Old Royal Victoria Hospital Site Agreement Reached
Written by Jeremy Zafran on 20 April 2023
A Quebec Superior Court judge had granted an emergency injunction to stop excavation work on the old Royal Victoria Hospital site in Montreal as requested by a group of Kanien’kehá:ka elders. The group, called the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera, or Mohawk Mothers, believes there may be unmarked graves of Indigenous people, including children, on or near the site following CIA-funded brainwashing experiments in the 1950s and 1960s. Kwettiiho, is part of the group that says the site may also house archeological remains from the first pre-colonial Iroquois village. The group filed a civil suit demanding the suspension of McGill University’s redevelopment plans for part of the former hospital. There was evidence of remains on the site.
Today, an agreement between all parties involved was completed and homologated, making it an official settlement. The parties involved included: McGill University; Royal Victoria Hospital; the Société Québécoise des Infrastructures (SQI) and the Mohawk Mothers, with the latter group acting as their own lawyers. This round featured the use of Indigenous laws, with Kwettiiho saying it shows that it still remains an effective remedy, today.
A judge had issued an oral decision in the group’s favour last year, granting the emergency, temporary injunction they requested.
