Yes, taxi plate holders in Canada can still seek damages, but no new nationwide lawsuit is open. A taxi plate is a city-issued licence to operate a taxi, and only holders tied to the Ottawa and Quebec class actions still have a live path. Ottawa holders won on liability and await damages, while Quebec holders await a Supreme Court leave decision after losing on appeal. Toronto holders have no matching route after courts refused to certify their claim.
Table of Contents
- Where does the Ottawa case stand?
- What limits the Ottawa win?
- Is Quebec finished?
- Why is Toronto closed?
Where does the Ottawa case stand?
The Ottawa class action was filed in 2016 for about 1,187 plate holders and brokers seeking $215 million for post-Uber losses, according to Unifor. The claim centred on the city's failure to enforce its taxi bylaw while Uber operated. On May 13, 2024, Ontario Superior Court Justice Marc Smith found Ottawa negligent from Sept. 1, 2014 to Sept. 30, 2016 for failing to enforce that bylaw, as set out in the reasons published by Conway Litigation reasons for judgment.
The court linked that failure to harm suffered by the local taxi industry. The case remains in the damages phase, so no payout has been set. An Oct. 27, 2026 CBC report, summarized by Road Warrior News, said the city solicitor instructed outside counsel to appeal the entire 2024 liability finding appeal report. An appeal would delay any payout by years.
What limits the Ottawa win?
The Ottawa ruling was narrow. Justice Smith rejected the plate holders' Charter s.15 race-discrimination, Human Rights Code, and illegal-tax claims, according to Road Warrior News. Only the negligence claim for failure to enforce survived. That matters for other cities.
A new case cannot simply copy the headline win without proof of a similar enforcement failure during a defined period. Courts will ask when the city knew of illegal operation, what its bylaw required, and what it did. Ottawa class members do not need to start a fresh lawsuit to stay in the case. Outside that certified group, a new negligence filing would face limitation periods, proof problems, and Ottawa's pending appeal.
Is Quebec finished?
No. Quebec took a different path because the dispute involved abolition of permits, not failure to enforce a bylaw. On June 21, 2024, Quebec Superior Court Justice Silvana Conte ordered Quebec to pay over $144 million plus interest to more than 6,000 former permit holders, The Canadian Press reported. The court found 2019 Bill 17 abolished permits without fair compensation beyond $874 million already paid. That win was then reversed.
On March 25, 2026, the Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed the class action and held permit abolition was not disguised expropriation, according to analysis published by Norton Rose Fulbright appeal analysis. Members were left with about $873 million already paid. One practical route remains. Class counsel reports representative Dama Metellus filed Supreme Court of Canada leave to appeal on May 25, 2026, according to Trudel Johnston & Lespérance. Leave is discretionary and brief, so Quebec holders should watch class counsel notices rather than file alone.
Why is Toronto closed?
Toronto holders cannot use Ottawa's route. Justice Perell denied certification of the $1.7-billion Eisenberg claim on Dec. 16, 2019 for no private duty of care, according to the case summary published by Thomas Gold Pettingill LLP case summary. Justice Favreau dismissed the appeal on April 19, 2021.
Duty of care was the barrier. The courts held the city did not owe individual plate holders a private-law duty to protect plate value from Uber competition. Without that duty, negligence fails at the first step. That leaves readers with three different positions:.
- Ottawa certified members: remain in the damages process while the appeal threat hangs over timing.
- Quebec former permit holders: depend on whether Supreme Court leave is granted.
- Toronto holders and new filers elsewhere: face adverse precedent and need legal advice before paying to sue.