Publications

February 2, 2018

Caron confirms that employers have a duty to accommodate workers with an employment injury

On February 1, 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered an important decision in Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (“CNESST”) v. Caron1 (“Caron”), confirming the position expressed by the Court of Appeal in 20152 as well as the state of the law regarding (…)

January 26, 2018

Class Actions to Watch this Year

Year in and year out, the Superior Court of Quebec releases around 175 judgments in class actions matters, and 2017 was no exception. With two years having passed since the reform of civil procedure, the courts have had an opportunity to clarify the effect of a number of new provisions: the low (…)

January 12, 2018

Bill 162: An Act to amend the Building Act and other legislative provisions mainly to give effect to certain Charbonneau Commission recommendations

Tabled on December 1, 2017 by Lise Thériault, the Minister responsible for Consumer Protection and Housing, the main purpose of Bill 162 is to give effect to certain recommendations contained in the final report of the Commission of inquiry on the awarding and management of public contracts in the (…)

December 20, 2017

Prescription and Indirect Victims of Bodily Injury: the Supreme Court Rules

On October 13, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered an important decision1, putting an end to a jurisprudential and doctrinal debate on civil liability and prescription in the field of municipal liability. Facts In October 2010, Ms. Maria Altragracia Dorval ("Dorval") was murdered by her (…)

September 19, 2017

Essential services in the health sector :
the Tribunal administratif du travail declares section 111.10
of the Labour Code unconstitutional

In a decision rendered this past August 31st by Justice Pierre Flageole,1 the Tribunal administratif du travail (the “Tribunal”) declared section 111.10 of the Labour Code2 to be constitutionally inoperative. This provision requires that a set minimum percentage of employees must remain on the job (…)

June 14, 2017

“Like our Facebook page and you could win a tablet computer” - are you following the rules?

Promotional contests are among the advertising activities favoured by businesses. In the age of social media, they are increasingly frequent and popular — “Win a trip down South!”, “Fantastic stroller to be won among everyone who likes our Facebook page!”. However, not everyone is aware of all the (…)

March 27, 2017

Canada-Europe Free Trade Agreement – Imminent provisional entry into force

Provisional entry into force 90% of the Agreement will be in force The date is still uncertain, possibly as soon as June 2017   The Agreement in 6 key points Access to the European Union market, which includes 28 States and 500 million consumers; Elimination of custom duties on 98% (…)

May 19, 2016

Fraud, nullity and compulsory professional liability insurance: the Québec Court of Appeal rules in

On May 16, 2016, the Québec Court of Appeal adjudicated1 on whether a professional liability insurer can plead the nullity of a policy based on misrepresentations or concealment of facts by the insured. This decision is of interest because it addresses the novel issue of whether a liability insurer (…)

May 17, 2016

The Court of Appeal: The liability of the life insurance broker is not limited to the framework of the contractual relationship

The facts of the Roy v. Lefebvre case On June 25, 2014, the Superior Court1 allowed the action of an insured against a life insurance broker and his firm. The context of the subscription of the insurance policy is somewhat unusual and deserves explanations. In 1992, the purchaser of an immovable (…)

May 13, 2016

Public display of trade marks in a language other than French

In 20141, major retailers Best Buy Canada Ltd., Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd., Gap (Canada) Inc., Old Navy (Canada) Inc., Guess? Canada Corporation, Wal-Mart Canada Corp., Toys “R” Us Canada Ltd. and Curves International Inc. had filed a motion for declaratory judgment before the Superior Court for (…)

May 9, 2016

Using a trust in the context of family law: are you really safe?

Although a trust is a valuable financial, tax and estate planning tool, does it allow one to “shelter” some assets from the public order rules which apply in the context of family law? What is a trust? A trust is a legal disposition which allows a person to transfer the ownership of one or more of (…)

April 20, 2016

Insurance contract terminology: the Court of Appeal clarifies the scope of the word ”building”

In insurance law, as well as in other areas of contract law, the precise definition and scope of the terminology used in a contract are very important since they have a direct effect on the obligations of the parties and, in the case under review, the scope of the insurance coverage. On February (…)

April 13, 2016

The Ontario Court of Appeal rules on the coverage exclusion of faulty workmanship by a contractor

On December 23, 2015, the Ontario Court of Appeal1 set aside a decision of the motion judge2 which had granted a motion for summary judgment brought by the insurer to dismiss a claim by its insured. Facts The insured had entered into an agreement with a contractor to restore the exterior cladding (…)