The Honorable Marie-Claude Sarrazin
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Quebec
Louis-Philippe-Pigeon Building
1200, route de l’Église, 10th floor
Quebec City (Quebec) G1V 4M1
Subject: Disclosure of terms of settlement of court case of insurers suing Government of Quebec over Saguenay flood
Madam Minister,
We are a nonprofit organization working to ensure that climate-related damage does not lead to an affordability crisis for homeowners and taxpayers. We are writing to request that you disclose the terms of the out-of-court settlement made by the previous administration relating to a court case filed by insurance companies against the Government of Quebec over flooding in Saguenay.
The 1996 Saguenay flood was one of the most devastating and costly disasters in Quebec’s history. As the Lake Kénogami watershed received 245 mm of rain, the gates of Hydro-Québec’s Portage-des-Roches Dam in Laterrière had to be opened at full capacity to prevent the dam from failing, resulting in the evacuation of 16,000 people and the destruction of 500 homes downstream.
In addition to the affected residents, several companies also sustained damage, including Alcan, Abitibi-Price, and Cascades. This damage was partially covered by insurance policies.
In the years following the flood, the insurers exercised their right of subrogation and filed damage claims against the Attorney General of Quebec and the Société des infrastructures seeking $100 million, or approximately $190 million in 2026 dollars.
In a March 2025 Supreme Court ruling, the insurance group was authorized to continue its lawsuit against the Province of Quebec despite a long period of inactivity.
We checked the civil docket to see where the case stood and were surprised to learn that an out-of-court settlement reached between the parties on December 12, 2025 had brought an end to this nearly 30-year-old dispute (case nos. 150-05-000594-970, 150-05-001903-998, and 150-05-002008-995).
However, despite the magnitude of this historic settlement, no press release was issued, nor was any information made public. We filed a freedom of information request with the Ministry of Justice to learn the terms of the agreement, but the request was denied on May 25 under the settlement privilege.
However, nothing prevents the ministry from providing information about the settlement when it is in the public interest, as is the case here.
In fact, this settlement is part of a major trend: as climate-related hazards intensify, the governments, both provincial and municipal, are increasingly the target of lawsuits, the burden of which falls upon taxpayers. Our view is that missing from this legal equation are those ultimately responsible for extreme weather, the major climate polluters making billions by externalizing their costs onto the public in this manner.
The public has a right to know how much of their taxpayer dollars are being awarded in such cases. Keeping this secret hides a growing liability and prevents a discourse over who should ultimately pay for climate damages.
Given your involvement in the Gallant Commission, we know that transparency in the use of public funds is a priority for you. We therefore ask you to make public the December 12, 2025 settlement so that people can begin to judge for themselves the appropriateness of such lawsuits.
We look forward to your response. Sincerely,
Renaud Gignac
Legal Director
Climate Affordability Institute