Publications

July 16, 2015

Real estate developer granted injunction in dispute over flooding caused by new highway interchange

In June 2015, the Superior Court of Québec sided with a real estate developer who applied for an order requiring the Quebec Ministry of Transport (MOT) to fix a highway interchange whose construction in 2007 caused the developer’s land to be flooded 1. This article summarizes the court’s principal (…)

July 10, 2015

The Supreme Court rules on a broker’s right to a commission when no sale is concluded

Standard real estate brokerage contracts generally stipulate the obligation for the seller to pay a commission to the broker in the event that an agreement for the sale of the property occurs during the term of the brokerage contract or where the seller voluntarily prevents the free performance of (…)

July 9, 2015

Use of Social Media by Employees

In this age of social networks, the dividing line between private life and public life seems more and more blurred. The same is true of the boundary between individuals' personal and professional lives. Indeed, headlines in the past few weeks remind us that the personal and professional aspects of (…)

July 7, 2015

Bill 42 and the reorganization of the Quebec labour-related institutions

Last June 12, Bill 42, entitled « An Act to group the Commission de l’équité salariale, the Commission des normes du travail and the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail and to establish the Administrative Labour Tribunal1 » (the « Loi Act to group the CÉS, the CNT and the CSST and (…)

June 29, 2015

An important decision of the Court of Appeal of Quebec changes the way the employer’s duty to accommodate applies to employment injuries

On June 15th, the Court of Appeal of Quebec, in Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail v. Caron,1 issued an important judgment that changes the law governing an employers’ duty to accommodate employment injuries. The Court in Caron held that it needed to intervene to harmonize the Act (…)

June 22, 2015

Education: Obligations of physicians practising in a university hospital centre

In a decision rendered on April 30, 20151, the Administrative Tribunal of Québec (the "ATQ") upheld a decision of the board of directors of a university hospital centre that refused to renew the status and privileges of a physician who failed to fulfill the obligations associated with the enjoyment (…)

June 22, 2015

Directors’ Liability

CONTENTS Directors’ liability for payroll withholding taxes Due diligence: An evolving standard To what risks of liability or being found guilty are directors exposed? Environmental liability of directors and officers Directors’ liability for payroll withholding taxes Luc Pariseau and Audrey (…)

June 18, 2015

Contracting authorization from the AMF: reduction in threshold for service contracts

Last June 10, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) announced that the floor amount for obtaining a public contract dealing with services without its prior authorization would be reduced to $1 million.1 Thus, all contracts and subcontracts for services concluded following a call for tenders (…)

June 17, 2015

Bitter Bidder Better Stand?
Bloom Lake, G.P.L. (Arrangement of), 2015 QCCS 1920

In May 2010, Justice Gascon of the Superior Court of Québec issued an important decision in AbitibiBowater Inc. (Arrangement relatif à)1. The context was that of a motion for authorization of the sale of assets owned by AbitibiBowater, following the latter’s restructuring under the Companies’ (…)

June 10, 2015

In force since June 1, 2015: The Extractive Sector Transparency Meadures Act (Canada)

In keeping with trends in other jurisdictions, Canada has brought into force federal rules requiring businesses in the extractive sector to publish annual reports on payments of $100,000 or more made to governments in Canada and abroad. Payments to Aboriginal governments will be covered by these (…)

June 10, 2015

Historic Quebec lawsuit against tobacco companies: The Superior Court awards more than $15 billion in damages

In a decisive victory for the Plaintiffs in class actions against the three Canadian leading tobacco companies1, the Québec Superior Court ordered the Defendants to pay more than 15 billion dollars in moral damages2 and punitive damages. There were more than 253 hearing days3 and 16 years of (…)

June 9, 2015

Securing debts in Quebec: Important changes to consider

On April 20, 2015, the National Assembly adopted An Act mainly to implement certain provisions of the Budget Speech of 4 June 2014 and return to a balanced budget in 2015-2016 (S.Q. 2015, c. 8). Some of the many amendments introduced by that statute (the “Act”) pertain to the securing of debts in (…)

May 31, 2015

The corporate director: Questions and answers

This 52-page bulletin answers in a practical and simple manner respecting the legal framweork forty-three (43) questions administrators ask or should  ask themselves. It is a very useful tool to promote good governance generating value. Click here to view the complete publication