The Certification of Competition-Related Class Actions in Canada

By John B. Laskin, Linda M. Plumpton, and Amanda M. Kemshaw*

Reproduced with permission from the Canadian Class Action Review (2006), Vol. 3, No. 1, published by Irwin Law, pp. 216-244.

A. Introduction

Although the first class action legislation was enacted in Canada more than twenty-five years ago¹ and class proceedings are now a national phenomenon, Canadian courts still have not stated clearly the manner in which certification principles will be applied to class proceedings alleging antitrust violations. As the Court of Appeal for Ontario has stated, "the question of whether and how consumers will be able to use class actions to obtain relief from price fixing ... remains an open one in this jurisdiction."²