This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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Lavery represents the Conférence des juges de paix magistrats du Québec before the Supreme Court of Canada
On January 18, 2016, Mr. Raymond Doray, Ad.E., and Mr. Loïc Berdnikoff, both of whom are partners in the firm’s Administrative Law group, represented the Conférence des juges de paix magistrats du Québec and its members before the Supreme Court of Canada to obtain a declaration of unconstitutionality regarding various provisions of the Act to Amend the Courts of Justice Act and Other Legislative Provisions as regards the Status of Justices of the Peace which allowed the government, notably, to unilaterally determine the treatment and work conditions of the justices of the peace, without having recourse to a remuneration commission. According to the Conférence, the provisions in question, in that they apply to judges, violate the guarantees of judicial independence provided in the preamble of the Constitutional Act of 1867and under section 11d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court reserved its decision. To read a summary of the case, please click here.
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Lavery in Lexpert Top 10 business cases of 2015
In its January 2016 edition, Lexpert magazine ranks the Canada (Attorney General) v. Federation of Law Societies of Canada case second in its list of the Top 10 business cases of 2015. Lavery wishes to extend its heartiest congratulations to Mr. Raymond Doray, Ad.E., and Mr. Loïc Berdnikoff, both of whom are partners in the firm’s Administrative Law group, who argued the case of behalf of the interveners the Barreau du Québec and the Chambre des notaires du Québec. Mr. Guillaume Laberge assisted them in their preparation. In its ruling, the country’s highest court concluded that certain sections of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and of its regulation violate sections 7 and 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and cannot be saved by section 1. Raymond Doray Loïc Berdnikoff Guillaume Laberge
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Lavery represents the Chambre des notaires du Québec before the Supreme Court of Canada
On November 3, 2015, Raymond Doray, Ad. E., and Loïc Berdnikoff represented the Chambre des notaires du Québec before the Supreme Court of Canada to obtain a declaration of unconstitutionality regarding various provisions of theIncome Tax Act (ITA) which authorize the Minister of National Revenue, by means of a simple letter, to require that any person provide information or documents that might be of assistance in the administration or enforcement of the ITA, including lawyers and notaries. According to the Chambre, the provisions in question, when applied to a notary, violate the right to “solicitor-client privilege” and restrict the freedom of notaries in a manner that is not in accordance with the principle of fundamental justice relating to the legal counsel’s duty of committed representation. Mr. Guillaume Laberge and Ms. Laurence Bich-Carrière actively took part in the preparation of this case. To read a summary of the case, please click here.
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Victory for Lavery’s client, the Chambre de la sécurité financière, before the Superior Court
In a decision rendered on May 4, 2015 (2015 QCCS 1890), the Superior Court of Quebec confirmed the prerogative of the syndic of the Chambre de la sécurité financière (CSF), in demanding and obtaining the information it deems necessary in order to investigate the activities of Mutual Fund Dealer Representatives (MFDR) registered with a bank’s brokerage subsidiary. Mr. Raymond Doray, Ad. E., and Mr. Loïc Berdnikoff, Administrative Law partners at Lavery, argued the case for the CSF. According to justice Louis Lacoursière, the Act respecting the Distribution of Financial Products and Services (ADFPS) allows the CSF’s syndic to obtain documents and information from anyone in the course of an investigation, without regard to the fact that this person is a bank whose employees work part-time as MFDR. That applies, all the more so, when the bank, not its brokerage subsidiary, is in sole possession of the documents and information. Furthermore, the Court found that when circumstances where the integrity, honor and dignity of the bank’s MFDR are concerned, the syndic has the right to have produced confidential documents and information, even if they’re related to core banking activities, as opposed to activities regarding collective investment. The CSF’s role of protecting the public requires, according to the tribunal, a flexible interpretation of the syndic’s powers under the ADFPS. This represents an important victory for the self-regulation of an industry which has many important Lavery clients.
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Judgement of the Supreme Court of Canada in regards to professional secrecy – another victory for Lavery!
On February 13, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered an important decision stating that several sections from the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and from its regulationviolate sections 7 and 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, without being justified under section 1 of that same Charter. Mr. Raymond Doray, Ad. E., and Mr. Loïc Berdnikoff, Administrative Law partners at Lavery, with the help of Mr. Guillaume Laberge, represented the Barreau du Québec and the Chambre des notaires before Canada’s highest court, where they argued that lawyers and notaries should be exempted from provisions which, among other things, infringed on the attorney-client privilege, the duty of loyalty to each client and the independence of the Bar. To read the judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada, please click here. Raymond Doray, Loïc Berdnikoff and Guillaume Laberge
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Loïc Berdnikoff, Magali Cournoyer-Proulx and Guy Lavoie of Lavery give a training session to members of the CSAQ (ambulances)
Loïc Berdnikoff, Magali Cournoyer-Proulx and Guy Lavoie of Lavery gave a two-day training session to representatives of Corporation des services d’ambulance du Québec (CSAQ) member companies last November 19th and 20th in Quebec City. The various sessions of the training program covered Privacy rules and issues applicable in the ambulance field, a review of decisions rendered during the last year specifically regarding labour relations within the pre-hospital environment and the impact and future of social media on the field. Loïc Berdnikoff, Magali Cournoyer-Proulx and Guy Lavoie