Quebec settled insurers' $100-million claim over the 1996 Saguenay flood without telling the public

Quebec reached an out-of-court deal in December with the insurers of companies hit by the flood, including Alcan, Abitibi-Price and Cascades. The insurers had claimed $100 million, and the value of the deal is unknown.

A lawyer at the Climate Affordability Institute found the deal in a public court register last spring. Quebec's Justice Department refused to give it to him in May, and he has now asked the new justice minister to release it.

“If we start hiding agreements like this, a piece of the puzzle will be missing for the public to know who pays for climate damage.”

— Renaud Gignac, Climate Affordability Institute

The settlement was signed on Dec 12, 2025. Justice Minister Marie-Claude Sarrazin had not responded when contacted.