Class Actions are lawsuits in which a group of people take legal action against a wrongdoer. They give the individual the strength of numbers when taking action against defendants who often have more resources.
Cases which may be too expensive or too difficult for one person can become viable when people file an action together.
Our firm has a long and storied involvement with class action lawsuits in British Columbia. Not only did our firm contribute to the drafting of the Class Procedures Act, which governs class actions in this province, but, in 1995, we also filed the first two class action lawsuits in BC. Since then, we have continued to bring a number of class actions to successful resolution.
If you have sustained a loss and feel that a class action may be an option, you can rely on our expertise – please contact us.
Some Current Class Actions
- CANADIAN ARMED FORCES SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CLASS ACTION: URGENT UPDATE ON LATE CLAIM SUBMISSIONS AND AMENDMENTS Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault and Sexualized Discrimination
- Canadian Armed Forces Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault and Sexualized Discrimination
- B.C. Ministry of Children & Family Development Victims of Crime While in Foster Care
- Federal Inmates Unlawful Recordings of Solicitor-Client Communications
- Mental Health Ending Stigma and Discrimination
- BC Care Homes Elder Abuse
- SANALA Apartment Complex Unsafe and Unhealthy Living Conditions
URGENT UPDATE ON LATE CLAIM SUBMISSIONS AND AMENDMENTS
The Court has made a decision respecting late claims, which can be found here.
> CAF DND Sexual Misconduct Class Action Claim Form
> Order and Reason re Late Claims
> CAF DND Guide to Submitting Late Claims (EN)
> CAF DND Guide to Submitting Late Claims (FR)
Please note that the decision and the instructions below also apply to individuals seeking to add a category to an existing claim after the January 23, 2022 deadline.
The Court has decided that the Administrator shall accept late claims submitted after the final claims deadline of January 23, 2022, if the claimant establishes: (1) a continuing intention to pursue the matter; (2) the claim has some merit; (3) no prejudice arises from the delay; and (4) there is a reasonable explanation for the delay. The Court also noted that “the failure to establish one of the preceding criteria is not determinative as the real test is ultimately that justice be done between the parties”, but that “it will ordinarily be necessary for the claimant’s explanation to account for the totality of the delay, up to and including the date on which the claim is submitted”.
However, the Court held that the Administrator cannot accept any late claims beyond 30 days following this decision, being Sunday, February 5, 2023.
- If you already submitted your claim after January 23, 2022, you must provide reasons to the Administrator setting out how you believe you meet the above test as soon as possible, and no later than February 5, 2023. If you already provided an explanation for why your claim was late when you submitted it, you may want to update that explanation to ensure you satisfy the test above.
- If you have not yet made a claim, but you wish to make a late claim under the Settlement Agreement in this action, you must submit your claim to the Administrator, as well as the reasons setting out how you believe you meet the above test, as soon as possible, and no later than February 5, 2023.
The Court held that, due to the need for finality and to close the administration process, February 5, 2023 is the ultimate deadline to file your materials with the Administrator and seek its approval to file a late claim. This date cannot be extended.
A blank Claim Form is available here. Claim Forms and reasons should be submitted directly to the Administrator, at:
Epiq Class Action Services Canada Inc.
Attention: CAF-DND Sexual Misconduct Class Action Settlement
P.O. Box 507 STN B
Ottawa ON K1P 5P6
Email: info@caf-
Please contact class counsel as soon as possible if you have questions about how to make a late claim request. Class counsel are preparing additional materials to help class members with this process, and are available to provide assistance for free.
Contact information for class counsel is available here. You should contact the class counsel firm who is located in your region of Canada.
