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ARTICLE · 21 JUNE 2013

SCC To Consider Use Of Criminal Wiretaps In Class Actions

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On June 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada announced that it would hear appeals in two matters from Quebec that may determine whether and to what extent wire tap evidence that was obtained in a criminal or a regulatory investigation can be produced in civil proceedings.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Nina Butz
Nina Butz
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On June 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada announced that it would hear appeals in two matters from Quebec (Imperial Oil v Simon Jacques and Couche-Tard Inc v Simon Jacques) that may determine whether and to what extent wire tap evidence that was obtained in a criminal or a regulatory investigation can be produced in civil proceedings. These decisions will be important to corporations and individuals that may be subjected to regulatory investigations and class action lawyers.

Both of the matters deal with a Competition Bureau investigation into gas price fixing in Quebec. In the course of this investigation, the Competition Bureau recorded thousands of private conversations. As a result, the Federal Crown laid charges against several dozen individuals and companies for artificially raising gas prices. Most of the defendants have settled or pleaded guilty. However, the criminal case is on-going for eight of the companies and six of the individuals.

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