S.C.C. No. 35009 in the SUPREME COURT of CANADA (ON APPEAL from the QUÉBEC COURT of APPEAL) BETWEEN: BANQUE DE MONTRÉAL, CITI
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S.C.C. No. 35009 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA (ON APPEAL FROM THE QUÉBEC COURT OF APPEAL) BETWEEN: BANQUE DE MONTRÉAL, CITIBANQUE CANADA, LA BANQUE TORONTO-DOMINION, BANQUE NATIONALE DU CANADA Appellants (Appellants) - and - RÉAL MARCOTTE, BERNARD LAPARÉ, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF QUÉBEC, LE PRÉSIDENT DE L’OFFICE DE LA PROTECTION DU CONSOMMATEUR Respondents (Respondents, Mises-En-Cause) - and - ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ONTARIO, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ALBERTA Interveners (Interveners) APPELLANT BANKS’ JOINT FACTUM OSLER, HOSKIN & HARCOURT LLP OSLER, HOSKIN & HARCOURT LLP 1000 De La Gauchetière Street West 340 Albert Street Suite 2100 Suite 1900 Montréal, QC H3B 4W5 Ottawa, ON K1R 7Y6 Mahmud Jamal Patricia J. Wilson Silvana Conte Tel: (613) 787-1009 Tel: (514) 904-8100 Fax: (613) 235-2867 Fax: (514) 904-8101 [email protected] [email protected] Counsel for the Appellant/Respondent Banks Agent for the Appellant/Respondent Banks DESLAURIERS & CIE OSLER, HOSKIN & HARCOURT LLP 1100, avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal 340 Albert Street Suite 700, P.O. Box 104 Suite 1900 Montréal, QC H3B 2S2 Ottawa, ON K1R 7Y6 Sylvain Deslauriers Patricia J. Wilson Alberto Martinez Tel: (613) 787-1009 Tel: (514) 878-0303 Fax: (613) 235-2867 Fax: (514) 878-0018 [email protected] [email protected] Counsel for the Appellant/Respondent Banks Agent for the Appellant/Respondent Banks STIKEMAN ELLIOTT LLP OSLER, HOSKIN & HARCOURT LLP Bureau 400, 1155, Boul. René Lévesque 340 Albert Street Ouest Suite 1900 Montréal, QC H3B 3V2 Ottawa, ON K1R 7Y6 Stephen Hamilton Patricia J. Wilson Julie Girard Tel: (613) 787-1009 Tel: (514) 397-3055 Fax: (613) 235-2867 Fax: (514) 397-3222 [email protected] [email protected] Counsel for the Appellant/Respondent Banks Agent for the Appellant/Respondent Banks TRUDEL & JOHNSTON SUPREME LAW GROUP Bureau 90 900 - 275 Slater Street 750 Côte de la Place d’Armes Ottawa, ON K1P 5H9 Montréal, QC H2Y 2X8 Bruce W. Johnston Moira Dillon Philippe H. Trudel Tel: (613) 691-1224 Tel: (514) 871-8385 Fax: (613) 691-1338 Fax: (514) 871-8800 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Counsel for the Respondents/Appellants, Agent for the Respondents/Appellants, Réal Marcotte and Bernard Laparé Réal Marcotte and Bernard Laparé LAUZON BÉLANGER LESPÉRANCE SUPREME LAW GROUP 286 Saint-Paul West, Suite 100 900 - 275 Slater Street Montreal, QC H2Y 2A3 Ottawa, ON K1P 5H9 André Lespérance Moira Dillon Tel: (514) 844-4646 Tel: (613) 691-1224 Fax: (514) 844-7009 Fax: (613) 691-1338 [email protected] [email protected] Counsel for the Respondents/Appellants, Agent for the Respondents/Appellants, Réal Marcotte and Bernard Laparé Réal Marcotte and Bernard Laparé ALLARD, RENAUD ET ASSOCIÉS NOËL & ASSOCIÉS, S.E.N.C. Bureau RC 11 111, rue Champlain 100, rue Laviolette Gatineau, QC J8X 3R1 Trois-Rivières, QC G9A 5S9 Marc Migneault Pierre Landry Tel: (888) 672-2556, poste 3426 Tel: (819) 771-7393 Fax: (819) 371-6489 Fax: (819) 771-5397 [email protected] [email protected] Counsel for the Respondent/Intervener, Agent for the Respondent/Intervener, Le président de L’Office de la protection du Le président de L’Office de la protection du consommateur consommateur BERNARD ROY (JUSTICE-QUÉBEC) NOËL & ASSOCIÉS, S.E.N.C. Bureau 800 111, rue Champlain 1, rue Notre-Dame Est Gatineau, QC J8X 3R1 Montréal, QC H2Y 1B6 Jean-François Jobin Pierre Landry Francis Demers Tel: (819) 771-7393 Samuel Chayer Fax: (819) 771-5397 Tel: (514) 393-2336 [email protected] Fax: (514) 873-7074 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Counsel for the Respondent/Intervener, Agent for the Respondent/Intervener, Attorney General of Québec Attorney General of Québec DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 284 Wellington Street, SAT-6 234 Wellington Street, Room 1212 Ottawa, ON K1A 0H8 Ottawa, ON K1A 0H8 Bernard Letarte Christopher M. Rupar Pierre Salois Tel: (613) 941-2351 Michel Miller Fax: (613) 954-1920 Tel: (613) 946-2776 [email protected] Fax: (613) 952-6006 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Counsel for the Intervener, Agent for the Intervener, Attorney General of Canada Attorney General of Canada ATTORNEY GENERAL OF BRITISH BURKE-ROBERTSON COLUMBIA 200-441 MacLaren Street 1001 Douglas Street Ottawa, ON K2P 2H3 P.O. Box 9280 Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC V8W 9J7 Nancy E. Brown Robert E. Houston, Q.C. Tel: (250) 356-5597 Tel: (613) 236-9665 Fax: (250) 356-9154 Fax: (613) 235-4430 [email protected] [email protected] Counsel for the Intervener, Agent for the Intervener, Attorney General of British Columbia Attorney General of British Columbia BURKE-ROBERTSON 200-441 MacLaren Street Ottawa, ON K2P 2H3 Robert E. Houston, Q.C. Tel: (613) 566-2058 Fax: (613) 233-4195 [email protected] Agent for the Intervener, Attorney General of Ontario GOWLING LAFLEUR HENDERSON LLP 2600 - 160 Elgin St P.O. Box 466, Stn D Ottawa, ON K1P 1C3 Henry S. Brown, Q.C. Tel: (613) 233-1781 Fax: (613) 788-3433 [email protected] Agent for the Intervener, Attorney General of Alberta TO: THE REGISTRAR OF THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA - i - TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I – OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUND FACTS ....................................................... 