Publications

April 26, 2022

Bill C-18 (Online News Act): Canada looking to create a level playing field for news media

Earlier this month, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez introduced Bill C-18 (Online News Act) in Parliament. This bill, which was largely inspired by similar legislation in Australia, aims to reduce bargaining imbalances between online platforms and Canadian news outlets in terms of how (…)

December 8, 2021

A False Sense of Cybersecurity?

Ransomware has wreaked so much havoc in recent years that many people forget about other cybersecurity risks. For some, not storing personal information makes them feeling immune to hackers and cyber incidents. For others, as long as their computers are working, they do not feel exposed to no (…)

October 6, 2021

Adoption of Bill 64: what do public bodies need to know?

Bill 64, also known as the Act to modernize legislative provisions as regards the protection of personal information, was adopted on September 21, 2021, by the National Assembly of Québec. This new bill amends some 20 laws relating to the protection of personal information, including the Act (…)

October 4, 2021

Amendments to Privacy Laws: What Businesses Need to Know

Bill 64, also known as the Act to modernize legislative provisions respecting the protection of personal information, was adopted on September 21, 2021, by the National Assembly of Québec. It amends some 20 laws relating to the protection of personal information, including the Act respecting access (…)

November 1, 2018

The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA): What this means for Canadian IP law

As we reported on October 15, 2018, Canada, Mexico, and the United States were finally able to agree on the terms of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) on September 30, 2018. The USMCA is intended to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has been in place for (…)

October 15, 2018

New NAFTA : 8 major changes

Canada and the United States reached an agreement on the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on September 30, 2018 which was the deadline imposed by the United States. This new agreement, now called the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement1 (hereafter the “USMCA” (…)

March 23, 2017

Artificial Intelligence and the 2017 Canadian Budget: is your business ready?

The March 22, 2017 Budget of the Government of Canada, through its “Innovation and Skills Plan” (http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/budget-2017-en.pdf) mentions that Canadian academic and research leadership in artificial intelligence will be translated into a more innovative economy and (…)

November 4, 2016

Impact of the decision in R. v. Jordan on public law

The procedural delays in criminal, penal, civil, administrative and disciplinary matters have drawn a lot of criticism and contributed to undermining public confidence in the administration of justice. This concern was at the heart of an important decision by the Supreme Court of Canada rendered (…)

June 16, 2016

Honesty of financial advisors and discretion of the Autorité des marchés financiers: the Québec Court of Appeal rules

In a decision issued last May 20,1 the Québec Court of Appeal affirmed a judgment2 of the Superior Court of Québec rendered on October 28, 2013, which dismissed the action in damages for more than $7 million brought by a former representative in insurance of persons and in group savings plan (…)

May 30, 2016

Contracts by public entities: stay tuned on June 1, 2016

The regulation governing contracts of public bodies leaps into the digital age. The amendments, passed on April 13, 2016, and coming into force June 1, 2016, aim to clarify the rules pertaining to the results evaluation.1 Five key changes Tenders in electronic form are mandatory if so (…)

May 26, 2016

Follow-up to the recommendations in the report of the Charbonneau Commission

Last May 10, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy, Martin Coiteux, announced the tabling of several amendments to Bill 83 dealing with various legislative provisions on municipal matters. These amendments pertain to the recommendations contained in the report of the Charbonneau (…)

November 30, 2015

Government agencies, get ready!

Last October 30, the provincial government announced the creation of 'Passeport Entreprises', an action plan focused on two main points: to facilitate access by businesses to government contracts and make the Quebec government's tendering processes more transparent and rigorous. The government (…)

November 24, 2015

Regulation of Airbnb by the Provincial Government

The wave of online platforms offering lodging for rent, such as Airbnb1 which allow private individuals to rent all or part of their home as vacation accommodation, is attracting more and more fans throughout the world. Quebec is no exception to this trend. In Quebec, hotels and other operators (…)