The number of photo radar tickets that have been issued has dramatically plunged over the past couple of months following two decisions that called into question the rules around the province’s use of the automated speed and red-light enforcement technology.
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.
The Quebec government is ramping its judicial appointments to ease the growing backlog of cases in the justice system.
Quebec Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée announced the appointment of three new Court of Quebec judges, making it the 20th judge the provincial government has appointed this year.
Last December the Quebec government announced it was going to pour $175.2 million over the next four years to recruit new judges, prosecutors and support staff to help curb mounting court delays. So far the Quebec government has hired 52 Crown prosecutors and 50 support staff, 38 correctional services officers, 16 special constables, 32 probation officers and more support staff at the Quebec Ministry of Justice. All told more than 300 have been hired.
A matchmaking company has been fined $14,000 by the Quebec Consumer Protection Office after it was found to have breached the province’s consumer protection laws.
Lifemates, owned and operated by Elite Singles Canada Corporation, was found guilty of drafting contracts in a language other than French without the consent of the consumer.
A Quebec judge who refused to hear a quarrel between neighbours and insisted that they negotiate a settlement may be a step closer to being removed from the bench after the Quebec Court of Appeal announced it will launch an inquiry on his conduct.
Photo radar tickets are under the gun in Quebec, following a series of decisions that have put thousands of tickets in jeopardy after the courts called into question the rules around the province’s use of the automated speed and red-light enforcement technology.
A “highly reprehensible” and illegal probe by the Canada Revenue Agency that failed to draw the distinction between a civil tax audit and a criminal tax investigation has put into jeopardy several tax evasion criminal cases involving Quebec construction companies and corruption charges against former federal civil servants, according to tax experts.
Workplace investigations are “intrinsically linked to an employer’s exercise of power in matters of management and discipline,” rules the Quebec appeal court.
A Quebec judge who was asked by defense lawyers to recuse herself from presiding over a multi-defendant drug trial because many of her “friends” on Facebook are Crown prosecutors highlights the need for a comprehensive guideline to help judges navigate the world of social media and developing technologies, assert legal observers.
An online dispute resolution pilot project to resolve small claims court cases is scheduled to be launched this fall by the Quebec government thanks to efforts by a university research group that wants to usher the justice system into the digital age.
The amount of legal fees paid to lawyers is no longer automatically deemed to be protected by solicitor-client privilege following a recent ruling by the Court of Quebec that appears to be in conflict with guidance given earlier this year by the Quebec Court of Appeal, according to some legal observers.