Introduction

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INTRODUCTION

In this is sue, we are pleased to bring our readers some wonderful ar ticles

that contain intere sting and thought-provoking ideas. As always, the issue

includes a wide range of topics, from discussions on microaggressions

and class actions, to the possible relationship between tobacco litigation

and pharmaceutical litigation. We hope you f‌ind these articles to be a

brief respite from your busy day.

Sociologists believe that there is a transformation currently taking

place in the West from a culture of dignity to a culture of victimhood.

Rather than relying on reasoned debate to resolve important differences,

there is a growing tendency to complain about, publicize, and punish

minor, sometimes subjective, offences (called “microaggressions”). In

“Class Actions as a Bridge between Cultures of Dignity and Victimhood,”

author Shaun Finn argues t hat class actions have become a prevalent form

of litigation in Canad a precisely because they have characte ristics of both

dignity and victim culture. This duality helps to explain why it is likely

that class actions will play an ever-expanding role as an instrument of

compensatory and “social” justice.

Mathew P Good’s article, “Intervenors a nd Class Proceedings — Not

Welcome at the Party?” begins with the statement that class proceedings

are often high-prof‌ile cases, with important legal, social, and practical

consequences. In thi s way, the author believes they re semble other kind s

of test-case or public interest litigation, like constitutional challenges.

Unlike those ty pes of cases, however, class proceed ings attract intervenors

with less frequency and with more uncertain results. The author reviews

the existing jurisprudence on interventions by and in class proceedings,

identif‌ies recur ring themes and outcomes, and highlight s the key judicial

reasoning. The article closes by outlining a principled approach to ad-

dressing inter ventions in class proceedings and by class representatives.

In “Secondary Market Liability in Ontario: Interpreting the Leave

Test Before and After Theratechnologies,” Denisa Mertiri explores the

courts’ historic al application of the leave test, the challenges to s econdary

market class actions that the test creates for litigants, and the ways that

the test may be applied in future cases to prevent such challenges based