CLEBC - Courses On Demand

Western Canada Class Actions Conference 2026

Course Date: October 16, 2026

Full Course Materials

Total: 6h 10min

Total Ethics: 1h

Course Introduction and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:10)

Raymond Lee — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver
Michelle T. Maniago — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Avichay Sharon — Branch MacMaster LLP, Vancouver

Western Canada Round-Up: 2025-26 Review of Case Law (9:10 – 10:10)

Shelby Liesch — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
John Martens — MLT Aikins LLP, Winnipeg
Gavin Price — Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes LLP, Calgary
Mackinley Sim — McDougall Gauley LLP, Regina

Health Care Costs: Demystifying the Required Process on Settlement for Plaintiffs and Defendants Under Provincial Health Care Costs Recovery Legislation (10:10 – 10:45)

Suzanne M. Maier — Director, Third Party Liability, Primary and Preventative Health Sciences, Government of Alberta, Edmonton (remote presentation)

Jacob Todd — Ministry of Attorney General, Victoria (remote presentation)

BREAK (10:45 – 11:00)

Morning Break sponsored by

Claims Administration Issues: Technical Challenges and Ethical Dilemmas for Notice and Settlement Implementation (11:00 – 12:00)

Moderator: Michelle L. Segal — CFM Lawyers LLP, Vancouver

Rick Anderson — National Director Class Action Claims Administration, MNP Ltd., Calgary
Michael F. Mooney — Senior Vice President, Verita Global, London
Nicole Sonier — Project Director, Epiq Class Action Services Canada, Inc., Toronto

NETWORKING LUNCH (12:00 – 1:00)

Lunch Sponsored by

Contemporary Ethical Challenges: Vulnerable Classes (1:00 – 2:00)

Cindy Blackstock, PhD — Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and Professor School of Social Work, McGill University, Ottawa (remote presentation)
Mike DiBerardino — Director, Class Action Administration, Deloitte, Toronto
Professor Craig E. Jones, KC — Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops and Branch MacMaster LLP, Vancouver

Class Proceedings and the Law Foundation of BC: Cy-Près and Advancing Access to Justice (2:00 – 2:15)

Josh Paterson, KC — Executive Director, Law Foundation of BC, Vancouver

Learning from the US Experience: Multi District Litigation and Case Management of Class Actions in Other Jurisdictions (2:15 – 3:00)

Honourable Jacqueline Scott Corley — US District Judge, Northern District of California, San Francisco

BREAK (3:00 – 3:15)

30 Years of Class Action Practice in BC (3:15 – 4:00)

has the CPA delivered on the promise of enhancing access to justice and judicial efficiency?
reflections on lessons learned, contemporary class actions practice and the challenges going forward

Reidar M. Mogerman, KC — CFM Lawyers LLP, Vancouver
Jill S. Yates, KC — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver

Keynote Address and Q&A: Reflecting on 30 Years of Class Actions Practice and What's Next (4:00 – 4:50)

Chief Justice Ron A. Skolrood — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver

Concluding Remarks (4:50 – 5:00)

Michelle T. Maniago — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Avichay Sharon — Branch MacMaster LLP, Vancouver

Cocktail Reception, Coal Harbor Bistro at the Pan Pacific Hotel, Vancouver (5:00 – 7:00)

Please join Epiq who will be hosting the post-conference reception. Beverages and light bites will be offered.