Transpo Lawsuit: Let The Buyer Be Snared: BENN

Published 09/21/2023 · Updated 09/21/2023

Saturday columnist Ron Benn examines the issue of a class-action suit against OC Transpo:

I question the merits of a class action law suit against OC Transpo. The concept of caveat emptor (buyer beware) has long been embedded into contract law in Canada.

Imagine, if you will, the statement of defence from OC Transpo:

“Under what circumstances can the plaintiffs claim to not have been aware of the woeful, unreliable track record of OC Transpo? A record in recent years littered with derailments, service stoppages due to wheel/axle/hub assemblies that don’t meet the requirements of the track layout. Of multiple-day service outages due to the build up of ice on overhead power lines. Ice in the winter in Ottawa – who would have thought of that?

Consider Light-Rail Class-Action Suit: THE VOTER

Of LRT stations that are not designed to handle the demand from customers. Of a tunnel that leaks to the point where service had to be replaced by buses on occasion. Under no circumstances has the performance of OC Transpo during the last four years ever been such that a reasonable user would consider it to be reliable.”

There isn’t a judge worth their salt that would find in favour of the plaintiffs. Not with OC Transpo’s public record.