AUTHORIZATION TO INSTITUTE A CLASS ACTION
Martin Hogue and Canada Post Corporation
500-06-001268-230
1. On January 14, 2025, the Honourable Martin F. Sheehan of the Superior Court of Quebec authorized the institution of a class action against the defendant Canada Post Corporation and granted representative status to Mr. Martin Hogue. The class represented by Mr. Hogue was defined as follows:
Any person residing in Quebec who has received or sent mail or parcels through the defendant and whose personal information acquired in the course of these activities has been used without their consent by the defendant for commercial purposes since October 2, 2020.
The court has not yet decided whether the plaintiff’s claim is well-founded and the allegations made in the class action have not yet been proven. The defendant is contesting the class action and the issue will be argued at trial.
A. WHO IS CONCERNED BY THIS CLASS ACTION?
2. This action has been authorized on behalf of the Class described in paragraph 1 above.
B. WHAT ARE THE MAIN ISSUES THAT WILL BE DECIDED IN THIS CLASS ACTION?
3. The main questions of fact and law to be dealt with collectively have been identified as follows:
a) Does the Respondent collect and/or use Class Members’ personal information for commercial purposes?
b) Does the defendant collect information about the Class Members that goes beyond what is relevant to the subject matter of its activities?
c) Is the collection and/or use of Class members’ personal information being used without the consent of Class members?
d) Did the defendant have an obligation to obtain the consent of the Class Members to collect and/or use their personal information for commercial purposes?
e) Did the defendant commit a fault with respect to articles 37, 1457 and 1611 of the Civil Code of Québec, section 5 of the Personal Information Act and sections 5 and 49 of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms?
f) Can Canada Post invoke Crown immunity for actions under the Smartmail Program?
g) What is the value of personal information collected and/or used for commercial purposes by the Defendant without the consent of Class Members?
h) Have Class Members suffered any harm as a result of the Respondent’s collection and/or use of their personal information for commercial purposes without their consent?
i) Should the Defendant be ordered to pay the Class Members compensation equivalent to the revenues generated by the Defendant with the personal information collected and/or used for commercial purposes without the consent of the Class Members?
j) Should the defendant be ordered to pay punitive damages to the Class Members?
k) If so, what is the value of the punitive damages to be awarded against the defendant?
C. WHAT ARE THE MAIN CONCLUSIONS SOUGHT IN THIS CLASS ACTION?
4. The related conclusions were identified as follows:
(1) ORDER the Defendant to pay the Class members an amount equal to the value of the personal information collected by the Defendant without consent, with interest at the legal rate plus the additional indemnity provided for in article 1619 C.C.Q. calculated from the date of the judgment to be rendered;
(2) ORDER the defendant to pay the plaintiff and the Class members a total sum of twenty-five million dollars by way of punitive damages, with interest at the legal rate plus the additional indemnity provided for in article 1619 C.C.Q. calculated from the date of the judgment to be rendered;
(3) ORDER that all claims of the members by way of compensation, punitive damages and interest on these sums be subject to collective recovery;
ALL with legal costs, including opinion fees and expert fees, if applicable.
D. HOW CAN I OPT OUT OF THIS CLASS ACTION?
5. Any member of the class who has not opted out as indicated below will be bound by any judgment to be made on the class action.
6. If you wish to exclude yourself from this class action, you must notify the clerk of the Superior Court of the district of Montreal in writing before the expiry of the exclusion period set at May 13th 2025 at 4:30 p.m., by registered or certified mail at the following address:
Superior Court of Quebec
1 Notre-Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec H2Y 1B6
You must mention that you wish to opt out of the Hogue v Canada Post Corporation class action (file number: 500-06-001268-230).
7. A member will no longer be able to exclude himself (except with special permission) after May 13th , 2025 at 4:30 p.m.
8. Any Class Member who has filed a claim that would be available in the final judgment on the class action is deemed to be excluded from the Class if he or she does not discontinue his or her claim before the expiry of the opt-out period.
9. A class member other than a representative or intervener cannot be called upon to pay the legal costs of the class action if the action is dismissed.
10. A member may have an intervention received by the Court if it is considered useful to the class, following the procedure provided for in the Act.
11. A new notice will be published at the time of the final judgment on these applications.
E. WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?
12. The judgment authorizing this class action and the formalities relating to the procedure for excluding members are available at the registry of the Superior Court of the district of Montreal, in the Class Actions Register on the website
https://www.registredesactionscollectives.quebec/fr/Consulter/ApercuDemande?NoDossier=500-06-001268-230
13. For any additional information, you can contact the plaintiffs’ attorneys at the following coordinates:
Perrier Avocats
10500, boul. Saint-Laurent
Montreal, Quebec H3L 2P4
Email: info@perrieravocats.com
By phone: 514-336-2769
https://perrieravocats.com/
Fortin Simard, Avocats inc.
2020 André-Labadie Street, Suite 503
Beloeil, Quebec J3G 0W6
Email: info@fsavocats.com
By phone: 1-450-906-3563
https://fsavocats.com/
PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE
WAS ORDERED BY THE COURT
In the event of a discrepancy, the court’s judgments prevail
Information on the class action Hogue v. Canada Post