On March 5, 2019, the Court of Appeal granted a request by the
defendant pharmacies for leave to appeal from the decision by the
Superior Court in the matter of Pharmacie Tania Kanou (Jean Coutu) v.
Côté (french only), which authorized the
filing of a class action against them.
In the class action, the Applicant alleged that the defendant
pharmacy owners, operating under various banners, had engaged in
certain over-billing practices and had also failed to disclose the
details of their fees to their patients in Québec. According
to the Applicant, the defendants billed patients with private
health insurance for professional fees and charges that were
disproportionate, unreasonable and inequitable compared to those
fees billed to patients benefiting from public healthcare drug
coverage.
