A Quebec court ruling that declared unconstitutional a special law that forced provincial government lawyers and notaries to put a halt to the longest Canadian strike by public civil servants may give them much-needed ammunition to persuade the Quebec government to introduce binding arbitration, according to legal experts.
An inquiry committee by the Canadian Judicial Council that will determine whether the alleged misconduct of a Quebec Superior judge warrants removal from office should conduct two independent inquiries to examine the two sets of allegations against him, according to judicial ethics experts.
An ambitious pilot project by the federal courts that will allow for the application of the Quebec Code of Civil Procedure is being lauded by Quebec practitioners as a welcome initiative that may prompt more of them to avail themselves of the federal judicial bodies.
A Quebec Superior Court ruling that struck down the provincial ban on homegrown cannabis may set the stage for yet another constitutional legal battle over the province’s proposed strict draft regulations on cannabis edibles, according to legal experts.
In a ruling that elated cannabis users but disheartened proponents of cooperative and flexible federalism, Quebec Superior Court Justice Manon Lavoie held that the two sections of the Quebec Cannabis Regulation Act that prohibited Quebec residents from growing or possessing cannabis plants at home for personal use were unconstitutional because it infringes upon the federal Parliament’s exclusive authority on criminal law.
Dominic Lacroix and Sabrina Paradis-Royer lived the good life, while it lasted. He leased a $140,000 luxurious Mercedes Benz and bought a T-Rex, a three-wheeled sports car manufactured by a now bankrupt Canadian company. He purchased a $2.52 million home in a chic neighborhood in Quebec City, and then poured nearly half a million dollars in renovations. And he amassed a healthy fortune, hovering around US$3.3 million, not counting 1,677 bitcoins and other virtual currencies, in the span of a couple of months.
A landmark ruling that invalidated the “reasonably foreseeable” death clause of both the federal and Quebec laws on medically assisted dying may lay the groundwork for further legal challenges seeking to broaden its coverage, according to legal experts.
In a ruling hailed as an “elegant demonstration of sense and sensibility,” Quebec Superior Court Justice Christine Baudouin struck down the end of life requirement under section 26 of Quebec’s End-of-Life Care Act and the reasonable foreseeability of natural death requirement under the Criminal Code, holding that it breached section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, prerequisites that prevented some people from accessing the end-of-life procedure. The federal law also contravened section 7 of the Charter.
A Montreal man who was found guilty of manslaughter for killing his ailing wife in what he argued was a compassionate killing was denied parole even though he has served a sixth of his two-year sentence, minus a day.
Two days after the federal government proposed to make it tougher for asylum seekers from making refugee claims in Canada, the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned a 45-day prison sentence issued against a Colombian mother and son who pleaded guilty to unlawful entry into Canada.
In a ruling that reiterated the principles of proportionality and the individualization of sentencing, the Quebec appeal court held that the 45-day sentence was “demonstrably unfit” and did not take into account the “particular situation” of the appellants who sought at first to claim refugee protection in Canada through legal channels. The appeal court substituted the imprisonment sentence with a conditional discharge and an 18-month probation order.
A mother of a three-year old child addicted to marijuana was denied shared custody after Quebec Superior Court held that her cannabis consumption compromised her parental skills.
In a ruling widely expected by family lawyers to be among the first of many the courts will hand down following the legalization of cannabis, Justice Jérôme Frappier held that the mother’s cannabis’ addiction, coupled with her anxiety attacks, represented a “serious risk” because she would be unable to adequately respond to the needs of her child if she had shared custody. Justice Frappier awarded custody to the father, and granted the mother visitation rights two out of every three weekends but only if she is not under the influence of cannabis or any other drug in the presence of her child.
Telus became the third Canadian telecommunication giant ordered to pay clients who paid excessive cancellation fees after the Quebec Court of Appeal partially overturned a lower court decision that dismissed the class action.
The Quebec Court of Appeal ordered a new trial for a Quebec man convicted of second degree murder after it held that an out-of-court statement he made was involuntary, evidence yielded by a Mr. Big kind of operation was inadmissible and the trial judge should have given more detailed instructions to the jury.
The decision, exceptionally published in French and English, appears to have slightly broadened the kind of cases that may fall into the Mr. Big category and provides a timely reminder that the confessions rule is not subject to a negative inquiry, according to criminal lawyers.
Kenneth Jull has done them. So has Paul Klasios and Philippe Dufort-Langlois. All are or were at one time in-house counsel who have conducted internal investigations, an unpleasant exercise described by a lawyer as being a bit of a dark art that presents unique challenges. Nearly every general counsel too will sooner or later face the need to conduct an internal investigation into events at an organization. At a time of greater scrutiny by regulators, stakeholders and the general public, organizations of all sizes and across all sectors are dealing with growing calls demanding greater disclosure and transparency.
In a setback for the labour movement, the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned a lower court ruling that granted the union representing correctional officers the right to negotiate pension plans and staffing.