News

On July 5, an article analyzing a decision on access to information and written by Pier-Olivier Fradette, an associate of the Public and Administrative Law group, appeared in La Référence, a specialized publication by Éditions Yvon Blais. The article is a commentary on Aréna Marcel Dutil inc. c. Succession de Gagnon, 2017 QCCQ 278426, a decision on whether organizations and committees that gravitate around municipalities are subject to the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information. Click here to read the article (in French only).

Valérie Belle-Isle and Pier-Olivier Fradette, lawyers of the Public and Administrative Law group, presented seminars during the Association des directeurs municipaux du Québec (ADMQ) annual convention, held June 14 – 16, 2017 at the Québec City Convention Centre. Me. Fradette spoke on June 15 about the work that a municipality could perform internally. The purpose of the seminar was to analyze the main construction laws and identify situations where a municipality could carry out the work using its own employees without having to hire professionals such as engineers, architects, electricians, plumbers, contractors with an RBQ permit or employees with a CCQ competency certificate. Both Me. Belle-Isle and Me. Fradette spoke during the second seminar, entitled Les zones grises des pouvoirs du conseil municipal (Grey areas in municipal council powers) presented on June 16, which identified situations where the municipal council has been granted broad powers under the Act and offered guidelines to general directors on assisting municipal councils in their decision-making. The three situations discussed were emergency work in the event of superior force, powers of the municipal council during the 30-day period preceding an election and requests to amend by-laws.

On March 17, Pier-Olivier Fradette and Charlotte Fortin, lawyers in the Administrative Law group, gave a presentation at the 26th annual conference on recent developments in municipal law organized by the Barreau du Québec. The presentation dealt with the new Act to improve the legal situation of animals and analyzed the novel features of that Act, the standards it maintains from previous legislation, and its impact on the treatment of animals and on municipalities’ powers in the management of domestic animals and stray animals.

Pier-Olivier Fradette, a municipal affairs lawyer, analyzes the potential impact of the Act to improve the legal situation of animals on municipalities in the December 2016 edition of Magazine Quorum, published quarterly by the Fédération québécoise des municipalités. Me Fradette identifies the major provisions affecting municipalities and discusses how they should address these legislative amendments. He explains that the Act is two-fold: The first part establishes that animals are no longer things within the meaning of the Civil Code of Québec, and the second part introduces new provisions regarding the welfare and safety of animals. Click here to read the full analysis (in French only).

Pierre Marc Johnson, counsel and chief negotiator for the Government of Quebec in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), was one of the speakers at a UMQ training forum whose theme was “Municipal economic development via international positioning”. Mr. Johnson gave a speech in front of fifty mayors who are members of UMQ executive. on the importance of international positioning on municipal economic development. For more information about this event, click here.