Publications

April 28, 2015

Confinement orders: Psychiatric examination reports not automatically excluded when a patient’s fundamental rights and freedoms are violated

In a judgment handed down on January 30, 2015, the Court of Québec held that the failure to respect the prescribed time limits or the violation of a patient’s fundamental rights and freedoms does not lead to the automatic exclusion of a psychiatric examination report concluding that the patient (…)

April 27, 2015

Canadian Securities Administrators announce amendments to venture issuer requirements

The Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) have announced that, on several fronts, they are implementing amendments to the disclosure requirements for venture issuers, including those listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. These amendments primarily address continuous disclosure and governance (…)

April 23, 2015

Site contamination: Claims for latent defects - Notice and prescription

On what grounds may a landowner who discovers soil contamination caused by an old heating oil tank sue the former owner of the property? In this bulletin we examine whether the warranty against latent defects found at Article 1726 of the Civil Code of Québec can be invoked to have the sale annulled (…)

April 20, 2015

Franchisors’ duty to act in good faith and related implicit obligations: Dunkin’ Donuts ordered to pay nearly $18M to some of its franchisees

The Court of Appeal of Quebec has issued an important judgment pertaining to a franchisor’s implicit obligations towards its franchisees. In June 2012, the Superior Court of Quebec ordered Dunkin’ Donuts Brands Canada Ltd. (“Dunkin’ Donuts”) to pay an amount of $16.4M (plus interests and costs) to (…)

April 15, 2015

FATCA for investment funds – Be ready for May 1, 2015!

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, has been an integral part of Canada’s tax system for over a year. Originally legislated under U.S. law, FATCA allowed the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) to obtain information from financial institutions about the financial accounts of U.S. citizens (…)

April 15, 2015

Proposal for new TSX listing requirements for ETFs, closed-end funds and structured products: codification of existing practices

On January 15, the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “Exchange”) published proposed amendments to the Toronto Stock Exchange Company Manual (the “Manual”). More specifically, a completely new section will be added to the Manual (Part XI) for determining the minimum listing requirements to be met by (…)

April 7, 2015

Recent developments on patent-eligibility of medical use claims in Canada

Last December, the Federal Court of Canada overturned a decision of the Commissioner of Patents to refuse a patent claiming a fixed dosage regimen for the drug Humira® (Adalimunab) used in rheumatoid arthritis. The Court’s decision 1 is found here: 2014 FC 1251. This Court decision was an appeal of (…)

April 2, 2015

Canada’s Anti-spam Legislation : Phase 2 comes into force and first monetary penalty imposed

Whereas Canadian businesses have barely recovered from the first phase of Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL), which aims primarily to regulate the sending of unsolicited commercial electronic messages, a new series of requirements applicable to the unauthorized installation of computer programs (…)

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 (…)