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Quarterly legal newsletter intended for accounting, management, and finance professionals, Number 23
CONTENTS The 2014 Federal Budget Plan sounds the death knell for two family tax planning measures much appreciated by entrepreneurs and some professionals The Expert and the Court You signed a contract for services... with an employee? How to properly identify the relationship between the (…)
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Reform of the Quebec Code of Civil Procedure – The new class action
On February 20, 2014, the Quebec National Assembly passed Bill 28, An Act to establish the new Code of Civil Procedure.This is a watershed moment in a process that began in 2003 and was the subject of a review by the Minister of Justice in 2006. Notably, promoting cooperation by the parties on the (…)
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Following the termination of a senior executive, a clause in a stock option plan is declared abusive and the behaviour of the employer deemed oppressive
In Dollo v. Premier Tech Ltée,1 the Superior Court of Québec declared a clause contained in the Stock Option Plan (the “Plan”) offered by Premier Tech Ltée (“Premier Tech”) to some of its employees to be abusive and also declared Premier Tech’s conduct towards a (…)
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Legal newsletter for business entrepreneurs and executives, Number 20
SOME MEASURES TO TAKE TO PROTECT YOUR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SALE OF YOUR BUSINESSThe process of selling a business may pose some risks to the seller, particularly those related to the disclosure to third parties of confidential information concerning the operation of the (…)
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Update of Penal and Criminal Law in Occupational Health and Safety Matters
Every year, several judgments are rendered in penal law cases involving occupational health and safety issues. However, judgments in an occupational health and safety context resulting from the laying of criminal negligence charges are more rare. While the sections of the Criminal Code1 which (…)
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Supreme Court of Canada agrees to hear Réjean Hinse appeal
On March 20, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada granted Réjean Hinse leave to appeal a decision involving an action in damages he brought against the federal authorities, represented by the Attorney General of Canada.In 1964, Mr. Hinse was wrongly convicted of taking part in an armed robbery and (…)
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Canada initiates a process to ratify three international treaties on trademarks
On January 27, 2014, the parliamentary secretary of the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs tabled five treaties in the House of Commons dealing with intellectual property, of which three relate to trademarks.These three treaties on trademarks are as follows: The Protocol Relating to the Madrid (…)
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The Quebec Government Announces an Increase to the Minimum Wage
On February 5, 2014, the Minister of Labour announced that as of May 1, 2014, the minimum wage will be increased by $0.20 an hour to $10.35 an hour.The hourly minimum wage of employees receiving tips will be increased to $8.90 an hour, which represents an increase of $0.15 an hour.Finally, the (…)
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Capital requirements of life insurance companies : Where do we stand ?
AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVELOn December 16, 2013, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (the “IAIS”), which groups the regulators of 140 countries, including Canada, published a consultation document proposing to the international community a series of regulatory capital (…)
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Employee or Self-employed Worker? The Court of Appeal of Québec Rules
The Court of Appeal of Québec recently ruled on the criteria for distinguishing between an employment agreement and a contract for services in the case of Bermex international inc. v. Agence du revenu du Québec.1It is worth noting that regardless of the fact that the parties labelled their agreement (…)
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The Robinson Case: The Final Chapter
Last December 23, the Supreme Court of Canada partially overturned the decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal in the case of Cinar Corporation v. Robinson1 and reinstated most of the conclusions of the Quebec Superior Court.BACKGROUNDIn the 1980s, Claude Robinson (“Robinson”) developed a project for (…)
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Taxation of the Natural Resources Industry in Quebec: The wave of changes still goes on
On December 20, 2013, the Quebec Department of Finance and the Economy issued Information Bulletin 2013-14 (the “Bulletin”), announcing inter alia changes to various tax measures specifically applicable to the natural resources industry.The Bulletin is certainly important in respect of (…)