The Supreme Court of Canada has held that a party in a
civil proceeding can request disclosure of wiretap communications
intercepted by the state during a criminal
investigation.
In Imperial Oil v. Jacques, 2014 SCC 66, the
Competition Bureau of Canada (the "Bureau") started an
investigation into allegations of a conspiracy to fix gasoline pump
prices in Québec. As part of its investigation, the Bureau
obtained judicial authorizations under the Criminal Code
from the Court of Québec to intercept and record over
220,000 private communications. A series of charges were laid as a
result of the Bureau's investigation, alleging that the accused
conspired to fix gas pump prices.
At the same time that criminal proceedings took place, the
respondents brought a civil class action in the Québec
Superior Court alleging that a number of persons, including the
appellants, had engaged in anti-competitive practices as set out in
the Civil Code of Québec and the federal
Competiti
