Judge Greenlights $2.6M Dollarama Class-Action Settlement

A shopping cart is seen in an aisle of a Dollarama store in Montreal, on June 7, 2023. The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi

A Quebec court has approved a $2.6-million class-action settlement agreement against Dollarama that could see claimants receive Interac e-transfers of up to $10.

The lawsuit claimed Dollarama failed to adequately display the full price of products that were subject to an environmental handling fee.

The eco fees applied to a range of products including batteries, electronic items, light bulbs, and battery-run toys.

A Quebec Superior Court judge gave the settlement the greenlight on Dec. 3.

Dollarama has agreed to pay out $2,643,718.75 to compensate approved claimants via e-transfers. Claimants will receive a minimum of $3 and a maximum of $10 each, depending on the total number of claims, according to the agreement.

LPC lawyer Joey Zukran previously told The Epoch Times the settlement was a “really, really good result.”

“I think Dollarama did the right thing as a corporate citizen, immediately fixing the practice and correcting the issue and... by putting a pot of money in a fund to be able to compensate their customers,” he said.

Those who bought a product subject to eco fees from Dollarama in Quebec between Dec. 11, 2019 and July 4, 2023, or in other Canadian provinces between May 29, 2021, and July 4, 2023, can submit an online claim.

Claimants must swear “under penalty of perjury,” that they have purchased  at least one product subject to eco fees during the given time period, but no proof of purchase is required.

An approved claimant can receive only one e-transfer, regardless of how many products subject to eco fees they bought from Dollarama during the allotted timeframes, according to the agreement.

If the claimant count results in each payout being less than $3, the funds will instead be distributed among charities approved by the court.

The settlement approval comes several months after the original $2.5 million settlement was dismissed by the courts. A judge rejected the settlement in April in which Dollarama offered to send a $15 digital gift card to anyone eligible for the settlement.

The class action was launched against Dollarama in May of 2023. The class-action plaintiff contended that rather than properly pricing products that were subject to the eco fees, Dollarama instead imposed a total price or environmental handling fees that were higher than what was displayed or permitted by law.

Dollarama has since implemented a new policy in how it displays prices for products that are subject to eco-fees, according to the settlement agreement. The company has denied any liability or wrongdoing.

Dollarama reported a 5.7 percent growth in sales in a Dec. 4 press release, saying its 2025 third quarter sales came in at $1.56 million compared to the previous year’s $1.47 million.

Store sales increased 3.3 percent over and above its 11.1 percent growth in the corresponding period of the previous year and 18 new stores were opened, the company said.

The company reported annual sales of $5.05 billion in January 2023, marking a two-fold rise since 2015, according to Statista.

“Dollarama is evidently by far the biggest and most frequently visited dollar store in Canada and is followed by Dollar Tree,” Statista said. “Dollarama and Dollar Tree are also listed among the leading discount stores worldwide.”