Publications
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New NAFTA : 8 major changes
Canada and the United States reached an agreement on the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on September 30, 2018 which was the deadline imposed by the United States. This new agreement, now called the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement1 (hereafter the “USMCA” (…)
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Changes in the workplace environment in Québec : What you need to know!
On June 12, the Act respecting labour standards was amended to provide employees with more flexibility to favour a greater work-family/personal life balance. Among the changes that should be noted, requiring more or less significant adjustment by employers: Psychological and sexual harassment (…)
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Privacy Breach Reporting: Supplying the Stick for Your Own Beating?
Since the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) came into force in May 2018, the government of Canada has decided to align its security breach legislation with these new EU standards. Thus, as of November 1st 2018, organizations and businesses in Canada will be required to comply with (…)
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Use it and (maybe) lose it : Prior use and patentability
It is generally universal in patenting that an invention cannot have been previously disclosed to the public in order to qualify for patent protection. Canadian law stipulates that the subject matter of a patent claim must not have been disclosed “in such a manner that the subject-matter became (…)
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Artificial intelligence at the lawyer’s service: is the dawn of the robot lawyer upon us?
Over the past few months, our Legal Lab on Artificial Intelligence (L3AI) team has tested a number of legal solutions that incorporate AI to a greater or lesser extent. According to the authors Remus and Levy1, most of these tools will have a moderate potential impact on the legal practice. Among (…)
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How subcontractors or materials supplier can use the surety bond contract
That is what material suppliers want to know when general contractors with which they have contracted default on payment, particularly in bankruptcy cases. It is common practice for clients to require that the general contractor provide a surety bond to cover a significant breach of this nature. (…)
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Wellington-Type Motion And Reserve Of Rights Letter
On July 9, 2018, the Superior Court once again examined the principles applicable to Wellington-type motions in connection with a matter opposing two contractors against their liability insurers in a legal proceeding initiated by the Société des traversiers du Québec (hereafter “STQ”). The (…)
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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, (…)
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First pilot project on the use of autonomous vehicles comes into effect
The Autonomous Bus and Minibus Pilot Project 1 (the “Pilot Project”) came into effect in Quebec on August 16, 2018. The project provides guidelines for the regulated driving of the first autonomous vehicles on Quebec’s roads. Driving autonomous vehicles in quebec An autonomous vehicle is defined (…)
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New environmental authorization scheme: how does this affect mining companies?
A new environmental authorization scheme, which is intended to be a simplified version, was implemented under the Environmental Quality Act (“EQA”) and has been in effect since March 23, 2018. How does this new scheme affect mining companies? Is the authorization scheme truly simplified? What about (…)
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New Regulation Respecting Immigration to Québec: Economic needs of Quebec and its regions come first
The new Regulation Respecting Immigration to Québec (“RIQ”), the purpose of which includes fostering the participation of immigrants in the development of Quebec and alleviating the labour shortage currently experienced by many employers in the region, came into force on August 2nd, 2018. The (…)
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A new step in processing requests for accommodations on religious ground
On July 1st, 2018, the provisions of the Act to foster adherence to state religious neutrality and, in particular, to provide a framework for requests for accommodations on religious grounds in certain bodies, RLRQ, c. R-26.2.01 (“Act”) came into force. This Act applies to the “public bodies” that (…)
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Consumer Law: the Time Decision, again
This publication was authored by Luc Thibaudeau, former partner of Lavery and now judge in the Civil Division of the Court of Québec, District of Longueuil. Consumer law and class action suits go well together. In the recent Girard1decision, the Quebec Court of Appeal, in an opinion by the (…)