Publications

March 31, 2015

Verifying impediments

Children are precious, and their health, safety and well-being are at the very heart of childcare providers’ responsibilities. Several actors work with or alongside children on a daily or occasional basis in order to provide them care and education. In selecting people who work with children, (…)

March 25, 2015

Civil law interpretation : Does coverage under a builder’s risk insurance policy extend to an existing structure?

On February 19, 2015, the Court of Appeal of Quebec1 overturned a judgment rendered by the Superior Court2, on July 12, 2013, which granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss. Essentially, the Court had to determine whether coverage under a builder’s risk insurance policy extends to damage caused by (…)

March 20, 2015

Constructive dismissal revisited by the Supreme Court of Canada

Following the key judgments in Farber1 and Cabiakman2, the Potter3 judgment rendered on March 6, 2015 by the Supreme Court of Canada (the “Court”) emerges as another indispensable judgment in employment law. In this judgment, the Court decided that the administrative suspension with pay of an (…)

March 16, 2015

Legal newsletter for business entrepreneurs and executives, Number 24

SUMMARY The sale of a business Getting ready to sell your business : Environmental issues   The sale of a business Valérie Boucher and Catherine Méthot During its existence, a business can be subject to one or more sales, both through the sale of its shares or its assets. Although each (…)

March 16, 2015

The Charter of the French Language reviewed by the Court of Québec

The Court of Québec has recently examined the application of the Charter of the French Language (the “Charter”) in the case of Boulangerie Maxie’s 1. This decision provides clarification as to what constitutes a “markedly predominant” use of the French language in advertising and public signs. The (…)

March 10, 2015

Dismissal without cause makes its way to the Canada Labour Code: The Federal Court of Appeal decides

On January 22, 2015, the Federal Court of Appeal rendered an extremely important decision,1 unanimously holding that dismissal on a without cause basis does not necessarily constitute “unjust dismissal” under the Canada Labour Code (the “Code”).2 With its decision in Wilson v. Atomic Energy of (…)

March 2, 2015

Federal government announces new measures to encourage mining exploration in Canada

On March 1st, 2015, the federal Minister of Finance, Joe Oliver, and the federal Minister of Natural Resources, Greg Rickford, announced important new measures to support Canada’s mining industry in a speech at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) 2015 Convention. The (…)

March 2, 2015

Quarterly legal newsletter intended for accounting, management, and finance professionals, Number 26

SOMMAIRE US Parent corporations sending employees into Canada to subsidiaries – General tax issues and remedy Business trips to Canada: Business visitor status or work permit? US Parent corporations sending employees into Canada to subsidiaries – General tax issues and remedy Emmanuel Sala, (…)

February 27, 2015

Time limit for handling complaints from health care consumers: the Supreme Court of Canada refuses to intervene

On February 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed Dr. Gilbert Liu's application for leave to appeal a Court of Appeal decision concerning the time limit for handling complaints from users of health institutions. In a unanimous decision rendered September 4, 2014, the Court of Appeal (…)

February 19, 2015

The dismissal of an emergency room employee for breach of confidentiality is confirmed

In a decision rendered on December 30, 20141, arbitrator Nathalie Faucher concluded that the dismissal imposed by a hospital centre on an employee for breach of confidentiality was well-founded. The employee, an administrative agent at the emergency room of the hospital centre, was dismissed for (…)

February 16, 2015

A corporation receives a hefty fine and two of its officers face jail time for violations of the Ontario occupational health and safety regulations

On January 13, 2015, New Mex Canada Inc. ("New Mex"), an Ontario corporation and employer in that same province, was sentenced to pay a fine of $250,000 while two of its officers each received 25-day prison terms after pleading guilty to several offences under the Ontario occupational health and (…)

February 13, 2015

Hiring in the New Year? What to do when a new recruit overpromises and underdelivers?

A recent decision1 by the Commission des relations du travail (“CRT”) highlights the plight of an employer faced with an employee who oversold his abilities during the job interview and later proves incapable of delivering on his promises. In this case, Laurentian Bank Securities inc. (“Laurentian”) (…)

January 30, 2015

The Supreme Court of Canada further clarifies the rights of workers

On January 30, 2015, in the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v. Saskatchewan (2015 SCC 4) decision, the Supreme Court of Canada further clarified the scope of the rights of workers pursuant to section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”). Indeed, in its 2007 decision (…)