New Quebec ethics bill raises concerns
A bill introduced recently by the Quebec government that aims to fortify governance and ethics in professional corporations, better protect the public, and encourage professionals to denounce reprehensible acts has been praised but also drawn concerns from disciplinary law experts.
Bill 98, a piece of legislation that acts on four of the 60 recommendations made by the Charbonneau’s Commission’s report on granting and management of public contracts in the construction industry, will bolster the powers of the regulatory body that oversees Quebec’s 46 professional corporations, including lawyers and accountants, will hand more discretionary powers to the syndic or ethics officer, and will under certain circumstances provide protection to whistleblowers.