Ingram v Alberta: Certification For The Sake Of Judicial Economy

In Ingram v. Alberta¹, the Court of King's Bench of Alberta certified a class action on behalf of affected Alberta business owners (the "Plaintiffs") who allegedly suffered losses due to business restrictions and closures required by orders enacted pursuant to Alberta's Public Health Act (the "PHA")² in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (the "Impugned Orders").

This certification comes on the heels of Ingram v. Alberta (Chief Medical Officer of Health),³ where the same Court held that the Impugned Orders were ultra vires the PHA because the final decision to issue the Impugned Orders was made by Cabinet or a Cabinet committee, who did not have authority under the PHA to make such orders.