Originally Posted by Yukonprince
Say you lived in Whitehorse could you file there and would an Air Canada rep have to attend in Whitehorse or? If the amount is small - say $1,000 - would they bother defending themselves?
Having once appeared in small claims court on behalf of a large multinational I can say that, yes they will attend and defend themselves quite aggressively. Generally this is done by a lawyer on retainer to the firm in the actual jurisdiction involved. Flying a lawyer in would be unusual since local talent is available at less cost and is more familiar with the local legal environment (judges, court proceedure, opposing counsel).
Most often small claims court is attended to by articling students who are paid notoriously little and, since they are fresh out of law school, can be extremely well prepared. Under those circumstances the economics do not favor those who fancy themselves to be Perry Mason.
As others have pointed out, read the fine print of your ticket. You will probably find something that specifies which jurisdiction you will have to fight your case in. Generally it is a forum convenient to the company (in this case Quebec).
Finally, if you do decide to sue in your hometown - you will have to prove service of your court papers on the corporation which involved more than simply putting a copy of your statement of claim in the mail.