By Denis Carmel
MONTREAL – In a ruling issued on May 5th, the Court of Appeal of Québec denied the appeal of the Government of Québec of a July 2018 Superior Court ruling which said telecommunications was a strict federal Jurisdiction.
On March 26, 2015, Québec’s Budget Speech announced a new provision would be added to the Consumer Protection Act so it would be amended to say Internet service providers would be required “to block access to unauthorized online gambling sites.” The judge concluded this new provision was to allow Loto-Québec to force ISPs to block access by individuals in Québec to online gambling sites it deems illegal, not to protect consumers,” reads an English summary of the May 2021 Judgment.
The move was meant to ensure Quebecers only gambled on Loto-Quebec websites.
The 2015 budget said that ISP had to block illegal online gambling, just as Loto-Québec decided to enter the online gambling market.
At that time, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association went to court to claim telecom was federal jurisdiction, which the court confirmed, which nullifies the 2015 provision.
“We are pleased with the ruling and have no further comment,” said a CWTA representative in an email to Cartt.ca on Monday.
The Government of Québec had argued that the ISPs were under Québec’s jurisdiction on issues related to consumer issues.
That joint jurisdiction aspect had been examined by the CRTC when it had issued the Wireless Code, in 2013: “The Commission notes that where the Wireless Code is in direct conflict with a valid provincial law, the Wireless Code takes precedence. The Commission considers that such conflicts are minor under current provincial legislation.”
Any Government of Québec would not likely accept a limitation of what it considers as its jurisdiction so, we can expect a Supreme Court application for leave to appeal. They have 90 days to do so.
