Publications

May 11, 2023

Bill 8: Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure to improve access to justice

Introduction On February 1, 2023, Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette introduced and tabled in the National Assembly Bill 8 entitled An Act to improve justice efficiency and accessibility, in particular by promoting mediation and arbitration and by simplifying civil procedure in the Court of (…)

May 10, 2023

2023 Quebec budget: tax holiday for investments in critical and strategic minerals

On March 21, 2023, Quebec’s Minister of Finance tabled his budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. One of the budget’s key measures is the introduction of a new tax holiday in connection with major investment projects. At first glance, the new measure does not appear to be specifically aimed at the (…)

April 26, 2023

Lavery celebrates World Intellectual Property Day

Lavery celebrates World Intellectual Property Day This year, the World Intellectual Property Day theme is "Women and Intellectual Property: Accelerating innovation and creativity". Therefore, Lavery is pleased to recognize the contribution of a female inventor. Lila Madour   Women face (…)

April 17, 2023

Introduction of Bill 19, An Act respecting the regulation of work by children: the main amendments proposed by the Quebec government

On March 28, the Minister of Labour introduced Bill 19, an Act respecting the regulation of work by children (the “Bill”), which establishes in particular a minimum working age of 14 and a maximum number of hours of work for children subject to compulsory school attendance. This Bill is presented (…)

April 11, 2023

Artificial intelligence in business: managing the risks and reaping the benefits?

At a time when some are demanding that artificial intelligence (AI) research and advanced systems development be temporarily suspended and others want to close Pandora’s box, it is appropriate to ask what effect chat technology (ChatGPT, Bard and others) will have on businesses and workplaces. Some (…)

March 20, 2023

Clear skies overhead, patent marking protects well, innovation blooms

“Clear skies overhead, patent marking protects well, innovation blooms.” “Patent marking” is the practice of labelling a product to provide notification that it is protected by one or more patents. From a public perspective, it serves three related purposes: avoiding innocent infringement; (…)

March 16, 2023

Insurers: Two-headed hydras

On January 30, 2023, the Court of Appeal of Quebec rendered a decision in Commission scolaire De La Jonquière c. Intact Compagnie d’assurance.1 The key issues in this case are the potential for conflicts arising from liability insurance policies and the obligation to disclose documents where (…)

March 8, 2023

Lavery celebrates International Women’s Day today

Lavery celebrates International Women’s Day today   Today, Wednesday, March 8, we celebrate International Women’s Day. IWD is an opportunity to honour those who inspire us every day and who continue to demonstrate the progress we’ve made towards gender equality in the workplace, setting an (…)

February 2, 2023

TRADEMARKS IN CANADA: The Federal Court clarifies the concept of “bad faith”

In the decision Beijing Judian Restaurant Co. Ltd. v. Wei Meng, 2022 FC 743, rendered by the Honourable Angela Furlanetto on May 18, 2022, the Federal Court clarified what constitutes bad faith in trademark law. Prior to the decision, the concept of bad faith in relation to trademarks was (…)

January 19, 2023

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy: The Canada Revenue Agency takes action

In response to the pandemic, the Canadian government launched in the spring of 2020 the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (the “CEWS”), a program that provides employers with a subsidy based on the remuneration paid to their employees and income they lost during the pandemic. Section 125.7 of the (…)

January 19, 2023

Clarifications regarding insurance products offered on the Internet

In early 2022, the Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”) conducted specific consultations on financial products offered on the Internet. Further to these consultations, the AMF published explanations on the Regulation respecting Alternative Distribution Methods (the “RADM”) in late (…)

January 6, 2023

Patent applications and processing times – What’s right for you

Part 1: Four reasons to slow down and four reasons to speed up the process Part 2: Slowing down the process (CA, US, EP, PCT) Part 3: Fast track (CA, US, EP, PCT) Part 1: Why slow down or speed up the process? Slowing down the process Why would anyone want to slow down the process when it (…)

December 9, 2022

The return of Christmas parties: what employers need to know

After two years of navigating COVID-19, the end of 2022 will be an opportunity for employers to organise larger activities for their employees, such as Christmas parties. The purpose of this newsletter is to make employers aware of their obligations during the holiday season festivities. Below, we (…)