Legal Update: Black Class Action Appeal Hearing Set for October 20, 2026

The Federal Court of Appeal will hear the appeal in Thompson et al. v. His Majesty the King on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. in Toronto.

The appeal concerns the Federal Court’s decision in Thompson v. Canada, 2025 FC 1476, which granted Canada’s motion to strike the claim, dismissed the plaintiffs’ motion for certification and stayed certain claims in favour of other proposed class actions.

The Federal Court reached this decision despite acknowledging the “profoundly sad ongoing history” of discrimination against Black Canadians and recognizing that the representative plaintiffs faced “challenges not faced by their non-visible minority colleagues” in the federal public service.

The appellants argue that the Federal Court erred by:

• Striking or disregarding material evidence, including evidence from Raj Anand and Dr. Rachel Zellars concerning systemic anti-Black discrimination and the adequacy of existing recourse processes;

• Mischaracterizing the claim as a labour-relations dispute rather than a systemic challenge to federal staffing practices affecting the hiring and promotion of Black workers;

• Applying a merits-based analysis instead of the required “some basis in fact” standard for certification;

• Erring in its assessment of the causes of action, proposed class definition, representative plaintiffs and common issues; and

• Staying certain claims in favour of broader visible-minority actions that are materially different from this exclusively Black class action.

The appellants are asking the Federal Court of Appeal to set aside the Federal Court’s order because of errors concerning evidence, jurisdiction and certification.

The hearing will take place at 180 Queen Street West, 7th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, and will not exceed four hours. The Court of Appeal file number is A-144-25.

This hearing will address the certification decision. It will not determine liability or individual compensation at this stage.

A further update will be provided following the hearing.