1 A. Overview ......................................................................................................................... 1 B. The Federal Regulatory Scheme ....................................................................................... 4 C. The Provincial Regulatory Scheme .................................................................................. 6 D. Federal Enforcement Measures Were Taken Against Amex Bank .................................... 7 E. Two Plaintiffs Sue The Banking Industry Under The CPA ............................................... 9 F. Nobody In The Class Suffered Any Economic Harm ..................................................... 10 G. The Québec Superior Court Decision ............................................................................. 11 H. The Québec Court of Appeal Decision ........................................................................... 11 PART II – QUESTIONS IN ISSUE ..................................................................................... 12 PART III – ARGUMENT .................................................................................................... 13 A. THE DOCTRINE OF INTERJURISDICTIONAL IMMUNITY RENDERS THE CPA PROVISIONS INAPPLICABLE ................................................................................... 13 (a) Introduction.............................................................................................................. 13 (b) The CPA is otherwise valid provincial legislation ..................................................... 13 (c) The test for interjurisdictional immunity ................................................................... 14 (d) As part of the national banking system, credit granting through bank-issued credit cards is core banking ................................................................................................ 15 (e) As part of the national banking system, foreign currency conversion by banks is also core banking............................................................................................................. 21 (f) The CPA impairs the core of the banking power ....................................................... 23 B. FEDERAL PARAMOUNTCY RENDERS THE CPA PROVISIONS INOPERATIVE . 26 (a) Introduction.............................................................................................................. 26 (b) The CPA scheme frustrates the purpose of the federal scheme to provide clear, comprehensive, exclusive national standards ............................................................ 28 (c) Sections 12 and 272 of the CPA frustrate the purpose of ss. 16(a) and 988 of the Bank Act to preserve bank contracts despite breach of a statutory disclosure obligation ..... 32 C. THERE SHOULD BE NO RESTITUTION UNDER THE CCQ IN THIS CASE .......... 34 D. THE PLAINTIFFS LACK STANDING TO BRING AN INDUSTRY-WIDE CLASS ACTION ........................................................................................................................ 39 PARTS IV & V – COSTS & ORDER SOUGHT ................................................................. 41 PART VI – TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ............................................................................. 42 PART VII – LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS ........................................................................ 53 1 PART I – OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUND FACTS A. Overview 1. The opening paragraph of s. 91 of the Constitution Act, 1867 refers to the “exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada” in relation to “all Matters” that come within the listed “Classes of Subjects,” including “Banking, Incorporation of Banks, and the Issue of Paper Money” (s. 91(15)). The two constitutional questions raised by this appeal relate to whether the Québec Consumer Protection Act (“CPA”)1 can regulate bank-issued credit cards. These banking products are already regulated comprehensively at the federal level, as part of the national banking system, by the federal Bank Act2 and Cost of Borrowing (Banks) Regulations.3 They are already subject to regulatory