Publications

December 7, 2016

Double Patenting Under Canadian Patent Law

Double patenting occurs when the same invention is claimed in more than one patent owned by the same entity. Double patenting is prohibited in most jurisdictions. However, there are unique aspects to double patenting under Canadian practice that may significantly influence patent prosecution (…)

December 5, 2016

Authorizations of care and placement: the Québec Court of Appeal imposes parameters on requests for adjournment and reaffirms the admissibility of hearsay in expert evidence

On October 28, 2016, the Québec Court of Appeal1 affirmed a decision of the Superior Court of Québec granting an application for the authorization of care presented by the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux des Laurentides (the “CISSS”). Essentially, the patient submitted three grounds (…)

December 1, 2016

The Supreme Court of Canada reinforces the protection of litigation privilege by elevating it to class privilege status

Ten years after Blank v. Canada (Minister of Justice),1 the leading case regarding litigation privilege, the Supreme Court of Canada has seized the opportunity to reaffirm and expand on the principles set out in that important decision. Indeed, in its most recent case, Lizotte v. Aviva Insurance (…)

November 30, 2016

The Québec Court of Appeal considers the issue of the amount of insurance:¹ liability of the broker and/or chartered appraiser

Facts Bar et spectacles Jules et Jim inc. (hereinafter the “Bar” or “Insured”) sought to renew the insurance coverage for its building, which was then insured for $424,000.2 On the recommendation of its broker, it obtained an appraisal which concluded that the reconstruction cost of the building (…)

November 25, 2016

Leave to Appeal by the Defendant at the Authorization Stage of the Class Action: the Québec Court of Appeal Adopts a Restrictive Approach

On November 22, 2016, the Québec Court of Appeal issued an unprecedented judgment on the application of article 578 of the New Code of Civil Procedure (“NCCP”) in the following cases: DuProprio inc. v. La Fédération des chambres immobilières du Québec, Énergie éolienne Des Moulins S.E.C. v. (…)

November 22, 2016

Drone operators, do you know the rules?

Drones, also known as “UAVs” (for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) have become more popular in Quebec over the past few years. From the surveillance of quarries and gravel pits, industrial sites, pipelines, farmland, open air mines and construction sites to package delivery, the collecting of aerial (…)

November 22, 2016

Public display of trade marks in a language other than French – Coming into force of the regulatory amendments

On May 4, 2016, a draft regulation amending the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business was published in the Gazette officielle du Québec (see our bulletin on this subject). On November 3, 2016, the Quebec government announced that the amendments to the Regulation respecting the (…)

November 21, 2016

Your Contracts: a Systematic and Disciplined Approach is Called for

Every day, and several times a day, we enter into contracts without knowing it or without considering and controlling their effects. This newsletter provides a brief and non-exhaustive summary to help you better understand, prepare for and monitor your contractual environment. Do you know that?  (…)

November 7, 2016

Put that perimeter in your pipe and smoke it: the imminent broadening of the prohibition on smoking within a nine-meter radius

On November 26, 2016, the new provisions of the Tobacco Control Act1 (the “Act”) will come into force. One of these provisions will considerably expand the scope of the rule which currently prohibits smoking within a nine-meter radius of any door leading to an enclosed place governed by the Act. (…)

November 7, 2016

Pay Equity Audits: The Québec Court of Appeal Renders its Decision

On October 12, 2016, the Québec Court of Appeal rendered an important decision dealing with pay equity,1 confirming the decision rendered on January 22, 2014 by the Honourable Édouard Martin of the Superior Court invalidating sections 76.3 and 76.5 of the Pay Equity Act2 (hereinafter, the “Act”) (…)

November 4, 2016

Impact of the decision in R. v. Jordan on public law

The procedural delays in criminal, penal, civil, administrative and disciplinary matters have drawn a lot of criticism and contributed to undermining public confidence in the administration of justice. This concern was at the heart of an important decision by the Supreme Court of Canada rendered (…)

November 3, 2016

An obiter of the Québec Court of Appeal makes its way up to the Supreme Court of Canada

The facts The client, Station Lands Ltd. (“Station”) retained the general contractor Ledcor Construction Ltd. (“Ledcor”) to build the Epcor tower in Edmonton. As is customary, Station and Ledcor purchased a builders’ risk all-risk property insurance to cover property damage which may occur in the (…)

November 2, 2016

End-of-life care (part 2 of 2)

In our newsletter No. 8, we discussed advance medical directives, which are restricted to three specific clinical situations and allow a person to consent to or refuse in advance five specific types of care in the event that the person in question becomes incapable of consenting to them. In (…)