An anti-vax Quebec lawyer opposed to COVID-19 health measures was disbarred by the Barreau du Québec after the legal society invoked a little-used section of the Professions Code.
Montreal lawyer behind racial profile class action struck off the roll for 45 days
A Montreal lawyer who is one of the driving forces behind a racial profiling class action seeking $171 million in damages has been struck off the roll for 45 days by the Quebec legal society disciplinary council for failing to take into account the best interests of his client in a medical malpractice suit.
Administrative adjudicators can be removed from cases in deliberation, rules court
In an unusually public and legal tiff between two arbiters of Quebec’s disciplinary process, Quebec Superior Court ruled that the chair of Quebec’s disciplinary council of presidents has the power to remove cases, even in deliberation, from administrative adjudicators who take too long to render judgment.
The precedent-setting ruling, the first that examined the scope of powers in the hands of the chair, follows in the footsteps of a pan-Canadian trend by the courts to hold that the long-standing principle that adjudicators decide must give way to timely decision-making to ensure access to justice, respect for natural justice and the protection of the public, according to disciplinary law experts.
Canadian Judicial Council should hold two separate inquiries into conduct of Quebec judge, say experts
An inquiry committee by the Canadian Judicial Council that will determine whether the alleged misconduct of a Quebec Superior judge warrants removal from office should conduct two independent inquiries to examine the two sets of allegations against him, according to judicial ethics experts.
Quebec Court of Appeal sanctions judge
A Quebec judge who refused to hear a quarrel between neighbours and emphatically insisted that they negotiate a settlement before adjourning without cause a hearing over which he should have presided the same day has been sanctioned by the Quebec Court of Appeal.
The 66-page ruling in Bradley (Re), 2018 QCCA 1145 reveals the need for the Quebec government to increase options available to the appellate court and the Quebec Judicial Council to deal with judicial misconduct of a provincially appointed judge, and for the council itself to enact changes to enhance procedural fairness, according to judicial ethics experts.
Quebec appeal court rebukes trial judge over stereotypical attitudes towards sexual assault
The Quebec Court of Appeal admonished a trial judge who acquitted a father accused of incest for holding biases and stereotypes over the way a sexual assault victim should behave.
The appellate court, in a brief but unusually blunt and forceful six-page ruling, ordered a new trial against a father who allegedly assaulted his daughter for a 16-year period, from the age of nine until 25. She came forward in 2010 when she was an adult and while living with her parents.
Montreal lawyer disbarred for 10 years for misappropriation
A month after an Ottawa lawyer with serious memory problems was disbarred after failing to help the Law Society of Ontario investigate complaints made by a raft of clients who are collectively owed more than $2.5 million, a Montreal lawyer who misappropriated approximately $130,000 suffered nearly the same fate.
Antonella Petrolito, a member of the Barreau du Quebec since 1989 but no longer practicing since she went bankrupt in 2016, has been disbarred by the Quebec Bar’s disciplinary committee for 10 years and ordered to pay the victims a total of $137,900, the amounts she pilfered, after she pled guilty to the charges.
Petrolito, now working as a legal assistant for a lawyer, has a history of misappropriating funds. In 1999, the disciplinary committee sanctioned her for misappropriated on three occasions amounts totaling $3,350.
“In spite of three decisions rendered against her in 1999, one in which she was struck from the roll for two years, she did not change her conduct and blatantly disregarded her ethical obligations,” said the disciplinary committee.
Court of Quebec judge absolved by inquiry committee
A Court of Quebec judge under fire for allegedly lending more than $9 million in loans over the past few years has been absolved of any ethical breaches by a five-member panel of the Committee of Inquiry of the Conseil de la magistrature du Québec.
The inquiry committee concluded that Judge Manlio Del Negro, nominated as a Court of Quebec judge on March 2017, did not infringe article 129 of the Quebec Courts of Justice Act nor did he breach the Quebec Judicial Code of Ethics. Under article 129 of the Act, the office of judge is exclusive. In other words, a lawyer appointed judge is legally required to refrain from any activity which is not compatible with his functions, including carrying out – even indirectly — commercial activities.
Continue reading “Court of Quebec judge absolved by inquiry committee”
Regulator sanctions five financial advisors
The disciplinary committee of the Chambre de la sécurité financière has had a busy month, sanctioning at least four members in the past month.
The CSF is a unique body in Canada. It maintains and oversees the discipline, training, and ethics of 32,000 professionals practicing in group savings plan brokerage, financial planning, insurance of persons, group insurance of persons, and scholarship plan brokerage. In all Canadian provinces except Quebec, mutual fund dealers and representatives are subject solely to securities regulatory organizations like the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada.
Continue reading “Regulator sanctions five financial advisors”
Allegations of conflict of interest against three judges dismissed
The Canadian Judicial Council has dismissed allegations of conflicts by three judges who attended privately sponsored receptions or conferences.
The three judges, all of whom hear tax cases, landed in hot water after the CBC and Radio-Canada reported that they had attended social events at an International Fiscal Association Conference in Madrid in September 2016. The conference was approved by the CJC as a continuing education opportunity for judges involved in tax law matters.
Continue reading “Allegations of conflict of interest against three judges dismissed”
Court of Quebec Judge acted as a private lender before being appointed
A recently appointed Court of Quebec judge has lent more than $9 million in loans over the past few years, according to an investigation by a French-language newspaper.
Judge Manlio Del Negro, who was formally inducted as a Court of Quebec judge yesterday during a ceremony held at the Montreal courthouse, allegedly provided more than 45 loans from 2006 to 2017 before being appointed as a judge this spring, according to the Journal de Montréal.
Continue reading “Court of Quebec Judge acted as a private lender before being appointed”