Mr. Speaker, with respect to legal proceedings involving the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, FNCFCS, our electronic system has identified approximately 19 litigation files involving FNCFCS that date back to 2006. This total is composed of various types of legal proceedings before the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal and Tribunals, wherein the Attorney General of Canada is an applicant, appellant or respondent, and the FNCFCS is a complainant, applicant or respondent. Of the 19 files identified, nine files were brought by the Attorney General of Canada and 10 were against the Attorney General of Canada. Our electronic system is not able to identify files in which FNCFCS could potentially be an intervenor or a party in another capacity. It is also important to note that it is not possible to search electronically in a way that identifies all litigation files that may involve FNCFCS. A comprehensive search would require a manual exercise, which is not possible in the time allotted.
With respect to the legal costs incurred by the Government of Canada in relation to the identified legal proceedings involving FNCFCS, to the extent that the information that has been requested is or may be protected by any legal privileges, including solicitor-client privilege, the federal Crown asserts those privileges. In this case, it has only waived solicitor-client privilege, and only to the extent of revealing the total legal costs and the approximate number of legal proceedings.
The total legal costs, actual and notional costs, associated with the identified legal proceedings involving FNCFCS, amount to approximately $14,545,000.00, over the past 18 years. The total legal costs are with respect to litigation and litigation support services, which were provided, in these cases, by the Department of Justice. Department of Justice lawyers, notaries and paralegals are salaried public servants and therefore no legal fees are incurred for their services. A “notional amount” can, however, be provided to account for the legal services they provide. The notional amount is calculated by multiplying the total hours recorded in the responsive files for the relevant period by the applicable approved internal legal services hourly rates. Actual costs are composed of file-related legal disbursements paid by the department and then cost-recovered from the client departments or agencies, as well as the costs of legal agents who may be retained by the Minister of Justice to provide litigation services in certain cases. The amount mentioned in this response is based on information currently contained in Department of Justice systems, as of November 18, 2024.