The class action was launched in 2023 by Chantelle Cheekinew, a First Nations woman from Regina who alleges she was subject to birth alerts in relation to three pregnancies.

In her statement of claim, Cheekinew alleges that birth alerts were used by Saskatchewan “without a legal basis or justification.” She also claims Saskatchewan breached her privacy rights by disclosing confidential information, including personal healthcare information, through the province’s alleged birth alert scheme.

Birth alerts are when social workers flag expectant parents to hospitals in advance of a child’s birth when it is believed that the newborn may be at risk of harm and in need of protection after delivery.

“Birth alerts are typically issued by child welfare workers without prior knowledge or consent of the expectant parents. The alert prompts hospital staff to contact child welfare authorities as soon as the baby is born and could result in the newborn being apprehended and placed into out-of-home care,” says a report shared by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.