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Income taxes - Additional Information (Detail) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 CAD	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)
Income Tax Expenses [Line Items]
Provision for deferred income taxes on undistributed earnings of subsidiary		$ 2.1				$ 2.1
Patent litigation settlement gain			7.5			7.5
U.S. Federal statutory income tax rate				35.00%	35.00%
Provision for income taxes	11.1	13.2
Nondeductible surtax on dividend distributions	3.00%			3.00%	3.00%
Future dividend distributions	3.00%			3.00%	3.00%
Distributed Dividend	1.8
Undistributed earnings	18.1			18.1
Letter of credit collateralized					7.5
Potential cash tax liability full amount for the proposed adjustment	15.9			15.9
Unrecognized tax benefits	$ 1.6			$ 1.6