Airbnb Class Action, Federal Election Campaign In Quebec, Arrests Following Take-Down Of Child Porn Website

Ahmad Moujtahed

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LOCAL

A class action was launched against Airbnb when a plaintiff alleged that Airbnb violated Quebec law by showing consumers one price, then added 13% to 17% in the form of "service fees”.

The class action was authorized in Superior Court for the purpose of reaching a settlement that would consist of a maximum credit of $45 being issued for use on the Airbnb platform to those users in Quebec who were charged fees higher than those posted on the websites. 

The class action stated that users covered by the settlement would be “every person residing in Quebec, who between August 2014, and June 2019, made a booking for anywhere in the world, for a purpose other than business travel, using Airbnb’s websites and who paid a price higher than the price initially advertised by Airbnb”. A hearing will take place in Montreal on Dec. 3 to authorize the settlement.

NATIONAL

Before next week’s federal election and on day 36 of the election campaign, three federal party leaders campaigned in Quebec. 

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau held a morning appearance at Montreal's botanical garden, and then made his way east to Sherbrooke while pausing in cafes and pubs along the way. N-D-P Leader Jagmeet Singh made a pilgrimage to Hudson where his late predecessor Jack Layton was raised.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer campaigned in Saint-Jérôme, Que with former Olympic champion and Conservative candidate Sylvie Fréchette.

Meanwhile, a new poll by Nanos Research found that 39.5% of Montrealers plan to vote for the Liberals in the Oct. 21 federal election. The report was made for CTV News and the Globe and Mail.

INTERNATIONAL

Following the take-down of one of the world's biggest child porn websites, more than 300 people have been arrested across 38 countries, including Canada and the US.

The site, named Welcome to Video, had thousands of hours of video footage involving child abuse. Prosecutors said the site had offered videos of sex acts involving children, infants and toddlers – and specifically asked users not to upload videos featuring adults.

About 23 children have been rescued from active abuse situations.The joint task force is continuing to trace other children seen in the videos