By Denis Carmel
QUEBEC – On Aug. 4, 2021, the Government of Québec filed an application for leave to appeal the decision of the Québec Court of Appeal regarding a measure adopted in the provincial budget of 2015, which required Internet access providers to block online gambling sites.
The Supreme Court made the application public last Friday in a news release listing recent applications.
There is a long process involved, and few doubt its outcome. Firstly, of the roughly 500 leave applications the Court receives each year, 89% are rejected. Secondly, the lower courts have made it clear the purpose of Bill 74 was to increase the revenues of Loto-Québec more than to protect consumers. Forcing the Internet service providers to block gambling sites was a means to that effect.
Finally, as we indicated in the TPIA file, the Supreme Court Act provides that the Court should grant leave to appeal: “Where, with respect to the particular case sought to be appealed, the Supreme Court is of the opinion that any question involved therein is, by reason of its public importance or the importance of any issue of law or any issue of mixed law and fact involved in that question, one that ought to be decided by the Supreme Court or is, for any other reason, of such a nature or significance as to warrant decision by it.”
Cartt.ca is not convinced this application meets this test. The Government of Québec, however, usually considers it is its duty to appeal any challenge to its statutes and jurisdiction whatever the merits of its case.