Yours truly,
ACHESON SWEENEY FOLEY SAHOTA LLP
Canadian Armed Forces
Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault and Sexualized Discrimination
Nicola Peffers v. The Attorney General of Canada
In December 2016 our firm filed a class action lawsuit alleging past and ongoing sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination of female-, male-, and LGBTQ+-identifying former and current members of the Canadian Armed Forces (“CAF”). The lawsuit alleges that the CAF’s institutional culture fosters an environment in which constant exposure to assault and harassment is the norm. Research has shown that CAF personnel are sexually assaulted at twice the rate of the general population. This toxic culture has been allowed to fester due to a lack of effective leadership from the top. The goal of this lawsuit is to change this toxic culture of systemic abuse and to provide survivors with a safe, open, and confidential space to speak their truth. When fellow Canadians sign up to serve our nation, they deserve better than abuse and assault in return for their sacrifice.
Nicola Peffers, the representative plaintiff and the first of thousands of members in this class action, trained and deployed out of the Canadian Forces Base in Esquimalt, BC. Like many others, she joined the CAF because she wanted to serve her country and to be part of something bigger than herself. Five years later, Ms. Peffers left the Navy for medical reasons related to the abuse she endured. This lawsuit seeks to stop the systemic abuse and mistreatment of CAF members by forcing institutional change, and to compensate plaintiffs for the emotional, psychological and physical injuries that they suffered because of this toxic culture.
B.C. Ministry of Children & Family Development
Victims of Crime While in Foster Care
K.S. v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia (Ministry of Children and Family Development), Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia (Ministry of Justice), Public Guardian and Trustee, and Workers’ Compensation Board
In February 2017 our firm filed a class action lawsuit against the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development (“MCFD”), the BC Ministry of Justice (“MOJ”), Public Guardian and Trustee, and the Workers’ Compensation Board. K.S., the proposed representative plaintiff, brought this action on behalf of a class of minors who suffered as victims of crimes while they were under the care and guardianship of the BC government. The class members allege that the BC government failed to obtain or provide, in a timely manner or at all, the statutory and/or common-law benefits and compensation to which class members were entitled.
K.S. was criminally sexually abused by a family member when she was four and five years old. MCFD became aware of the crimes perpetrated against K.S. and consequently brought her into the provincial foster care system. K.S. remained under the care and custody of MCFD until the age of 19. She struggled to overcome the psychological and emotional traumas that haunted her as a sexual abuse survivor, and which continue to negatively impact her life. Over the years she has paid for much-needed but expensive counselling services out of pocket, to the extent that she could afford it.
It was only in November 2015 that K.S. was first informed, through a letter from an MOJ claims coordinator, that she had been eligible since 1992 for government-funded counselling, compensation for pain and suffering, and other benefits. For 23 long years (from 1992 – 2015) none of the defendants or their agents informed K.S. of her entitlements to statutory benefits. Through their negligence, the defendants violated their legal and professional duties and did not act in the best interest of K.S. and the other class members. The BC government let K.S. and other vulnerable children in its care down. This lawsuit seeks to compel institutional reform and compensate survivors for the pain, suffering, and harms that they were consequently forced to endure.
Federal Inmates
Unlawful Recordings of Solicitor-Client Communications
A.P. v. The Attorney General of Canada
In Solosky v. The Queen, [1980] 1 S.C.R. 821, the Honourable Justice Dickson of the Supreme Court of Canada famously affirmed that “a person confined to prison retains all of his civil rights, other than those expressly or impliedly taken from him by law.” Canadian law recognizes and fiercely protects each person’s essential civil and legal right to consult with a lawyer in confidence. This right, known as solicitor-client privilege, plays a fundamental role in the administration of justice in Canada. It extends beyond the courtroom to protect all communications between lawyer and client from being accessed or disclosed by any other person, with only a few narrow exceptions. This right is no less protected behind prison walls: solicitor-client privilege is one of the fundamental rights that inmates retain. Indeed, the need to access a lawyer with full confidentiality while incarcerated is heightened due to the legal stakes involved.
In July 2018 our firm filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of federally-incarcerated inmates alleging that the Government of Canada, through its agent the Correctional Service of Canada (“CSC”), systematically and unconstitutionally violated the rights of class members, by listening to, recording, and sharing with third parties the contents of privileged telephone conversations between inmates and their lawyers, and the contents of private and personal phone conversations between inmates and members of the public.
