Publisac | Transcontinental is suing the City of Montreal to be able to maintain distribution

Transcontinental, the company that prints and distributes the Publisac, is challenging in court the decision of the City of Montreal, which announced that the distribution of the advertising bag would be done according to the principle of voluntary membership from May 2023.

Posted at 2:46 p.m.

Isabelle Ducas

Isabelle Ducas
The Press

In a lawsuit filed on June 15 at the Montreal courthouse, Transcontinental is asking for the City’s by-law to be annulled, because it considers that it infringes freedom of expression and the right to information, that its requirements are discriminatory and abusive, and that it is irreconcilable with the provisions of the Environment Quality Act.

According to the company, “the distribution of advertising articles is protected by the right to freedom of expression”.

“The Supreme Court of Canada recognizes that the freedom of commercial expression must receive considerable protection, since it derives from the very nature of our economic regime, which is based on the existence of a free market”, perhaps we read in the lawsuit of Transcontinental.

“However, the harmonious functioning of this market depends on the access of businesses and consumers to abundant, diversified and freely circulating information, without undue interference from the State. »

Last April, the City of Montreal announced that, starting next year, the distribution of the Publisac on its territory would be reserved for people who expressly request it, with the aim of reducing the quantity of waste and recyclable materials at the source. .

Residents who wish to receive the advertising packet will have to obtain a specific sticker. The Publisac plastic bag will also have to be replaced by a paper bag.

Transcontinental then reacted by saying that the opt-in system “would not be viable because of its complexity and the prohibitive costs it would generate”.

The City of Mirabel was the first in Quebec, in October 2019, to ban the automatic distribution of Publisac to all addresses.

Transcontinental challenged this municipal by-law, but was dismissed by the Superior Court on April 20.

Judge Jean-Yves Lalonde then pointed out that the by-law adopted by Mirabel “obviously establishes a restriction on freedom of expression”, but notes that “freedom of expression is not an absolute right, it […] has intrinsic limits that take into account more general social, economic, environmental and political issues”.

In addition, the company “does not benefit from any acquired rights in connection with the distribution of the Publisac in an ‘opt-out’ mode”, concluded the judge, who added that Transcontinental can continue to distribute the Publisac provided that it respects citizens’ choice.

The company appealed this judgment.

Since then, the distribution of advertising material in Mirabel has been entrusted to Canada Post.


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