Class Actions Canada – B.C. Supreme Court Approves Participation In Joint Hearing Outside Province

On June 19, the British Columbia Supreme Court accepted that in certain circumstances B.C. law permits a British Columbia Supreme Court judge to preside over a hearing conducted outside the province as part of a joint hearing in the context of a pan-Canadian class action.

The court accepted that the court's inherent jurisdiction permits a provincial court to consider if it should exercise its discretion to hold a hearing outside its home province, if such a hearing promotes the interests of justice in the particular case. The decision illustrates the flexibility Canadian courts are prepared to adopt in dealing with multi-jurisdictional class proceedings.

Background facts

The British Columbia Supreme Court made the ruling in the context of pan-Canadian class proceedings arising out of the infection of persons with hepatitis C by the Canadian blood supply. The actions in various provinces were settled by way of a pan-Canadian settlement agreement approved in