The proposed representative plaintiff for this class, A.P., is an inmate at a Collins Bay Institution, a federal penitentiary in Kingston, Ontario. From prison, A.P. routinely contacted his lawyers and made various personal phone calls using the inmate telephone system. While incarcerated, A.P. was charged with additional criminal offences, other than those for which he was in prison at the time. His lawyers subsequently discovered that CSC had been listening to and recording A.P.’s privileged conversations with lawyers and his private conversations with others, and that the recorded conversations were being shared with third parties, including for the purposes of prosecuting A.P. for the additional offences. The inmate telephone system is such that CSC and its employees knew beforehand whether any given call made by an inmate would contain solicitor-client or private communication (CSC must approve the number and the contact name before each call). And yet, CSC and its employees knowingly recorded, listened to, and shared the contents of these conversations without the consent of inmates, their lawyers, or other people who participated in these phone calls.
Through this unconstitutional practice CSC prevented inmates from being treated fairly in the justice system by increasing the jeopardy that accused inmates face in criminal proceedings. CSC caused inmates to suffer humiliation, anguish, and psychological distress, and interfered with the ability of inmates to rehabilitate and re-integrate into the community. This lawsuit aims to stop these unconstitutional practices in federal prisons, and to compensate the class members for the harms that they have suffered.
Mental Health
Ending Stigma and Discrimination
K.O., By Her Litigation Guardian J.O., and J.O v. The Attorney General of British Columbia
British Columbians with mental illnesses face unacceptable systemic barriers in accessing high quality health care in this province. These barriers result from the stigmatization and marginalization of mental illness in the provincial healthcare system. Due to stigma and prejudice, BC’s current healthcare system unjustly treats persons with mental illnesses worse than others. These individuals receive lower quality healthcare, or are deterred from seeking healthcare altogether. This lawsuit does not challenge the authority or propriety of the BC government in administering a single-payer healthcare system. Rather, the class members allege that the government cannot administrate the healthcare system in a way that discriminates against mentally ill persons.
In July 2018 our firm filed a class action lawsuit against the BC government on behalf of British Columbians who suffer from mental illness, alleging that the government violated their constitutional rights by discriminating against them. The proposed representative plaintiff, K.O., is a minor represented by her litigation guardian and father J.O., who is also a plaintiff in the action. K.O. was formally diagnosed with obsessive compulsive-disorder at age seven, and was later also diagnosed with depression. She has attempted suicide multiple times. Her mental illnesses pose an ongoing risk to her physical well-being and life. With the support of her family K.O. has actively and continuously sought treatment for her mental illnesses throughout her life. Yet her prognosis for improvement is poor because despite her best efforts she has not received high quality treatment or care.
In stark contrast, K.O.’s older sister suffers from Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare form of cancer. The older sister faced no stigmatization or other systemic barriers, and received high quality medical treatment for her physical illness. Because of this discrepancy the older sister enjoys a much better prognosis than K.O. In other words, BC’s current healthcare system is such that the sister with mental illness faces systemic stigmatization that severely impedes her recovery and exacerbates the risk to her long-term health, while the sister with physical illness faces none of these barriers and receives speedy, effective treatment. The daughter with a rare cancer has an excellent prognosis, while the daughter battling mental illnesses languishes due to a lack of treatment and resources.
This lawsuit alleges that the BC government is failing to take appropriate steps to address the impacts of mental illness stigma in the provincial healthcare system. Relative to physical illnesses, the BC government under-funds and over-subscribes treatment providers for mental illnesses, it prioritizes physical illnesses in funding decisions, it fails to provide sufficient resources (such as residency placements) to ensure an adequate supply of qualified mental health professionals, and it fails to provide an adequate number of sufficiently-resourced treatment and diagnostic facilities for mental illness. There are unreasonably lengthy waitlists for mental illness patients and a lack of appropriate treatment plans. Many treatment providers refuse to provide care, choose to cease care, or provide lower-quality care due to prejudicial and stigmatizing views of mental illness. This lawsuit alleges that the BC government has consequently breached its legal duties towards class members by failing to ensure that persons with mental illnesses enjoy the same reasonable access to high quality health care as everyone else. The aims of this lawsuit are to change this unconstitutional and shameful aspect of BC’s healthcare system, and to compensate those who have suffered as a result.
