Law in Quebec

News about Quebec legal developments

Quebec

  • Women make up nearly half of the Quebec Bar’s roll

    Women make up nearly half of the Quebec Bar’s roll

    By 2021 more than half of lawyers in Quebec will be women, reveals the latest annual report of Quebec’s legal society.

    At present, women already make up nearly half of the Bar’s Roll of Order, with 11,838 members or 49 per cent of membership, the highest percentage in North America. On average women practising the profession are younger and have less experience than men. The 12,301 men who are currently practising are around 48 years old and have 21.6 years of experience, compared with women who are 41, with 14 years of experience.

    Young lawyers, those with less than 10 years of experience, represents 35 per cent of the total membership, according to the Barreau du Québec’s 2011-2012 annual report published earlier this month. And that’s where women are gaining ground on men — women make up 61 per cent of young lawyers.

    How and where women practice also differs from men. More than half of men, or 52 per cent, work in private practice, 16 per cent in the public sector and nine per cent in the private sector such as in-house counsel for companies. Women, on the other hand, shun private practice. Barely one-third or 32 per cent work in private practice. Nearly a quarter, or 23 per cent, work in the public sector, 12 per cent in the private sector, and a staggering 30 per cent are on either parental leave or sabbatical or studying.

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  • Top court overturns two decisions by Quebec Court of Appeal in the space of a week

    It should come as no surprise if the Quebec Court of Appeal is nursing bruised egos. In the space of a week, the nation’s top court overruled two decisions by the Quebec Court of Appeal.

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  • Court orders franchisor to pay $16.4 million to franchisees

    In a “sad saga” of a once successful franchise operation that fell precipitously from grace in less than a decade, a nine-year legal battle came to a bittersweet end after Quebec Superior Court condemned Dunkin’ Brands Canada Ltd. to pay 21 Quebec franchisees $16.4 million for failing to protect its brand in the Quebec market.

    In a 43-page ruling, Justice Daniel Tingley castigated the franchisor, formerly Allied Domecq Retailing International (Canada) Ltd. (ADRIC), for trying to pin the blame of its “stunning fall from grace” to the “Tim Hortons’ phenomenon” and underperforming, even poor, franchisees.

    “ADRIC had assigned to itself the principal obligation of protecting and enhancing its brand,” wrote Justice Tingley. “It failed to do so, thereby breaching the most important obligation it had assumed in its contracts.

    “This particular breach was not the result of a single act or omission. It was a failure over a period of a decade (1995 to 2005) to protect the brand brought about by a multiplicity of acts and omissions during the period. Brand protection is an ongoing, continuing and ‘successive’ obligation.”

    Dunkin Donuts has a long history in Quebec, going back to over half a century. In the mid-nineties it was still the leader in the coffee and donut market in terms of sales and number of stores, numbering 218 in 1998. But between 1995 and 2005, virtually all the franchisees experienced stagnant sales, despite a growing fast food market. The Dunkin Donuts’ market share in Quebec had plummeted from 12.5 per cent in 1995 to 4.6 per cent in 2003. Today, only some 13 stores are still operating.

    In stark contrast, Tim Hortons’ stores experienced on average annual sales increases of 7.5 per cent, or over 70 per cent between 1995 and 2005. Tim Hortons’ stores had multiplied five times from 60 stores in 1995 to 308 by 2005, prompting Justice Tingley to observe, “literally, (this is) a case study of how industry leaders can become followers in free market economies.”

    The 21 franchisees have closed their stores or sold them for a fraction of their traditional value, noted Justice Tingley. Until the turn of the century, Dunkin Donuts’ stores could be sold for roughly 50 per cent of annual sales, something that was all but impossible in the new century.

    “This is not a case where the Court has to estimate future damages,” said Justice Tingley. “The franchisees have suffered the losses they claim. They have lost their business; their livelihoods.”

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  • 73 Quebec lawyers suspended for failing to complete refresher courses

    Bernard Valcourt, federal Minister of Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, was one of three lawyers recently suspended by the Law Society of New Brunswick for failing to meet the minimum requirements for continuing education and professional development.

    In Quebec the number is far more imposing. According to the recently published 2011-2012 annual report by Quebec’s law society 73 lawyers were suspended for failing to complete at least 30 hours of approved training during a two-year compliance period. Seventy-two other lawyers were stricken off the roll for either failing to pay annual membership fees, failing to enroll or pay into the professional liability fund.The disbarred members will now have to pay a fee and submit a formal request to be reinstated, which will be examined by the bar’s readmissions committee.

