Apple's e-book price-fixing battle has made its way to the Great White North. At least three lawsuits have been filed in Canada against Apple and a number of publishers for allegedly conspiring on e-book prices, largely echoing the complaints filed in the US by the Department of Justice and 16 states.

The Montreal Gazette summarized the three suits on Friday after talking with the lawyer in charge of one of the lawsuits, Normand Painchaud. Painchaud's suit, filed on behalf of Antoine Pontbriand, targets Apple for pushing publishers to move away from Amazon's popular wholesale model—where resellers get to determine the price of e-books—to the agency model, where publishers get to determine their own prices. Apple's agreement with publishers also allegedly required them to give Apple the lowest price on the iBookstore and to price-match any discounts given to other e-book resellers.

Painchaud's suit was filed in the Quebec Superior Court while the others were filed in British Columbia and Ontario. All three are asking for class-action status. There is also an ongoing investigation into Apple and various publishers in Europe.

Apple has argued that the launch of the iBookstore "fostered innovation and competition" and that it helped to break "Amazon’s monopolistic grip on the publishing industry." The company apparently feels that its position is worth testing in court as well, and has so far resisted settling with the DoJ.