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.
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Photo radar class action dismissed by Quebec appeal court
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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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Covid-19 – Quebec legal developments – April 17
A shutdown of non-essential economic activity in Quebec, originally scheduled to end in mid-April, has been extended to May 4.
Here are the latest legal developments affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Equity crowdfunding CSA proposals unlikely to draw more investors
A proposal by Canadian securities regulators to make equity crowdfunding more appealing for start-ups and investors has drawn lukewarm praise by securities lawyers.Categories: BusinessTags: crowdfunding -
Business considering force majeure
Forced to navigate the daunting challenges wreaked by the precipitous outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Canadian businesses are beginning to consider whether to invoke force majeure clauses and the common law doctrine of frustration to assuage the impact of the crisis on their business, according to corporate lawyers.But corporate lawyers are fielding just as many queries over what Canadian businesses should do if they are on the receiving end of claims that seek to be excused for the non-performance of contractual obligations.
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Employers facing challenges over Covid-19
With the spread of coronavirus picking up speed, prompting the World Health Organization to declare it a pandemic, it is having a ripple effect on global industry and markets. Supply chains are being disrupted, travel restrictions have been imposed, and containment measures introduced.
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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 -
Privacy commissioner launches consultation on artificial intelligence
The chief executive of Alphabet and Google made it plain. Artificial intelligence needs to be regulated. It is too important not to, wrote Sundar Pichai in a Financial Times opinion piece.
“The only question is how to approach it,” said Pichai succinctly.
That’s what the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) is grappling with as well.
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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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In the news
Four men who bilked an 87-year old former teacher suffering from dementia were ordered by the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal to pay her family nearly $380,000 in damages for financial exploitation and for preying on her vulnerable state.“Evidence clearly demonstrates the defendants used their postion to the detriment of Ms. Even’s interests, who was an elderly person, handicapped and vulnerable,” held Judge Mario Gervais in Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (Even) c. Lessard (Calfeutrage Multi-Scellant), 2020 QCTDP 3.
“The Court concludes that the defendants breached her right to the protection against exploitation, in violation of s. 48 of the (Quebec) Charter.”
But Judge Gervais also has choice words against the financial institution that Gemma Evens, since deceased, used. Judge Gervais said he is “perplexed” by the little action that a Laurentian Bank branch took when it noticed that $313,000 was taken out from her bank account over an 18-month period.
“This amount is stunning by its magnitude, given Ms. Even’s financial habits,” noted Judge Gervais. “It is distressing that the bank accepted Ms. Evan’s responses (when questioned about her withdrawals), without considering alerting competent authorities in spite of the presence of worrisome signs of financial exploitation.”
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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
