Western Canada Class Actions Conference 2026

Product Type: Course

Session 1

Format

Courses - Rebroadcast

Start Date & Time

2027-03-01

End Date & Time

2027-03-01 12:00 PM

Online Provider

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DescriptionMore DetailAgenda

Your key to being"first in class" in class actions!

—Rebroadcasts—
On the rebroadcast date, you will have until midnight of that rebroadcast date to access the course. Please note that technical support will be available during regular CLEBC business hours.

Jump Start on CPD 2027
Monday, March 1, 2027

(Original course date: October 16, 2026)

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Who should attend: Judges, plaintiff counsel, defence counsel, corporate counsel, and in-house counsel throughout Canada who will be judging, prosecuting, or defending class proceedings

Learning level: All levels

Class proceedings continue to evolve as a powerful litigation mechanism, and the differences that exist in jurisprudence across jurisdictions make the class action process extremely complex. As actions cross provincial borders, you will face important strategic, tactical, and practice decisions, such as where to file, how to best manage the certification process, and how to effectively manage common trial issues and individual issues.

Once again, this year's conference will prepare you to manage a range of issues, both long-standing and emerging, in class proceedings.

Of particular note, this year's conference will mark 30 years since the Class Proceedings Act was first introduced in BC. We will take this opportunity to reflect on 30 years of class actions practice and discuss what lies ahead for this evolving area of litigation practice.

We are honoured to have Chief Justice Skolrood of the BCSC join us this year as our keynote speaker to discuss some of the important lessons that have emerged in the last three decades and how we can continue to improve class actions practice and access to justice going forward.

Participants in the program will learn from leading counsel and jurists at the centre of emerging class actions jurisprudence and will receive a comprehensive review of the issues, trends, and practices shaping class actions litigation today. In addition, there will be multiple opportunities and time to socialize and interact with fellow members of the class actions bar from across Canada.

CLEBC would like to thank Verita Global, Deloitte, The Law Foundation, Epiq, MNP, and Class Actions PLUSnxt for their generous support in sponsoring this event. A special thank you to Verita Global for sponsoring the conference lunch and Epiq for sponsoring the post-conference reception.

Law Society of BC CPD Hours: 6 hours (this course will contain a minimum of 1 hour pertaining to professional responsibility and ethics, client care and relations, and/or practice management)

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

Jump Start 2027	EARLY BIRD Register by Feb. 1/27	Regular Price After Feb. 1/27
Rebroadcast	$519	$589
Rebroadcast Articled Student	$289	$289

Are you a member of the Indigenous legal community (lawyer/Articled Student/legal support staff/paralegal) or a non-lawyer Indigenous community member?
CLEBC is committed to reducing barriers to legal education. We value your contributions and encourage your participation in all of our programs. To increase accessibility, we offer a 50% discount* to all self-identifying Indigenous lawyers/Articled Students/legal support staff/paralegals and a limited number of free online registrations to non-lawyer Indigenous community members. (*discount applies to Regular prices, not Early Bird prices). Please contact Customer Service to find out more.

Unable to attend a course without financial assistance from CLEBC?
Click here for bursary information.

Want to register for a course now, but prefer a monthly payment plan?
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Registration includes an electronic copy of the reference materials.

CLEBC Program Lawyer*
Raymond Lee
rlee@cle.bc.ca
*non-practising

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

About the Course Chairs
Michelle Maniago is a disputes partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, and is located in Vancouver.

She has significant experience with highly complex commercial, banking, and corporate litigation and arbitration across a range of industries and legal subject matters. Her practice includes defence of high-profile provincial, national, and multi-jurisdictional class actions involving credit card insurance products, foreign exchange transaction costs, Ponzi schemes, mutual fund related management fees, alleged defective products, environmental claims, consumer protection claims, privacy breaches, and price-fixing claims. The resulting decisions are well-known precedents, particularly with respect to consumer protection, privacy, and competition-related claims. She has experience with all aspects of disputes, including complex and voluminous document production, multi-day oral discovery, multi-week trials, appeals and settlements (including class proceedings settlements).

She has been recognized in the area of class actions by Best Lawyers, Benchmark Litigation Canada, and Chambers Canada.

Avichay Sharon is a partner with Branch MacMaster LLP.

Avichay has a broad civil litigation practice acting on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, with particular focus in class actions, constitutional law and Charter litigation, administrative law and insurance defence. Avichay has worked on class actions involving Charter claims, mass torts, price fixing and consumer protection laws, privacy rights, and environmental wrongs. Avichay also represents Canadian governments in complex litigation, both individual actions and class actions, including the governments of BC and Alberta as well as provincial regulators.

Avichay is also adjunct faculty at Peter A. Allard School of Law, co-teaching a seminar on Mass Torts and Class Actions and a member of the Editorial Board of the Canadian Class Action Review (University of Toronto Press). He is a frequent speaker on class actions and other areas of civil litigation and has been recognized in Best Lawyers – Canada.

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

Faculty
Honourable Jacqueline Scott Corley — US District Judge, Northern District of California, San Francisco
Rick Anderson — National Director Class Action Claims Administration, MNP Ltd., Calgary
Cindy Blackstock, PhD — Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and Professor School of Social Work, McGill University, Ottawa
Mike DiBerardino — Director, Class Action Administration, Deloitte, Toronto
Professor Craig E. Jones, KC — Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops and Branch MacMaster LLP, Vancouver
Shelby Liesch — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Suzanne M. Maier — Director, Third Party Liability, Primary and Preventative Health Sciences, Government of Alberta, Edmonton
John Martens — MLT Aikins LLP, Winnipeg
Reidar M. Mogerman, KC — CFM Lawyers LLP, Vancouver
Michael F. Mooney — Senior Vice President, Verita Global, London
Josh Paterson, KC — Executive Director, Law Foundation of BC, Vancouver
Gavin Price — Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes LLP, Calgary
Michelle L. Segal — CFM Lawyers LLP, Vancouver
Mackinley Sim — McDougall Gauley LLP, Regina
Nicole Sonier — Project Director, Epiq Class Action Services Canada, Inc., Ottawa
Jacob Todd — Ministry of Attorney General, Victoria
Jill S. Yates, KC — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

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.

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Western Canada Class Actions Conference 2026

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