Introduction

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest issue of The Canadian Class Action Review! This

issue features essays on several extremely relevant contemporary topics,

including how class actions law navigates the internet and the world

of virtual currency, and how class actions law can better serve the First

Nations and Indigenous peoples of Canada. Other essays are equally

fascinating, covering a range of diverse topics from class arbitration to

environmental class actions, and including both a cross-border com-

parative case study and a report from a university lab that gathered

and analyzed empirical data about class actions. Several of the essays

were strong Strosberg submissions, and you’re sure to f‌ind them as

thought-provoking as we did.

One of the most topical and important current issues in Canadian

law and politics is relations with First Nations and Indigenous peoples.

In “The Collective Class Action: An Expansion of the Class Action Frame-

work,” Alexis Giannelia argues that all areas of Canadian law must evolve

to be more inclusive, respectful, and accommodating to these peoples,

who are so often left at a disadvantage by Canadian regimes. Giannelia

approaches the issue from the perspective of class actions in particular,

addressing how current class actions law in Canada fails First Nations

and Indigenous peoples, and how it can and should evolve to overcome

those failings.

In our increasingly technological and virtual world, new challenges

to legal systems are constantly arising as citizens and courts struggle to

apply laws to entirely new concepts and technologies, a huge propor-

tion of which are interprovincial or international. Class actions law is no

exception, as people in Canada and around the world are impacted by

new kinds of technological crime and negligence. In “Catch Me if You

Can: Resolving Bitcoin Disputes with Class Actions,” MaryGrace Johnstone

examines f‌inancial technology and Bitcoin in particular through the

lens of class actions. Johnstone tackles the issue of hacking and virtual

theft, the responsibility of Bitcoin companies to their customers, and

how class actions law can protect people in these situations. Despite the

rapidly changing nature of technology, which makes it extremely dicult

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