Children’s Special Allowances (Alberta) Class Action
Gosal et al. v. HTMK in Right of Alberta et al., Court of King’s Bench of Alberta (File No. 2303 21401)
Children’s Special Allowances (Alberta) Class Action
Current status
- Statement of Claim filed November 24, 2023
- Click to read the Statement of Claim.
What is this claim about?
In Canada, eligible families receive a tax-free, monthly payment from the federal government to help with the cost of raising their child (the Canada Child Benefit). To ensure that children in care are not left out, the federal government established a similar monthly benefit called the Children’s Special Allowance (CSA) which is paid to children and family services agencies for each child in their care.
This claim alleges that, since 1993, Alberta wrongfully retained the CSA payments it received from the federal government and failed to use them for the exclusive benefit of each child in its care. Instead, Alberta used the funds as a source of revenue to offset its general child welfare funding obligations. As a result, provincially funded children in care (i.e., children whose parents were not ordinarily resident on reserve at the time of apprehension) were discriminated against and denied this benefit.
This claim also alleges that the Government of Canada is liable for failing to prevent Alberta from misusing the CSA benefit.
Who does the class action affect?
All current and former children in care in Alberta (and the estates of those children) from January 1, 1993 to the present who received care from a provincially funded children and family services agency.
Who are the lawyers?
This class action is being pursued by a team of lawyers at Murphy Battista LLP (Angela Bespflug, Janelle O’Connor and Paige Marvel) and Cochrane Sinclair LLP (Harold Cochrane, K.C., Shawn Scarcello, and Alyssa Cloutier).
What should you do if you have been impacted?
If you think you may be a class member and want to receive updates on the progress of the class action and copies of legal notices, please register by completing the online registration form.
You can get more information about the action or class membership by emailing class counsel at [email protected].
Questions?
If you have questions or would like to be included in our database of class members, you can email [email protected] or call Murphy Battista’s Vancouver office at (604) 683-9621 or Toll Free at 1-844-633-3817, and ask to speak to a member of the legal team handling the CSA Alberta Class Action. Reception will transfer your call to someone who can help you.