The Supreme Court of Canada’s October 2016 decision in Parsons v. Ontario and Endean v. British Columbia has significant implications for the adjudication and management of class actions in Canada.
In recognizing the need for procedural innovation and flexibility in the conduct of these proceedings, the Court invited the judiciary to devise solutions to the challenges of modern litigation, within the class action context and perhaps even outside it.
The specific issue on appeal in Endean/Parsons was whether superior court judges in Ontario and British Columbia charged with supervising a national class action settlement agreement have the power to hold hearings outside their home provinces; and if so, whether a video-link from the home province to the host province is required in order to satisfy the open court principle.
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