    The Barreau du Québec’s syndic, or investigating officer, was kept busy. His department lodged a complaint with the disciplinary council against 57 lawyers and dismissed 1,443 others it investigated.

    The Barreau’s disciplinary committee rejected 17 complaints, found 27 respondents guilty and imposed sanctions in 31 cases.

    From April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012, the disciplinary committee meted out

      • a suspension of three months or less in 30 cases;
      • a suspension of less than a year in 54 cases,
      • a suspension lasting between one and five years in 25 cases
      • a suspension from five to ten years in three cases.

    The disciplinary committee also imposed a fine of less than $1,000 in 10 cases and handed a fine of more than $1,000 in 19 cases.

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  • News roundup: Tainted water, a falling-tree fatality and a lawyer fined for tax evasion

    The Minister of National Defence is considering appealing a recent class action ruling that awarded $15,000 to residents of a small town near Quebec City inconvenienced  by the contamination of well water by a known carcinogen.

    Quebec Superior Court Justice Bernard Godbout ruled that the class action suit launched by the townspeople of Shannon failed to prove that trichloroethylene (TCE), a solvent used on a nearby army base to clean artillery and ammunition, was responsible for abnormally-high cancer rates in the town. Shannon, a community of 2,000 people, is located near the Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, a huge military defence complex.

    “The evidence did not demonstrate that it is probable that the spilling of TCE contaminated the groundwater under the municipality of Shannon, making it the cause of an abnormally-high number of cancer cases, disease and other allergic reactions,” Godbout wrote in his judgment.

    Justice Godbout found however that the contamination of well water of TCE was an inconvenience to residents and ordered the government to pay compensation of $15,000 to about 300 affected residents who were among the 2,700 present and former residents lending their name to the class-action suit.

    “We will review the decision in order to evaluate next steps,” said Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay in a press release.

    In August 2006, a 27-year old Quebecer was in the driver’s seat of his parked car when an old poplar tree crashed down onto his vehicle during a violent storm, and killed him.

    A coroner’s report on Gabriel Rossy’s death confirmed the tree that fell on him was found to be 90 per cent rotten and had been “dangerous” for at least one or two years.

    His family sued the City of Westmount for failing to maintain the tree, but a Superior Court judge dismissed the action, saying it was a matter that should be dealt with through the province’s Automobile Insurance Act – a ruling that was overturned by the Quebec Court of Appeal in November 2010 who found that the car had nothing to do with Mr. Rossy’s death.

    In a ruling that marked the first the Supreme Court of Canada tackled Quebec’s no-fault insurance plan, the nation’s highest court restored the lower court ruling and dismissed the lawsuit against Westmount. The top court ruled Rossy was using his vehicle as a means of transportation when the accident occurred, and as a result his family must turn to Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), the provincial automobile insurance board, for compensation.

    “This is enough to find that the damage arose as a result of an “accident” within the meaning of the Act and that the no-fault benefits of the scheme are triggered. Therefore, the respondents’ civil claim is barred and they must turn instead to the SAAQ for compensation,” wrote the SCC in a 7-0 decision.

    “The Court of Appeal erred in interpreting the Act too narrowly,” added Justice Louis LeBel who penned the decision. “Such an interpretation risks unduly restricting the  intended application of Quebec’s no-fault scheme and must therefore be rejected.”

    A Montreal lawyer, charged following a Canada Revenue Agency investigation of an art-donation scheme, was fined $840,000 after pleading guilty to a tax evasion charge before the Court of Quebec.

    Stéphane Saintonge “voluntarily contravened the Income Tax Act in 2003 by enabling a third party to obtain an ineligible amount of tax deductions for the donation of artwork to the Municipality of Larouche,” said Canada’s Revenue Agency.

    The scheme consisted of backdating a series of transactions in order to unduly boost the tax credits claimed, according to the Revenue Agency.

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  • Another labour dispute strikes Quebec’s justice system

    The list of actors in the Quebec justice system who have grievances against the Quebec government continues to flourish.

    Judges sitting on the (TAQ), a specialized court that deals with administrative decisions, recently walked out for a few hours after labour negotiations with the government reached an impasse. In early May, nine of ten coordinating judges, responsible for ensuring rapid and efficient processing of the proceedings, resigned from their administrative duties.

