Mohawk Mothers in court as Quebec seeks to dismiss case over former Royal Victoria Hospital site

Kanien’kehà:ka kahnistensera, the group of Indigenous women known as the Mohawk Mothers, were in Montreal for a Superior Court of Quebec hearing on Friday. It’s part of the group’s broader effort to search for human remains at the former Royal Victoria Hospital and Allan Memorial Institute sites, where McGill is developing a new downtown campus.

The group says that there could be former Royal Victoria patients buried at the site, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

“Right now, we are at jeopardy of losing those burials,” said Kwetiio, with Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers).

“They are trying to continue their project and really do not want to acknowledge Indigenous peoples’ relationship with the land and they want to say that whatever we bring forward is null and void.”

Quebec’s attorney general and the Société Québécoise des Infrastructures (SQI) filed a motion to dismiss the Mohawk Mothers’ case.

The Mothers are contesting Quebec’s Cultural Heritage Act, which they allege does not allow Indigenous people to be involved in protecting their own cultural heritage.

“What could come from winning this case is an acknowledged right for Indigenous title holders of their ancestral territories to protect these territories, to use them in an ongoing way, and to protect burial sites that are found on these ancestral territories. Mount Royal being a very important traditional territory,” said Phillipe Blouin, an anthropologist accompanying the Mohawk Mothers.

Their legal action also includes a land claim on Mount Royal and calls for Indigenous peoples’ rights to protect burial sites on their ancestral territories.

“We want to show that those children are our children. I’m a grandmother, I’m a great grandmother. So that means that I have a relationship with those children. Those children, some of them, many of them were born during my lifetime,” said Kahentinetha, with the Mohawk Mothers.

The office for Quebec’s Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette tells CityNews that out of respect for the judicial process, they will not be commenting on this matter.

In a written response to CityNews, the SQI explained why it is filing a motion to dismiss the main legal action of the Mohawk Mothers.

“SQI is filing a motion to dismiss the main proceedings brought by the plaintiffs identifying themselves as the ‘Mohawk Mothers,’ because it is unfounded in fact and in law. The Attorney General of Quebec is also presenting such a motion,” reads the statement.

“The SQI’s work on the site is now complete and the investigations requested by the Mohawk Mothers (archaeological excavations) are continuing, in accordance with the agreement reached with them. They are kept continuously informed of the progress of these excavations by the SQI and are able to attend. The Mohawk Mothers’ legal action should therefore be dismissed. The SQI will not comment further as the matter is currently before the courts.”

Meanwhile a spokesperson for the City of Montreal told CityNews: “The City of Montreal, as the defendant in the action in question, has, like the other defendants, notified the plaintiffs of grounds for dismissal. Out of respect for the judicial process, we will not comment.”

The hearing will continue on July 11.

Justice Gregory Moore will eventually decide whether the case will be heard in court.

“What is at stake is these children that are there and these remains that are on the ground right now. That’s at the detriment at this minute. Right now, in the present time,” said Kwetiio.