Nearly a decade after co-founding Cyberjustice Laboratory, a unique hub that analyses the impact of technologies on justice while developing concrete technological tools that are adapted to the reality of justice systems, Karim Benyekhlef and Fabien Gélinas have set their sights on artificial intelligence.
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Blockchain operationalization
The federal government is cautiously wading in. Enticed by the promise of blockchain to simplify the management of trusted information in a secure fashion, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Port of Montreal, the country’s second-biggest port, are now testing a blockchain-enabled digital solution to see if it will streamline freight shipping. Several provincial governments too are swayed by the prospect of being able to better deliver government digital services, beginning with the British Columbia which launched OrgBook BC, a new blockchain-powered online search tool that allows users to verify if businesses and organizations are legally incorporated in the province.
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Under fire Quebec appeal court rejects bid to suspend contested secularism bill
A divided Quebec Court of Appeal, grappling with a series of controversial complaints against its Chief Justice, has refused to stay sections of the province’s secularism bill even though it plainly acknowledges that the controversial ban on religious symbols is causing irreparable harm to some people.
The decision comes on the heels of a series of complaints lodged against Quebec Court of Appeal Chief Justice Nicole Duval Hesler before the Canadian Judicial Council over bias she has allegedly demonstrated against the province’s secularism law.
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Damages award in Quebec comic’s discrimination case called ‘dangerous’
A controversial Quebec Court of Appeal ruling that ordered a comedian to pay $35,000 in damages to another entertainer for infringing his right to the safeguard of his dignity without discrimination after mocking his disability may lead to a chilling effect because the decision provides scant guidance over when the line is crossed, human rights law and media law experts said.
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Administrative adjudicators can be removed from cases in deliberation, rules court
In an unusually public and legal tiff between two arbiters of Quebec’s disciplinary process, Quebec Superior Court ruled that the chair of Quebec’s disciplinary council of presidents has the power to remove cases, even in deliberation, from administrative adjudicators who take too long to render judgment.
The precedent-setting ruling, the first that examined the scope of powers in the hands of the chair, follows in the footsteps of a pan-Canadian trend by the courts to hold that the long-standing principle that adjudicators decide must give way to timely decision-making to ensure access to justice, respect for natural justice and the protection of the public, according to disciplinary law experts.
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Quebec penal justice bill opens door to ID cards
To the consternation of criminal lawyers and the Quebec legal society, a new bill introduced by the Quebec government that seeks to modernize the province’s penal justice system hands peace officers new discretionary powers that would allow them to require identification and would sanction warrantless entry under “urgent circumstances” in a home. -
Racial profiling cases winding its way through Quebec courts
A Quebec man who was issued a ticket for accusing a police officer of being a racist after being stopped was acquitted by a municipal court judge, the latest in a series of cases dealing with racial profiling that recently wound its way through Quebec courts.
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Landmark decision issued by Quebec appeal court over the freedom of peaceful assembly
Less than a month after the Quebec Court of Appeal struck down a Quebec City municipal bylaw that compelled organizers of public demonstrations to submit their plans and itinerary to city police, the City of Montreal officially shelved its own controversial protest bylaw.The landmark decision, commended as a “genuine advance” on the “least judicially explored freedom,” is the first decision by a Canadian appellate court that comprehensively examines the scope of the freedom of peaceful assembly (2c) as a separate Charter right, distinct from the freedom of expression (2b) or association (2d), according to legal experts.
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Competition Bureau clamping down on online misleading advertising
The Competition Bureau is keeping a watchful eye on the digital world.The Commissioner of Competition, Matthew Boswell, has made it plain that one of his priorities is to investigate and clamp down on false and misleading advertising online, and build trust in the digital economy through enforcement, “a key element of our vision.”
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Former soldier loses appeal of constructive first degree murder
A former Canadian Armed Forces soldier found guilty of constructive first-degree murder who argued that the verdict was unreasonable and that the trial judge erred by dismissing his motion for a directed verdict of acquittal lost his case before the Quebec Court of Appeal.The decision reaffirms the growing body of jurisprudence over constructive first-degree murder and illustrates that a person accused of first-degree murder has nothing to lose when appealing even though arguments are clearly destined to fail, according to a criminal lawyer.
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Judge denies class action certification over Equifax data breach
A class action suit that sought compensatory and punitive damages against credit-reporting company Equifax Inc. following a massive global data breach that affected more than 143 million people worldwide, including 19,000 Canadians, was refused certification after Quebec Superior Court held that Quebec law does not recognize compensatory damages for data breaches.The decision, the latest of a rapidly growing body of Quebec jurisprudence dealing with security breaches, underlines that being the victim of a data breach is insufficient to claim damages even though there is prime facie evidence that a fault occurred, according to class action lawyers.
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Committee recommends raising Quebec Crown prosecutors’ salary by 14% over four years
The Quebec government’s resolve to establish harmonious labour relations with its Crown prosecutors will be put to the test after the National Assembly received a report by a special committee that made a slew of recommendations to improve their labour conditions.
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Municipal bylaw banning billboards is constitutional
Three of Canada’s biggest sign companies have six months to demolish dozens of billboards in a trendy Montreal borough after the Quebec Court of Appeal held that a municipal bylaw banning outdoor advertising panels represents a minimal infringement on freedom of expression.
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Railway loses battle over liability after Quebec appeal court ruling
In a setback for the rail industry, Canadian railways will unlikely be able to strike confidential agreements to ship goods that excludes liability or limits it to trivial amounts if damage or loss is sustained, following a recent Quebec Court of Appeal ruling.In a ruling that examines the apportionment of liability under the Canada Transportation Act (Act), the Court of Appeal decision appears at first glance to undercut the commercial freedom of parties to negotiate their own terms in a deal, and confirms the principle that there is a presumption of liability by the railway carrier for the loss or damage to goods in its possession or control, according to transportation lawyers.
