Publications
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Manufacturers, Importers, Distributors and Retailers: the Public's Safety is your Business
Manufacturers, Importers, Distributors and Retailers: the Public's Safety is your Business
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The Chicken, the Egg, the Producer - the Quebec Court of Appeal Knows Which Came First!
One more lengthy battle in a legal saga has just come to an end. Indeed, on June 4, 2008, the Court, comprised of Quebec’s Chief Justice, Michel Robert, and Justices Jacques Chamberland and Louis Rochette, rendered a unanimous judgment.To set the stage, consider a salmonella outbreak in (…)
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In the Wake of Domtar: Manufacturers' and Professional Vendors' Liabilities - Separate Defences
In one of the first decisions in Quebec since the landmark Domtar case, the Québec Court of Appeal has refined the parameters of the liability of a professional vendor and of a manufacturer for a latent defect. In this case, Joseph Élie Limitée had sold an oil tank manufactured by Réservoirs (…)
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The Transpavé Inc. Case: a Quebec Company Pays for its Negligence
On March 17, 2008, the Court of Québec fined Transpavé Inc. $110,000 after it pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal negligence causing the death of one of its employees. This is a first in Canada since the Criminal Code was amended so that an organization could be found guilty of criminal (…)
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Labour Shortages and Foreign Workers
Difficulties in recruiting skilled employees and the labour shortage in some sectors are currently a source of headaches for many businesses. In this context, one solution may be to consider hiring foreign workers. In a press release published in September 2007, the Fédération des chambres de (…)
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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 bulletin provides a brief and non-exhaustive summary to help you better understand, prepare for and monitor your contractual environment.Do you know that a (…)
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The Manufacturer-Seller's Warranty in Québec: Still "Distict"!
In late November 2007, the Supreme Court rendered a judgment on the law of sale in Quebec in the case of ABB Inc. v. Domtar Inc. in which it pointed out important differences between Quebec law and the law of the other Canadian provinces regarding limitation of liability clauses. It also clarified (…)
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The Court of Appeal Rules on the Validity of an Alcohol and Drug Detection Policy in Light of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms
On December 6, 2007, the Quebec Court of Appeal declared that part of Goodyear’s alcohol and drug detection policy implemented in its Valleyfield plant in the summer of 2004 was valid. The Court of Appeal’s judgement maintained in part a decision rendered on April 21, 2006 by the (…)
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New Labour Standards: Authorized Absences due to a Criminal Offence, the Disappearance of a Child or the Suicide of a Close Relative
The Act respecting labour standards (hereinafter the "ALS") was amended recently concerning absences due to sickness or accident and absences for family or parental reasons. In particular, these amendments include the employee’s right to be absent from work for a period ranging (…)
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The Role of the Chair of the Board of Directors
The role and duties of a Chair are not defined and circumscribed in incorporating statutes (federal and Quebec) except in the case of Quebec government-owned corporations and then, only in part. Boards of directors have been at the centre of the public debate on corporate governance in recent years. (…)
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Class action and competition law: Toyota wins in the Court of Appeal
Class action and competition law: Toyota wins in the Court of Appeal
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New Labour Standards: Authorized Absences due to a Criminal Offence, the Disappearance of a Child or the Suicide of a Close Relative
New Labour Standards: Authorized Absences due to a Criminal Offence, the Disappearance of a Child or the Suicide of a Close Relative