Publications

While the Canada Business Corporations Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-44 (“CBCA”) is silent on the circumstances that will result in a director’s personal liability for oppression, and the Canadian courts have failed to agree on the application of the principles considered in the case law in this regard, in (…)

The high level of information asymmetry between investment fund managers and their investors1 can give rise to significant conflicts of interest which must be adequately managed. This article discusses the main conflicts of interest encountered in standard private equity, venture capital and hedge (…)

Although artificial intelligence has been evolving constantly in the past few years, the law sometimes has difficulty keeping pace with such developments. Intellectual property issues are especially important: businesses investing in these technologies must be sure that they can take full advantage (…)

On May 31, 2017, the Superior Court of Québec1 (the “Court”) dismissed a urologist’s application for judicial review of a decision of the Administrative Tribunal of Québec2 (the “ATQ”) upholding a decision made by the Board of Directors of a health institution (the “Board”) not to renew the (…)

It is today, September 21st 2017, that Bill C-30 1 comes into force. As a result of its provisions, several Canadian laws are amended in order to allow for implementation of the Canada–European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement “CETA” 2. Chapter 20 of the CETA deals with the (…)

On September 8, 2017, the Minister of Finance introduced unexpected legislative and regulatory proposals regarding partnership distributions to a general partner, which will now be subject to GST/HST. On the other hand, the Québec government has yet to propose similar changes, but we believe it will (…)

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 (…)

Over half of the applications for authorization to institute class actions filed in Québec since the beginning of 2017 are based on consumer law. There is no doubt that consumer class actions will continue to fuel discussions within the business and legal communities. We will continue to monitor the (…)

While negotiating the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA) with the European Union, Canada has agreed to modify its legislative scheme governing Geographical Indications («GIs»). In this context, Canada has recognized protection for 179 new GIs. The new (…)

On January 30, 2017, Justice Stephen W. Hamilton issued an interlocutory decision1 in the context of a motion for directions, the outcome of which will be most interesting. On May 19, 2015, the debtors, Wabush Iron Co. Limited, Wabush Resources Inc., Wabush Mines, Arnaud Railway Company and Wabush (…)

On July 27, 2017, the Superior Court of Québec rendered a decision in favour of the managerial personnel of the Health and Social Services Network, concluding that the changes made to some of their working conditions by the Minister of Health were null and void.1 Background The Association des (…)

In the context of the case of Wilson c. Alharayeri1 (“Wilson”), issued on July 13, 2017, the highest court of the land confirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal of Québec which ordered a corporate director personally to pay an amount of $648,310 to a shareholder following an abuse he committed (…)

In recent decades, online advertising has become the single most efficient and interactive way to reach consumers and assess their behaviour. While television and print audiences continue to dwindle and overall marketing strategies that focus on these mediums are less able to effectively measure and (…)