Court affirms Canada must pay lawyers in ’60s Scoop suit $75M

TORONTO — A Federal Court judge says he doesn’t have the power to reconsider how much the government should pay lawyers who led a successful classaction lawsuit against Canada over the so-called ’60s Scoop.

In a decision released this week, Judge Michael Phelan noted that the $75 million in fees for the lawyers who fought the landmark case over the course of years had been approved by Federal Court Justice Edward Belobaba in May and that there had been no appeal or legal process to reopen the matter.

He further noted that the appeal periods have expired and the parties involved the class-action lawsuit have been moving forward to carry out the $750-million compensation deal achieved for victims of the ’60s Scoop, Indigenous children who lost their cultural heritage after being taken from their homes and placed with non-Indigenous families.

“It is not in the interests of the claimants or the administration of justice to add further uncertainty by reopening the issue of council fees further,” Phelan wrote in his decision.

The judge said lawyers in the federal suit are free to reassess their fees and decide whether part of the money should instead go to the settlement, but are legally entitled to the sum approved by Federal Court Judge Michel Shore, who was handling the matter.

Phelan signed an order last month confirming the lawyers would each get $37.5 million.