Several reasons may lead an employer to conduct surveillance on an employee, to have him followed without his knowledge and to observe his activities. Rumours that an employee absent from work for health reasons is engaged in activities that are incompatible with his alleged health condition, a (…)
On August 18, 2016, the Honourable François Duprat, writing for the Superior Court of Québec, rendered judgment in the action brought by Jimmy Laporte (the “Plaintiff”) against his property insurer, Intact Insurance Company.1 The Court dismissed the Plaintiff’s action and declared the insurance (…)
On August 10, 2016, the Québec Court of Appeal authorized a class action pertaining to international roaming fees, thus reiterating, with renewed respect for the opposing view, that meeting the authorization threshold and the criteria respecting the representative’s interest is fairly easy under (…)
The Act to Foster the Financial Health and Sustainability of Municipal Defined Benefit Pension Plans (“Bill 15”) was passed on December 5, 2014. The subject of much debate during the parliamentary sessions before its passing, much has been written about Bill 15 since it has come into force. It (…)
Last June 16, the Superior Court of Québec1 rendered a safeguard order in an injunction proceeding in favour of a health-care institution the purpose of which was to set conditions for the visits of the daughter of a user of the institution who was an incapable person lodged there, as well as her (…)
Although it is possible to patent certain plant-related innovations, another law exists in Canada drawn to plant protection, that is not as well-known as the Patent Act, but possesses characteristics conferring it significant advantages over the latter. The Plant Breeders’ Rights Act (PBRA) was (…)
Corruption is a scourge which transcends frontiers. In response to this situation, Canada has chosen to pass the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (hereinafter referred to as the “CFPOA”) in 1998, then reinforced the regime thereof more recently. The difficulty with this Act lies in the (…)
Consent to End-of-Life Care Article 11 of the Civil Code of Québec1 states that no one can be made to undergo care without his consent. The Act respecting end-of-life care2 (“the Act”), passed by the National Assembly of Québec, came into force on December 15, 2015. Since that date, a person can (…)
Effective September 18, 2016, anyone wishing to obtain a general contractor licence will be required to first provide security of at least $40,000. The amount will be $20,000 for specialized contractors. Effective January 21, 2017, the Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting the professional (…)
The case of Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited1 came to a close on July 14, 2016, when the Supreme Court of Canada (the “Supreme Court”) reversed a controversial Federal Court of Appeal decision in which it had been held that a dismissal without cause was not necessarily an “unjust dismissal” (…)
On June 17, 2016, the Superior Court1 affirmed the 2014 decision of the Commission des lésions professionnelles2 (“CLP”) in Canadelle, s.e.c. and Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail.3 This decision put an end to the jurisprudential controversy regarding the application of sections 31 (…)
After the hospitality sector, transportation of passengers and corporate financing, insurance could be the next sector to see its business model influenced by the sharing economy. In the past few years, numerous start-up companies have launched businesses in “peer-to-peer” (“P2P”) insurance on (…)
Last June 24th, the Supreme Court of Canada (the “Supreme Court”) rendered judgment in the case of British Columbia (Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal) v. Fraser Health Authority1 (“Fraser”). Briefly, this case involved seven laboratory technicians from the same hospital who had breast cancer. (…)