Quebec is joining the ranks of growing Canadian jurisdictions following the recent implementation of an online e-filing system, the latest provincial government initiative that is accelerating the technological shift in the justice system in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Quebec
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Appeal court reaffirms financial watchdog’s discretionary power
Quebec’s financial watchdog cannot be compelled to exercise its discretionary power to conduct an investigation into the “moral character” of individuals seeking a money-services business license as it is at the “very heart” of its specialized jurisdiction, held the Quebec Court of Appeal.The decision will likely have a reach beyond the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) and extend to Quebec administrative deciders such as the Autorité des marchés public, a rather new entity responsible for overseeing and managing public contracts between enterprises and Quebec government entities, according to litigators. The ruling may even make it far more tougher for individuals to challenge administrative deciders such as the AMF over their determinations concerning moral character.
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Academics studying effects of Covid-19 pandemic on law
Quebec law faculties, having decided to offer courses remotely next fall in light of health and safety concerns stemming from Covid-19, are now also ramping up research efforts to assess the impact pandemics may have on law and the practice of law.
Public safety measures that have been introduced following the onset of pandemics such as Covid-19, SARS, and H1N1 have shaken up several areas of established domestic and international legal order, pointed out law professor Louise Langevin who is leading a team of 15 law professors at the Université Laval that will examine a wide gamut of legal issues that affect public and private spheres in the wake of pandemics.
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Hiring process was not tainted by discrimination, rules Quebec appeal court
A public transport agency did not infringe a Montrealer’s right to equal access to employment based on handicap without discrimination when it ended the process to hire him as a bus driver for health reasons, held the Quebec Court of Appeal.
In the latest of a series of growing number of Quebec appeal court decisions that applied the landmark Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark Vavilov framework, the appellate court ruling underscores the importance for employers to buttress their case with solid and thorough medical evidence to rebut the presumption of prime facie discrimination, according to employment and labour legal experts.
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Owners of pyrrhotite-damaged homes win long-standing legal battle
More than 800 homeowners and 18 business owners of pyrrhotite-damaged buildings won a long-drawn out legal battle after the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling that ordered a Canadian engineering giant, concrete owners, construction contractors, and a geologist to pay more than $200 million, including interest. -
Quebec notaries can sign documents remotely during pandemic
Under pressure to deliver legal services in spite of Quebec‘s public health state of emergency, notaries in the province have been given the go-ahead by the Quebec Ministry of Justice to sign notarized documents remotely.Tags: notaries -
Photo radar class action dismissed by Quebec appeal court
A proposed photo radar and red light camera class action, dismissed by the Quebec Court of Appeal, was doomed to fail because the class representative was convicted of speeding when she chose to pay the fine for speeding, according to class action experts.Tags: photo radar -
Time for the Quebec disciplinary council to Zoom out
The Quebec justice system, like elsewhere, is scrambling to put in place measures to make things move along during the Covid-19 outbreak. Sometimes, though, well-intentioned efforts risk doing more harm than good, especially if the recourses are rushed and not necessarily well researched, examined and analyzed.This appears to be the case with efforts by the Quebec disciplinary council of presidents.
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Quebec bar launches free telephone call-in legal clinic
The Barreau du Québec has launched a free telephone call-in legal clinic to help citizens with questions they may have regarding their rights and responsibilities in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.Some 200 Quebec lawyers from across the province are expected to voluntarily man the phones to reply to legal questions. Lawyers will answer legal questions ranging from employment to insurance to mortgage payments as well as admissibility to federal and provincial aid packages launched over the past week.
The bilingual service, a collaborative effort with the Quebec Ministry of Justice, the legal information broker Centre d’accès à l’information juridique (CAIJ) and the provincial legal aid agency Commission des services juridiques, is expected to be in operation for at least several weeks.
Calls by citizens will be screened so that they can be forwarded to lawyers who can reply to their questions.
Here’s how you can reach them.
- 1-866 699-9729 (toll-free)
- 1-514-789-2755 (Montreal)
- 1-418-838-6415 (Quebec City area)
- 1-819-303-4080 (Gatineau)
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Quebec justice system at a standstill
The Quebec justice system is on pause.
Days after the Quebec government declared a public health emergency to slow the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, courthouses across the province suspended the majority of their activities.
The courts too are at a standstill, except for urgent measures. Here is a breakdown.
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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.Tags: ethical misconduct -
Provincial tax authority cannot invoke Crown interests in access to information matters, rules commissioner
A produce retailer that was targeted by provincial tax authorities won a legal battle after the Quebec Access to information tribunal held that Revenu Quebec must turn over information to the company as “Crown priority” cannot be invoked by the agency in access to information matters.The decision, a welcome development that took the tax legal community by surprise, appears at first glance to hand taxpayers, particularly those who have been charged or are facing criminal charges, with a tangible means to obtain information that the provincial tax authority may be reluctant or unwilling to share, according to tax lawyers.
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Quebec appeal court upholds criminal negligence conviction
A Quebecer who was found guilty of criminal negligence causing the death of a passenger in a speed boat he was operating lost his bid to overturn his conviction after the Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed his argument that the victim’s death was caused by the boat’s faulty design.In a 25-page unanimous ruling that examined the reach of incriminating statements made to police while not being detained and the actus reus and mens rea required for criminal negligence causing death, the appeal court held that the verdict was not unreasonable or tainted by an error of law. The appellant was ordered to serve his 32-month prison sentence.
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Quebec justice department unveils ambitious plan
An ambitious strategic plan unveiled by the Quebec Ministry of Justice outlines measures the provincial government expects to implement over the course of the next three years to curb criminal and penal court delays, accelerate the deployment of technologies in the justice system, boost the use of alternative dispute resolution and improve access to justice.The plan, while lauded by legal experts for laying out concrete actions to deal with endemic issues plaguing the provincial justice system, has also been criticized for taking on too much in a rather short period at a time when government financial resources are constrained.
Tags: access to justice
