$66M Settlement Reached in B.C. Birth Alert Class Action
The Supreme Court of B.C. will decide by December whether to approve a $66-million settlement that would compensate people who were subject to the province's now-ended birth alert practice.
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A proposed $66-million settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit over B.C.'s use of birth alerts, a practice that operated for decades often without people's knowledge during one of the most vulnerable times of their lives.
Birth alerts were communications sent by child welfare workers from the Ministry of Children and Family Development to hospitals about a pregnant person before the baby was born. The communication stated or implied that the baby might need protection. The alerts officially ended in 2019.
If the Supreme Court of B.C. approves the settlement at a hearing scheduled for December 4, 2026, eligible class-action members would receive a minimum of $2,000 in compensation, with Indigenous members receiving an additional amount.
The settlement creates a process for people to seek information about whether a birth alert was issued about them, provides compensation, and offers trauma-informed support throughout the claims process. It addresses only the birth alert itself and does not determine anything about actions taken after the birth.
"This proposed settlement addresses a practice that operated for decades, often without people's knowledge, during one of the most vulnerable times of their lives," said Jen Winstanley, partner of Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman LLP, counsel representing the plaintiff.
Representative plaintiff Adrianna Zeleniski said the settlement avoids a lengthy trial. "People should not have to publicly relive painful experiences to be heard or supported."
The class-action lawsuit was filed on September 1, 2021, on behalf of British Columbians who were the subject of a birth alert between May 31, 1980, and May 8, 2026.
A statement from B.C.'s Ministry of Attorney General acknowledged that birth alerts "were primarily issued for marginalized women and, disproportionately, Indigenous women" and acknowledged "the trauma women experienced." The province noted it was the first in Canada to end the practice.