Publications

December 8, 2021

A False Sense of Cybersecurity?

Ransomware has wreaked so much havoc in recent years that many people forget about other cybersecurity risks. For some, not storing personal information makes them feeling immune to hackers and cyber incidents. For others, as long as their computers are working, they do not feel exposed to no (…)

November 1, 2021

IT services dispute: the Supreme Court considers the non-liability clause

In IT service contracts, it is common to find non-liability clauses protecting companies that provide software and professional IT system implementation or integration services. Issue In Dispute Is such a contractual non-liability clause valid under Quebec civil law where a fundamental obligation (…)

October 6, 2021

Adoption of Bill 64: what do public bodies need to know?

Bill 64, also known as the Act to modernize legislative provisions as regards the protection of personal information, was adopted on September 21, 2021, by the National Assembly of Québec. This new bill amends some 20 laws relating to the protection of personal information, including the Act (…)

October 4, 2021

Amendments to Privacy Laws: What Businesses Need to Know

Bill 64, also known as the Act to modernize legislative provisions respecting the protection of personal information, was adopted on September 21, 2021, by the National Assembly of Québec. It amends some 20 laws relating to the protection of personal information, including the Act respecting access (…)

July 19, 2021

Bill 78 and the notion of ultimate beneficiary

Bill 78 was introduced in December 2020 by Minister Jean Boulet and given assent on June 8, 2021. It amends the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises (the “Act”) and its regulation, the Regulation respecting the application of the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises (the (…)

March 3, 2021

Product advertising in the time of COVID-19: Health Canada and the Competition Bureau are on the lookout for misleading claims

It’s been more than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and many companies are attempting to market products intended to help consumers deal with the risks associated with COVID-19. Some of the most common examples of such products include face masks, testing devices, hand sanitizers, and (…)

November 6, 2020

International tax planning endorsed by the Court

In the recent decision in Agracity Ltd. v. The Queen1, the Tax Court of Canada (the “Court”) endorsed the Canadian tax consequences of business transactions between a Canadian corporation (“Agracity”) and its Barbados affiliate (“NewAgco-Barbados”) within a group of companies operating in the (…)

May 21, 2020

E-commerce: Protecting Your Work

As distribution channels with a global reach, websites are a powerful tool for doing business, and during the pandemic, they even play a critical role. A website consists of a set of webpages accessible from an address hosted on a server through the internet or an intranet. A website is a (…)

May 14, 2020

E-commerce: Your Obligations regarding Consumer Protection and Competition Matters

Before selling your products and services online, you will need to determine the form and content of your contract, and ensure that you comply with the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act (the “CPA”). The CPA applies to any contract between a consumer and a merchant entered into in Quebec, (…)

May 7, 2020

E-commerce: Some Laws and Rules You Should Be Aware of

Various ways of doing e-commerce E-commerce can take different forms. For the purposes of this article, we will refer to e-commerce where the contract of sale or of supply of services is concluded by electronic means, E-commerce will be said to be “direct” when the product or service is delivered (…)

April 17, 2020

How to Negotiate Temporary Agreements or Contracts in Times of Crisis?

The rapid spread of COVID-19 and the introduction of strict government measures are limiting or changing many businesses’ operations. These measures impose unusual restrictions that make it more difficult to meet certain contractual obligations. In such a situation, many companies will want to (…)

August 24, 2018

Advertising, loyalty programs and consumer credit: what’s new and what’s coming up

This publication was co-authored by Luc Thibaudeau, former partner of Lavery and now judge in the Civil Division of the Court of Québec, District of Longueuil. Following the adoption of the Act mainly to modernize rules relating to consumer credit and to regulate debt settlement service contracts, (…)

June 18, 2018

Influencers Must Disclose Who Is Influencing Them

This publication was co-authored by Luc Thibaudeau, former partner of Lavery and now judge in the Civil Division of the Court of Québec, District of Longueuil. The rise of social media and influencers has led us to consume incredible quantities of content every day, often without realizing that (…)