Publications

July 26, 2017

Coming into force of the Act to amend various legislation mainly with respect to admission to professions and the governance of the professional system (Bill 98)

On June 6, 2017, Bill 98, entitled An Act to amend various legislation mainly with respect to admission to professions and the governance of the professional system (the “Act”) was passed by the National Assembly, then assented to by the Lieutenant Governor two days after. This statute, whose main (…)

July 25, 2017

The award of moral damages following a collective dismissal

A recent Superior Court decision in Peintures Industrielles Évotech1 ruled that the grievance arbitrator had acted within his jurisdiction in awarding moral damages to employees dismissed abruptly when the Company moved its operations to Ontario. Context of the Évotech case Évotech, which (…)

July 20, 2017

Latest developments in the Canadian infrastructure market / The privatization of Canadian airports: Why, how and what is at stake? / Canada Infrastructure Bank Act: highlights

TABLE OF CONTENTS Latest developments in the Canadian infrastructure market Ontario introduces a balanced budget which includes $30 billion in infrastructure investments Nova Scotia introduces its second balanced budget and increases investments in highways New LNG production (…)

July 14, 2017

Global Skills Strategy – Latest Developments in Workforce Mobility

In November 2016, the federal government announced the launch of a Global Skills Strategy (the "Strategy"), with the goal of stimulating Canada’s economic growth and, as a result, increasing employment opportunities for all Canadians. On June 12, 2017, in order to maximize the positive impact of the (…)

July 11, 2017

The Promise Doctrine is Struck Down by the Supreme Court of Canada

On June 30th, 2017, in a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the relatively new so-called “promise doctrine”. The lower courts had found the patent invalid based on this doctrine in that the patent specification attributed certain advantages to the invention that were not soundly (…)

July 7, 2017

Dividing up of certified bargaining units – The Québec Court of Appeal calls into question the automatic application of traditional criteria

By way of two decisions 1 handed down jointly on May 8th of this year, the Québec Court of Appeal held that it is no longer appropriate to mechanically apply the existing analytical framework regarding the criteria for the division of a bargaining unit. Based on principles recently stated by the (…)

July 4, 2017

Legislative amendments regarding conservation of wetlands and bodies of water: troubled waters for developers?

Bill 132 respecting the conservation of wetlands and bodies of water, passed unanimously by the National Assembly on June 16th of this year, is in keeping with the context of a significant modernization of environmental laws in Québec. Most of its provisions come into force immediately. Described (…)

July 3, 2017

Bill 143: Salient points regarding educational childcare services

On June 16th of this year, Mr. Sébastien Proulx, Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports and Minister of Families, presented Bill 143 1 to improve the educational quality and foster the harmonious development of educational childcare services (the “Bill”). The Bill proposes amendments to the (…)

June 30, 2017

A picture is worth a thousand woes!

A recent Federal Court decision 1 reiterates the importance of protecting the main design elements featured on products and packaging. This decision also recalls the dangers of too closely mimicking the appearance of a competitor’s products. Goudreau Gage Dubuc, one of the leading (…)

June 21, 2017

Business Succession Planning: Transfer, Financing and Planning

Have you built a prosperous business through your hard work and perseverance? Are you the kind of entrepreneur who invests countless hours in growing your business? Every business owner must one day plan for the succession of his business, whether with a view to his retirement, to sell the business (…)

June 15, 2017

The new act to prohibit and prevent genetic discrimination

On May 4, 2017, the Senate passed the Act to prohibit and prevent genetic discrimination (Genetic Non-Discrimination Act), which came into force on the same date. This Act also amended the Canada Labour Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act. The new Act aims to regulate the use of genetic tests, (…)

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 (…)

May 29, 2017

Latest developments in the Canadian infrastructure market / The Canada-Europe Free Trade Agreement: impacts on the infrastructure industry / Biomethanization: a fast-growing market in Québec

TABLE OF CONTENTS Latest developments in the Canadian market Fengate acquires a solar project portfolio from Canadian Solar TerraForm Power increases the financing of its Canadian solar power portfolio SaskPower launches a call for tenders for 200 MW of wind energy Boralex closes the (…)