Update
We are currently awaiting the court’s decision following the hearing of the preliminary questions of law on March 23 and 24, 2023. Once this decision is released, the actions will move forward into the discovery phase of the litigation.
A new representative plaintiff has been substituted in the class action relating to breaches of s.11(i) of the Charter. Accordingly, the class action formerly known as the Liang action will henceforth be known as the Kabutey action. This is a procedural issue that does not impact the rights of the class members in the class action. For the sake of completeness, the representative plaintiff in the class action relating to breaches of s.11(h) of the Charter remains the same (Whaling).
Finally, in December of 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada heard the Crown’s appeal in Attorney General of Canada v Power [“Power”]. The SCC’s decision in Power will likely bring clarity to one of the significant legal questions at issue in both the Whaling and Kabutey class actions – namely, to what extent is the Crown is immune from a civil suit seeking damages? A further update briefly setting out the impact on the Whaling and Kabutey class actions (if any) of the SCC’s decision in Power will be provided once the decision is released.
Update: Government lost its appeals of the Whaling class and the Liang class certifications.
Next stage: We await the court’s decision following the hearing of preliminary questions of law on March 23 and 24 2023.
Case Management Conference set for sometime in June 2022 to deal with scheduling of preliminary legal issues hearing.
Link to COA decision https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/fca/doc/2022/2022fca37/2022fca37.html?resultIndex=1