Supreme Court of Canada unanimously dismisses appeal to authorize class action against Ville de Montréal

Breslaw v. Ville de Montréal, 2009 SCC 44

On October 8, 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered a judgment in Breslaw v. Ville de Montréal, 2009 SCC 44, a case involving alleged overpayments of municipal taxes.

The Court considered some of the legal issues raised by the forced amalgamations of Quebec municipalities that took place in the early 2000s, which had a significant impact on the island of Montréal. For several years, all the municipalities on the island were amalgamated into a single city known as Ville de Montréal. After the amalgamation, in order to gradually achieve equality in taxation among the amalgamated sectors, the Charter of Ville de Montréal provided for a ceiling on yearly increases in the tax burden of the aggregate of the units of assessment in each sector.

The appellant was seeking authorization to institute a class action on behalf of taxpayers in the former cities that had amalgamated with the City of Montréal. He asked that the municipal taxation by-laws be declared "not in conformity" and sought a restitution for alleged overpayments.

The Superior Court denied the requested authorization and the Court of Appeal affirmed that judgment.

In its unanimous decision, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the City of Montreal's argument that a declaration of a municipal by-law's lack of conformity with a piece of legislation is not a conclusion that exists in law.

André Durocher of Fasken Martineau acted for the City of Montreal in these proceedings.