Question Period Note: Uttak Lawsuit

N.A.

• Crown – Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) remains committed to approaching litigation related to past harms suffered by Indigenous people in a respectful, compassionate, and fair manner.
• The allegations of medical research and experimentation on the plaintiffs are deeply troubling.
• While Canada is named in the litigation, to date, there is no evidence that the federal government was involved in conducting the research.
• As we all have a role to play in reconciliation, Canada has taken steps to add those who did conduct the research.

On June 7, 2019, this multi-plaintiff claim was filed on behalf of five plaintiffs, all Inuit residents of the Igloolik area in Nunavut during the time of the alleged abuse. The Plaintiffs claim that between 1967 and 1973 they, and others, were subjected to medical or biological experimentation as a part of the International Biological Program.
Those conducting the experiments were believed, by the Plaintiffs, to have been representatives of, or connected with, the Government of Canada. The Plaintiffs assert that Canada had a legal obligation to safeguard them from the risks and injuries linked to these research activities, specifically the alleged assaults.
Canada filed a Statement of Defense on February 21, 2020, denying liability and asserting that its involvement was limited to providing access to facilities in Igloolik and general research funding to universities. Canada subsequently filed third-party notices against the University of Alberta, the University of Manitoba, the University of Toronto, and McGill; the institutions which conducted the research. In July 2021, the third-party action against McGill University was discontinued due to insufficient evidence of their involvement in the research project.
On August 15, 2025, Canada to filed a summary judgment motion based on limitations, as have the Universities.

If pressed on why Canada is arguing limitations
• Consistent with its belief that we all have a role to play in reconciliation, Canada has taken the position that some claims against Canada should be dismissed, given the third-party control of these experiments.
• Given the lack of evidence regarding Canada’s involvement, we have made the difficult decision to file the motion on limitations. If pressed on whether Canada will abandon its limitations motion
• At this time, we will continue to take the position that limitations apply in respect of the claims against Canada.
• Again, Canada did not conduct these experiments, and those who did conduct them have been added to the litigation at Canada’s request.
• This position is consistent with our belief that we all have a role to play in reconciliation.