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  • Witnesses testifying in public inquiries NOT necessarily protected

    The lead counsel of a commission of inquiry into allegations of corruption in Quebec’s construction industry inadvertently found himself in the spotlight over a thorny legal question surrounding the immunity of witnesses who testify before the inquiry.

    Sylvain Lussier, lead Commission counsel of the Charbonneau Commission, said that the sworn testimony of witnesses who testify during public inquiries cannot be used against them in criminal proceedings. But the same may not hold true for civil proceedings.

    He then backtracked after his team ostensibly examined the jurisprudence, and asserted that witnesses are protected from civil suits.

    Except that Lussier said nothing new.

    (more…)

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  • Quebec’s law society takes bold positions while others remain mum

    Quebec’s law society has chutzpah.

    Over the past month, it has taken a stance on Bill C-10, the Conservative government’s “tough on crime” omnibus bill, flatly stating that it “does not respond to any real need of the justice system” and pointing out that the crime rate in Canada is at its lowest level since 1973.

    The Barreau du Québec took a firm position against the Harper government’s controversial decision to shelve the long-gun registry. It scolded the Conservative government for appointing a unilingual judge to the Supreme Court of Canada. And it is widely credited for forcing Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s hand to grant a public inquiry that will examine corruption in Quebec’s construction industry over a period of 15 years full powers of a public inquiry, including the power to subpoena witnesses and grant them immunity.

    “Our interventions were motivated by our resolve to uphold confidence in our institutions,” wrote Claude Provencher, the Barreau’s executive director. “We want to ensure that the means put in place can truly respond to the objectives sought by society.”

    Canada’s other law societies have remained silent. The Upper Law Society of Canada has over the past month issued press releases expressing its concern about the security of judges in Brazil and the human rights of lawyers in Iran. The Law Society of British Columbia celebrated excellence in legal journalism, the Law Society of Alberta honoured a lawyer for seventy years of service, the Law Society of Saskatchewan issued notices about the legal profession as did the Law Society of Manitoba. The Law Society of New Brunswick had nothing to say over the past few weeks, and the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador issued practice notes. The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society highlighted Movember.

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  • Face of the profession will change 10 years from now, predicts Quebec law society

    Quebec’s legal landscape, spurred by an ageing population, globalization and rapid advances in information technology, is expected to dramatically change by the turn of the decade, with white male baby-boomers making way for women and minorities battling over an increasingly specialized legal services marketplace, forecasts the province’s legal society in a revealing portrait of the profession.

    Over the next 10 years more than 6,100 new lawyers are expected to join the ranks of the Barreau du Québec for a total of 30,381, up from the current 24,225, representing a 2.3 per cent increase, according to a recently published 122-page report entitled “Lawyers in Private Practice in 2021.”

    (more…)

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  • 70 Quebec lawyers disbarred for failing to complete refresher courses

    When the Quebec law society introduced a mandatory legal education program two years ago, even noted Montreal lawyer Gérald Tremblay and head of the Barreau du Québec at the time admitted that “it was not a natural reflex for me to contemplate sitting behind a school desk.”

    Nor was it for 70 lawyers, more than half based in Montreal, who failed to complete the required training between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2011. All were disbarred recently, including Montreal-based lawyer  Brent Tyler, best known for his various high-profile legal challenges to Bill 101, Quebec’s French Language Charter.

    Following in the footsteps of the Law Society of British Columbia, the Barreau du Québec introduced the continuing professional development program in April 2009, compelling all of its 23,000 practising lawyers to take no fewer than 30 hours of approved continuing legal education courses every two calendar years to remain in good standing.

    “Law is an evolving discipline, and it is important that people stay up-to-date,” Stuart Cobbett of Stikeman Elliott told me at the time the program was launched. “But life being what it is, some people just don’t pay attention to it. Therefore it is a good idea for any self-regulatory body to establish certain minimum continuing education requirements.”

    The disbarred members will now have to pay a fee and submit a formal request to be reinstated, which will be examined by the bar’s readmissions committee.

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  • Class actions seemingly alive and well in Quebec

    Class actions appear to be thriving in Quebec. A series of suits launched recently seem to enhance the province’s reputation as a have for class action suits. But that may be illusory.

    Yesterday FTQ-Construction, the largest construction union in Quebec, was slapped with a class action following an illegal strike that paralyzed much of the industry in late October.

