Some B.C. residents could receive thousands in birth alerts settlement

Some B.C. residents may be entitled to thousands of dollars after the province agreed to settle a class action over the use of birth alerts—a child welfare practice that disproportionately affected marginalized and Indigenous women.

Birth alerts were issued in hospitals for decades without parental consent when authorities identified a potential safety risk to infants. The practice was officially ended in 2019 after widespread criticism.

In 2021, a class action was filed against the Province. This year, the court approved a $66 million settlement. "This class action says that Birth Alerts disclosed sensitive personal information and so were a privacy violation and an infringement of the rights to liberty and security," the class-action website states. "It also says that for Indigenous parents, Birth Alerts violated the right to equality."

Eligible claimants—anyone who had a birth alert issued about them in British Columbia between May 31, 1980, and May 8, 2026—will receive a minimum of $2,000. Indigenous class members who submit eligible claims will receive additional compensation, with the amount each member receives dependent on the total number of eligible claims submitted.

The settlement approval hearing is scheduled for December 4, 2026. The province has stated the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing but a "legal compromise to resolve the claims."