counsel CFM Lawyers LLP.

The alerts often led to babies being seized from mothers just days after they were born.

"People should not have to publicly relive painful experiences to be heard or supported," said Adrianna Zeleniski, representative plaintiff, in the release.

"One thing this proposed settlement does is create a process that avoids a lengthy trial. I hope it also helps people understand they are not alone."

The Supreme Court of B.C. will be asked to approve the settlement at a hearing scheduled for Dec. 4.

According to the class action's FAQ webpage, the proposed settlement is "not an admission that the province did anything wrong."

"It is a legal compromise to resolve the claims."

The proposed settlement would create a process for people to seek whether a birth alert was issued about them, provide compensation and offer trauma-informed support, according to the release.

Michelle Segal, a partner at CFM Lawyers, said a person is presumptively in the class if they are included in certain documents from the Ministry of Child and Family Development that indicated evidence of a birth alert on their file. But there could be more.

"We expect that there are thousands of people in British Columbia that are affected by this, but we don't know how many thousands," she said.

Class members would be eligible for a minimum of $2,000 in compensation, and Indigenous class members would receive an additional amount.

People can be part of the class action if a birth alert was issued about them in B.C., even if they were not told an alert was issued, between May 31, 1980 and May 8, 2026.

Segal noted people do not have to share traumatic details when filing a claim and encouraged people to reach out to a dedicated trauma-informed call centre that can discuss and support the process of filing a claim.

The B.C. Ministry of the Attorney General said in an emailed statement that the settlement is "the most responsible decision to close this chapter and avoid lengthy and costly litigation," while noting it is still subject to court approval.

The ministry said B.C. was the first province to end birth alerts in 2019, and added that health-care providers and child protection workers "no longer share personal information about expectant parents without their consent."

"We know that birth alerts were primarily issued for marginalized women and, disproportionately, Indigenous women and we acknowledge the trauma women experienced."