    (more…)

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  • High-profile Montreal lawyer wins battle for reinstatement against legal society

    In a decisive setback for Quebec’s law society, a renown Montreal divorce lawyer who was originally disbarred for seven years for professional misconduct was immediately reinstated after a ruling by the Quebec Court of Appeal reaffirmed the appellate powers of an administrative tribunal and clarified the role of the Barreau du Québec’s review committee.

    In a unanimous ruling the appeal court castigated the law society’s review committee for exceeding its mandate and taking on the role of a disciplinary committee while failing to take into account evidence that demonstrated that Micheline Parizeau had the aptitude and qualities to be reinstated into the profession.

    (more…)

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  • Third Montreal defence lawyer beaten up in less than a year

    A criminal defence lawyer who has represented members of organized crime in many high-profile cases, was assaulted outside his home last Friday, making it the third Montreal lawyer who has either been attacked or received death threats over the past year.

    Gilles Doré suffered a serious head injury, and is now reported to be in stable condition, according to The Montreal Gazette.

    Doré gained notoriety within Quebec’s legal community for writing a stinging personal letter to a judge, criticizing him for being pedant, cantankerous, and petty. The letter, replete with insults and personal attacks according to the Quebec Court of Appeal, was handed to Quebec Superior Court Chief Justice Lyse Lemieux, who forwarded it to the syndic (or investigating officer) of the Barreau du Québec. The syndic filed a complaint before the Barreau’s disciplinary committee, accusing  Doré  of writing an disrespectful letter, that lacked objectivity, moderation and dignity, thereby contravening s.2.03 of the Quebec Code of ethics of advocates (Code). The disciplinary committee found Doré guilty of the infraction, and suspended him from practicing for 21 days. Doré appealed the verdict before the Professions Tribunal and Quebec Superior Court, both of whom rejected the appeal.

    In upholding the rulings by the lower courts, the Quebec Court of Appeal found that writing letters is a constitutional right, and that the disciplinary decision violated the appellant’s freedom of expression. “It remains now to determine whether this decision is a reasonable restriction that can be justified in a free and democratic society,” said Justice André Rochon in an 18-page ruling.

    That case is now before the Supreme Court of Canada.

    Last month, another Montreal lawyer was the victim of a series of death threats and intimidation, with two vehicles parked in front of his home were firebombed.

    Last December Joseph La Leggia, a well-respected lawyer,  was attacked and left badly injured in front of his home. His case too remains unsolved.

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  • Class action authorized against three accounting firms in Mount Real financial scandal

    Nearly six years after 1,600 investors were bilked, left holding an estimated $130-million of worthless promissory notes when Montreal financial group Mount Real Corp. was shut down by the Quebec securities regulator, a Quebec judge authorized a class action against two former executives, two financial service companies and three accounting firms.

    In a ruling that appears to have lowered the bar for class action certification against accounting firms, Quebec Superior Court Justice Jean-François Buffoni held that the representative plaintiff demonstrated that the allegations she is trying to establish between the fault allegedly committed by the accounting firms and the harm suffered by the class does not “appear to be frivolous nor manifestly unfounded” and stands a reasonable chance of succeeding, even though the representative plaintiff admitted that she did not rely on the audited financial statements to make an investment decision.

    “This ruling represents an important precedent regarding the civil responsibility of accounting firms,” noted Bruce Johnston, a Montreal lawyer for one of the three law firms representing the investors. “I hope it sends a message to auditors. It’s very important that auditors do their work properly and be held accountable if they fail to do so.”

    (more…)

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  • Quebec Auditor General report questions usage of courthouses

    More than a year after the Quebec auditor general revealed that courthouses in the province are underused and that the provincial ministry of justice fails to analyze readily available administrative and financial data that would help it become more efficient and cost-effective, the justice department is tightlipped over what, if any, progress it has made to remedy the situation.

    Already under fire for its handling of the labour conflict with its Crown prosecutors and government lawyers and castigated by the Quebec law society for failing to provide sufficient judicial resources, legal observers are urging the Quebec government to address the findings made by the auditor general.

    “The Ministry of Justice has not adopted a set of indicators that would help it evaluate the performance of the system as is the case elsewhere in Canada,” observed Gilles Ouimet, the head of the Barreau du Quebec. “It would be beneficial to heed the auditor general’s recommendations.” (more…)

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Law in Quebec
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