The statement of claim attempts to portray the plaintiffs as children of slaves. Slavery was never legal in Canada. Most Canadians were anti-slavery even in the 1700s. The plaintiffs are a hundred times more likely to descend from slave traders than black slaves in pre-Canada.

For close to 400 years, Black Canadians have faced and continue to face prejudice, inequalities, tangible and invisible systemic barriers to full and equal participation in Canadian society. This dates back to the enslavement of African people in Canada as property and not as people.

Between 1629 and 1834, there were more than 4,000 enslaved people of African descent in Canada. Children, women, and men were reduced to property that could be bought and sold, exploited for their labour, and subjected to physical, sexual and psychological trauma, which has left its mark on all future generations.