This commentary was first published in the February 20, 2009 issue of The Lawyers Weekly (published by LexisNexis Canada Inc.).
The last twenty five years have not been kind to consumers in Canada. This is not because of a lack of consumer protection laws - quite the contrary. The reason is almost entirely due to the unwillingness of the federal and provincial governments to provide the necessary resources for the enforcement of the laws that exist. As a result, much of the legislation has no bite to it and is often openly flouted in practice.
Fortunately, however, an unexpected best friend of consumers has appeared from almost nowhere to come to the consumer's aid. That best friend is class actions. A class action is an action brought on behalf of all members of a designated class of plaintiffs who claim to have been adversely affected by the defendant's wrongful conduct and who seek relief. If the action is successful, it may result in a large sum of money being paid into a fund for distribution among the members of the class or a finding that the members of the class have a valid cause of action and requiring the members to prove what damages they have suffered individually.