Class Actions 2023

The Hon. Justice Sylvain Lussier, Cour supérieure du Québec
Margaret L. Waddell, Waddell Phillips PC

Jillian M. Kean, McInnes Cooper (Nova Scotia)
Ian C. Matthews, BLG (Ontario)
Maxime Nasr, Belleau Lapointe (Québec)
Jean Saint‑Onge, Ad.E., Senior Counsel BLG (Québec)
Andrew Wilson, K.C., JSS Barristers (Alberta)
Jen Winstanley, Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman (British Columbia) 

We will kick start the conference with a discussion about new and emerging issues across the country, including a review of the some of the key cases in different jurisdictions and their impact on the national practice.

André Durocher, Fasken (Montreal)
Tanya Jemec (she/her), Finance Lawyer, Ecojustice (Toronto)
André Lespérance, Trudel Johnston & Lespérance (TJL) (Montreal)
David Tupper, Blakes (Calgary)

• Critical update on recent environmental class actions
• Guidance on what works and how to navigate some of the key challenges
• What’s on the horizon?

Michael A. Eizenga, L.S.M., Bennett Jones (Toronto)
The Hon. Justice Sylvain Lussier, Cour supérieure du Québec
The Hon. Michael L. Phelan, ADR Chambers (Ottawa)
Emmanuelle Rolland, Audren Rolland LLP (Montreal)

Navigating multiple jurisdictions adds another layer of complexity to these already challenging actions. This expert panel will share their most recent experience and provide practical guidance on some of the ongoing issues, including:

• Strategies for coordinating multiple actions
• Certifying in one province while another is settling
• Should there be a stay after a national settlement has been approved elsewhere?
• Unique issues when Québec is in the mix

Lara Jackson, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP (Toronto)
Jay Strosberg, Strosberg Sasso Sutts LLP (Windsor)
Jill Yates, McCarthy Tétrault (Vancouver)

• Critical case law update – a review of some of the key new cases in this arena and the implications for your practice
• What role should and do 3rd parties play (consultants, accountants, etc)?
• Material changes, merits determination and more 

Craig P. Dennis, K.C., McEwan Partners (Vancouver)
Mark Gelowitz, Osler (Toronto)
Christopher Rhone, Branch MacMaster LLP (Vancouver)
Tina Q. Yang, Waddell Phillips PC (Toronto) 

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety [nor class action damages?]” – Benjamin Franklin 

• Merits determinations – establishing and challenging causal links
• Privacy cases under appeal – a critical review of the key cases and their implications
• Where are the privacy settlements landing these days
• Negligence damages – differentiating consequential loss and inherent harm from the breach

Kirk Baert, Koskie Minsky LLP (Toronto)
The Hon. Justice Ward K. Branch, Supreme Court of British Columbia (Vancouver)

As Justice Branch’s “Swan Song” from our Organizing Committee, two of the country’s first generation of class action lawyers discuss:

• The genesis of class actions in Canada
• How young and inexperienced lawyers were able to take advantage of this new regime
• What they learned from their successes and, more importantly,
• What they learned from their (many and varied) failures

Moderator:
Luciana Brasil, Branch MacMaster

Katherine L. Kay, Stikeman Elliott (Toronto)
J. Scott Maidment, McMillan LLP (Toronto)
Michael Robb, Siskinds (London)
Raymond F. Wagner, K.C., Wagners Law Firm (Halifax)

This interactive session will put four of Canada’s most outspoken class action counsel in the fray. 

Counsel will vigorously debate the most pyrrhic certification victory. What Is a Pyrrhic Victory? A Pyrrhic victory is a success that comes with great losses or unacceptable costs. The panelists will debate which cases class counsel undoubtedly wish had never been certified. The winner and one lucky voter will each receive a copy of Justice Branch’s textbook Class Actions in Canada. 

Immediately following the last session of Day One.

All registrants and faculty are cordially invited to attend. 

Plus! Don’t miss the crowning of the winning debater and voter of the Great Debate. 

Emily C. Assini, McKenzie Lake Lawyers LLP (London)
Claire Hunter, K.C., Hunter Litigation Chambers (Vancouver)
Odette Soriano, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP (Toronto)
David Sterns, Sotos Class Actions (Toronto)

Expert guidance on thorny procedural issues (new and old), including:

• Disclosing class member information
• Ontario s.29.1 mandatory dismissals
• Punitive damages: how much evidence is required to certify the issue?
• Class representative compensation: Due reward or improper bribery?

Jonathan Foreman, Foreman & Company (London)
Eric Khan, CA2 Inc. (Toronto)
Jasminka Kalajdzic, Associate Professor, Class Action Clinic Director, Faculty of Law, University of Windsor 

How a settlement/outcome is administered is a critical – and sometimes overlooked – part of the process. 

Our experts will share their insights and guidance on what works, how to improve the process, and strategies for navigating the process in trauma informed and culturally sensitive ways.

Simona Jellinek, Jellinek Ellis Gluckstein Lawyers (Toronto)
Megan B. McPhee, Kim Spencer McPhee PC (Toronto)

Is a class action the appropriate forum for resolution of these cases?

Experienced counsel debate the pros and cons, drawing on the successes and challenges that have arisen in past cases.

David F. O’Connor, Roy O’Connor LLP (Toronto)
Lisa Talbot, Torys LLP

When are polls or statistical evidence appropriately adduced in evidence in a class action? Can they be used to prove parts of the case, or only for settlement distribution? 

Counsel will play out the submissions to the court on this poorly understood evidentiary issue.

Moderator:
Golnaz Nayerahmadi, Rochon Genova LLP (Toronto)

The Hon. Justice Paul Favel, Federal Court (Ottawa)
The Hon. Justice Nitya Iyer, Supreme Court of British Columbia
The Hon. Justice Paul Perell, Superior Court of Justice (ON)
The Hon. Justice Russel M. Raikes, Superior Court of Justice (ON)

Insights from some of Canada’s leading class actions judges on some of the key issues before the courts, including tips for counsel.