BC Care Homes
Elder Abuse
E.H., Administrator of the Estate of B.H., Deceased, and K.K. v. PR Seniors Housing Management Ltd. D.B.A. Retirement Concepts, Cedar Tree Investment Canada Inc., and Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia (Ministry of Health)
In May 2018 our firm filed a class action lawsuit against the owners and operators of twenty retirement facilities in British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec doing business under the name “Retirement Concepts,” and against the Province of BC (Ministry of Health), which is responsible for regulating, funding, and supervising retirement facilities in BC. The lawsuit alleges past and ongoing systemic neglect, mistreatment, and abuse of senior citizens who live in retirement facilities operated by Retirement Concepts. The plaintiffs brought this lawsuit on behalf of all persons who were residents in care homes owned and operated by Retirement Concepts after 26 November 2002, and on behalf of the spouses, parents and children of these residents.
The proposed representative plaintiffs, E.H. and K.K., are the adult children of B.H. (“Mrs. H.”), a former resident of one of Retirement Concepts’ BC care homes, who is now deceased. After Mrs. H. suffered a series of strokes that left her with dementia and the inability to communicate verbally, her family made the difficult decision to place her into residential care. She moved into Waverly Seniors Village, which is owned and operated by Retirement Concepts in Chilliwack, BC. Mrs. H. lived at Waverly Seniors Village for eight months. During that time Retirement Concepts employees treated her in a manner that physically and psychologically harmed her, and which deprived her of dignity – Mrs. H. experienced neglect, mistreatment, and abuse. No adequate care plan was put in place to address her capabilities, needs, or preferences. Mrs. H. fell on dozens of documented occasions. She was left physically restrained in a chair, where she was discovered in a state of distress by her family. Staff told her family that she was tied down to prevent her from falling again. She endured persistent bullying and verbal threats from another resident. Staff improperly administered her medication and endangered her life. Mrs. H.’s denture was routinely not inserted at mealtimes, leaving her unable to eat. Due to insufficient staffing, many other challenged and vulnerable residents like Mrs. H. were regularly deprived of food. Mrs. H. spent nights in soiled sheets in a room that smelled of urine, while certain staff members refused to attend to her needs. Retirement Concepts’ response to repeated complaints was to instruct its employees to cease communications with Mrs. H.’s family regarding her care.
Then, one night, Mrs. H. suffered a violent assault which left her with a black eye, facial swelling, bruises on her left shoulder and arm, a large laceration on her left forearm, and psychological trauma. Retirement Concepts did not report these injuries to the police – an RCMP investigation began only after Mrs. H.’s daughter reported the incident. The injuries resulted from an assault committed by Retirement Concepts employees, or which they negligently permitted to occur. A few weeks later, Mrs. H. re-injured her arm while being bathed by a care aid, for which she did not receive adequate medical treatment. Mrs. H. began to exhibit a sharp decline in her health. Her family withdrew her from Waverly Seniors Village but she died shortly thereafter, having never fully recovered from the abuse, neglect and trauma that she experienced while under the care of Retirement Concepts.
Sadly, many other elderly residents of care homes owned and operated by Retirement Concepts suffered and continue to endure similar abuses, mistreatment, and neglect. This lawsuit aims to draw attention to their plight, to stop such elder abuse, and to compensate those who have already suffered because of it. The growing population of elderly British Columbians, who have spent their lives contributing to their communities, have more than earned the right to enjoy their golden years. Family members of residents in care should be able to rely on residential care homes and the BC government to treat their elderly loved ones with the care, dignity, and respect that is both legally and ethically mandated.
Sanala Apartment Complex
Unsafe and Unhealthy Living Conditions
White v. British Columbia Housing Management Commission d.b.a. BC Housing et al., VIC-S-S-202187
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