The Federal Court has plainly and forcefully struck down the approach used by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) to patent claims in a decision widely expected by the patent bar to have far-reaching implications, particularly for computer-implemented inventions.
-
Federal Court rejects Canadian Patent Office’s approach to computer-implemented inventions
-
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. -
Gladue may apply to homeless people rules Quebec Court of Appeal
In a decision welcomed by criminal lawyers, the Quebec Court of Appeal seems to have opened the door for the principle of proportionality of sentences to be applied to homeless offenders or members of a marginalized group who are non-Aboriginal.
-
Federal Court of Appeal rejects Justice Michel Girouard’s appeal over Canadian Judicial Council’s recommendation for removal
The long and complex legal saga surrounding Quebec Superior Court Justice Michel Girouard, who is pulling all stops to fend off a Canadian Judicial Council recommendation that he be removed from the bench, is winding down after the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed his objections.In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel concluded that the Council’s recommendation for Justice Girouard’s removal was reasonable, that there was no breach of the principles of procedural fairness, that Justice Girouard was given full opportunity to be heard and make submissions, and that while it might have been “desirable” for certain portions of the transcript of the hearings” before the second Inquiry Committee to have been translated the judge was not prejudiced by this.
-
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.The closely watched case, the only one so far in Quebec that has been decided on the merits, is expected to have important ramifications for landlords and tenants, underlines the importance of carefully drafting force majeure clauses, and highlights the weight the courts will give to the notion of peaceable enjoyment, according to legal observers.
-
Failed justice
Errors and omissions by defence counsel, the Crown prosecutor and even the trial judge were not “determinative” after a man who sought to withdraw his guilty plea to sexual assault failed to establish that he sustained subjective prejudice, ruled the Quebec Court of Appeal.The unusual case has spurred at least one criminal lawyer to state that the justice system failed the appellant and his family while another held that the Quebec Court of Appeal issued a fair and reasonable decision that heeded guidance by the Supreme Court of Canada in the 2018 leading decision in R. v. Wong, 2018 SCC 25, [2018] 1 S.C.R. In Wong, the SCC held that guilty pleas must be informed.
Tags: sexual assault -
Quebec plans ambitious overhaul of its privacy law
An ambitious proposed overhaul of Quebec’s privacy law would make the provincial privacy watchdog the first Canadian privacy regulator with powers to directly impose administrative monetary penalties organizations for non-compliance.
-
Fundamental representations and warranties are key in M&As
When a business is being sold, whether through a sale of shares or assets, the risks associated with the transaction can be divvied up between the seller and buyer through contractual mechanisms, such as representations and warranties.Categories: Business -
Quebec accelerating legal modernization drive
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.
-
Ethical awareness and leadership are essential elements in the post-crisis period
By paying even the slightest attention to current events, one can see that major ethical issues are being reported in the media and simultaneously judged by public opinion. These issues include human rights violations, fraudulent bankruptcies, environmental disasters, corruption, misappropriation of public funds, the endangerment of lives and, especially these days, failing to protect the elderly. Legal compliance, in and of itself, is not enough to ensure that all decisions taken by corporate directors are ethical ones. We feel it is high time to take a closer look at the place of ethics in directors’ decision-making processes.
Categories: Business -
Post-COVID-19: Directors face a new set of risks in the 21st century
Some argue that the COVID-19 crisis should not have been such a sudden and significant shock, and that a global pandemic should have been on the list of foreseeable risks.1 Some governments already had relevant health measures and public policies in their tool kits, ready to deploy. This being the case, should business leaders have been better informed about the likelihood of a pandemic? Should this have been on their risk horizon? What role can directors play if they want to help the organization plan for future risks?
(more…) -
The role of the board of directors during the Covid-19 crisis
Since the start of the unprecedented public health and economic crisis caused by COVID-191, directors may have felt tempted to intervene in the day-to-day management of the company or to step into a management role, especially if they are also shareholders.Categories: Business -
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Tags: discrimination
