Defending Class Actions In Quebec: The Right To An "Undoubtedly Real, Vigorous And Unconstrained" Contestation?

With the 2003 amendments to its class action authorization regime, Quebec’s pre-existing reputation as Canada’s class action haven and the forum of choice for class action petitioners was further cemented.

When the constitutional challenge to the new regime was dismissed by the Quebec Court of Appeal (the "QCA") in April 2005, in what is now commonly referred to as the Piro case ("Piro CA"),1 proposed defendants in Quebec,2 including corporations and directors who have been the targets of class actions, had serious reason to question whether they would, in fact, be able to successfully exercise the "undoubtedly real, vigorous and unconstrained" contestation, that, according to the QCA, still existed under the new system. The uncertainty for proposed defendants at the authorization stage was further amplified by the case law of the Superior Court prior to Piro CA which had adopted a highly restrictive approach to their rights at the authorization stage.