Category: Covid-19

Covid-19

Quebec Appeal Court seeks to avoid opening floodgates for claims against landlords, say experts

The Quebec Court of Appeal, concerned about opening the “floodgates” for claims against landlords, held that a commercial tenant could not invoke the notion of legal disturbance to stop paying their rent during  the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Quebec Superior Court Chief Justice reflects on challenges posed by pandemic and lack of resources

After seven years at the helm of Quebec Superior Court, the last two particularly challenging and exhausting, Justice Jacques Fournier has stepped aside

Court deems COVID-19 measures a “misfortune”

There is no doubt that the measures put in place by the federal and provincial governments are a “misfortune.”

Anti-vaxxer mom loses bid to prevent her kids from being vaccinated

An anti-vaxxer mother lost her bid to prevent her two children from being vaccinated.

Parent loses child custody during COVID-19

Non-respect of public health measures during a pandemic may be considered to be “reprehensible, even harmful, conduct to the development of a child,” held Quebec Superior Court Justice Claude Villeneuve in a child custody case.

Legal questions surface around Quebec’s curfew

A province-wide four-week curfew instituted by the Quebec government to stem COVID-19 infection rates and to serve as an “electroshock therapy” to deter people who have been flouting public health measures was launched without providing any grounds based on evidence that justifies the breaches of the Canadian and Quebec Charter, according to legal experts.

Is mandatory COVID-19 vaccination an option for employers in Quebec?

Is mandatory COVID-19 vaccination an option for employers in Quebec?

Little awareness by judges over heightened risks of domestic violence during pandemic, asserts study

Canadian judges have demonstrated very little awareness over the heightened risks of domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, a situation that should prompt judges to attend comprehensive legal training over what the United Nations has described as the “shadow pandemic,” according to human rights and legal aid experts.

Investors keeping close tabs on Covid public interest measures

Investors hard hit by the public interest interventions may be looking to recoup their losses by turning to investor-state arbitration at a time when there is a growing chorus calling for the suspension of lawsuits over Covid-related government actions.

Unintended consequences of virtual hearings

Months after the Covid-19 pandemic forced the near shutdown of courts across Canada and paved the way for virtual justice, a Quebec lawyer and researcher is hoping that judges and lawyers will be alert to the unintended consequences of conducting justice through the use of technology.

Commercial landlord not entitled to rent due to force majeure, rules Quebec court

In one of the first Covid-19 related lawsuits to surface, a Quebec court held that a commercial landlord was not entitled to collect rent from its tenant because a Quebec government decree that suspended non-essential business activities for three months to stem the flow of the Covid-19 pandemic constitutes force majeure.