On October 31, 2006, the Court of Appeal rendered two key decisions on the issue of neighbourhood annoyances in Quebec. It is greatly to their credit that these two judgments represent a return to more reasonable legal bases on this issue. The decisions are Ciment du Saint-Laurent inc. / St. Lawrence Cement Inc. v. Barrette and Cochrane(2) (hereinafter “St. Lawrence Cement”) and Comité d’environnement de Ville-Émard (C.E.V.E.) and Michaud v ...
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday published its long awaited revisions to the FTC’s Franchising Rule. The new disclosures may be used effective July 1, 2007 and must be used for all franchises offered or sold after July 1, 2008. The Amended Rule prescribes a disclosure format which largely mirrors the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular ("UFOC") format, and modifies it in certain places by adding new disclosures ...
On November 9, 2006, the Minister of Justice, Yvon Marcoux, introduced Bill 48, entitled An Act to amend the Consumer Protection Act and the Act respecting the collection of certain debts (hereinafter, the “Bill”).The Bill is based on the Internet Sales Contract Harmonization Template agreed on by the provinces further to the Agreement on Internal Trade ...
This paper was presented at The Canadian Institute’s 2nd Annual Oil & Gas Law Summit Overcoming the Regulatory Challenges and Uncertainties to Keep Your Project on Track on January 22 – 23, 2007 in Calgary, Alberta. Oil and gas exploration in Canada’s North has a long history that dates back to the oil well drilled in Norman Wells in 1920. The North is recognized as holding a significant portion of Canada’s potential for undeveloped oil and gas ...
Do you offer your employees group insurance? If so, since January 1, 2007, under the Act respecting prescription drug insurance, you must deduct directly from the remuneration paid to each of your employees his or her portion of the premium applicable to the basic prescription drug insurance coverage stipulated in the group insurance contract.The Act respecting prescription drug insurance (R.S.Q., c. A-29 ...
The BC Privacy Commissioner recently issued two decisions which address “employee personal information”, as well as some other issues of interest under the BC Personal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”) ...
The Court of Appeal rendered an important decision on October 31, 2006, which dealt with the liability of manufacturers and professional sellers, as well as several other related issues, in the case of The Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company of Canada and Prima Viande Ltd v. Manac inc./Nortex (manufacturer of the Arcoplast product) and Systèmes intérieurs Atlas inc ...
It is known that an insurer has a considerable duty to inform in group insurance. The Superior Court, in a decision by Justice Hélène Langlois, specified the extent of this duty in Tanguay et al v. L’Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec and The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company of North York, doing business under the name Manulife Financial(1) ...
On November 30, 2006, the Human Rights Tribunal of Quebec released a judgment in which it concluded that a grievance arbitrator did not have jurisdiction over litigation stemming from allegations of employment discrimination. In the case of Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse v ...
This paper was prepared for the Pacific Business & Law Institute's 12th Annual Conference on The Essential Tasks of Pension and Benefit Plan Trustees, held in Vancouver, British Columbia on February 20, 2007 Most lawyers are familiar with claims for coverage under disability insurance ...
We are pleased to advise you of recent Quebec Superior Court judgments rendered in favour of our clients. Two motions for authorization to institute a class action were recently denied by the Court, which should be a matter of interest to decision-makers and lawyers dealing with issues involving competition, environment and natural resources as well as class actions generally ...
Immediate access to the latest data is essential for business. The Internet and other networks ensure that data are readily accessible. But easy access to data carries with it certain risks, including the risk of unauthorised access. According to research by Gartner in 2006, 80 percent of companies will have suffered an application security incident by 2009 ...
It is generally accepted that mentoring is important to the retention and professional development of attorneys – particularly minority attorneys. However, despite touting their mentoring programs, it appears that few, if any, law firms and corporations “get it right.” Assigning a mentor often results in a few lunches between two people who may or may not have anything in common ...
Each time we give up a bit of information about ourselves to the Government, we give up some of our freedom. For the more the Government or any institution knows about us, the more power it has over us. When the Government knows all of our secrets we stand naked before official power.” [Introductory remarks of Senator Sam Ervin on S3418, Legislative History of the Privacy Act of 1974 ...
On February 27 British Columbia issued “The BC Energy Plan: A Vision for Clean Energy Leadership” (Energy Plan 2007). The document is an extensive statement of provincial energy policy, and a roadmap for future government action in BC’s energy sector ...
The long-awaited revision to the United States federal franchise regulation which requires presale disclosure throughout the country will become effective July 1, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) January 23. The FTC Franchising Trade Regulation Rule (“FTC Rule”), initially adopted in 1979, has been under review since the early 1990s. Although the focus was upon making the disclosures and compliance burdens more relevant to changes in the U.S ...
The Supreme Court of Canada recently handed down a highly anticipated judgment in McGill University Health Centre (Montreal General Hospital) (the “MUHC”) vs. Syndicat des employés de l’Hôpital Général de Montréal (2007 SCC 4) ...
On January 22, 2007, the Commission des lésions professionnelles (the “Board”) handed down a decision in Harvey et Brasserie Labatt ltée(1) further to a motion for revocation filed by the employer against a decision rendered by a first commissioner ...
The U.S. Department of Justice’s revised corporate charging policy, which was named after deputy attorney general Paul McNulty, was unveiled in December 2006. In the wake of its predecessor document, the 2003 Thompson Memo, we have seen a steady increase in the resolution of corporate criminal investigations without indictments or trials ...
Can the cost of remedying a manufacturing defect be considered as damage resulting from an “accident” covered under a liability insurance policy? This is the question the Quebec Court of Appeal considered in CGU, Compagnie d’Assurance du Canada v. Soprema Inc., [2007] QCCA 113 ...
An Illinois federal district court held, in Massachusetts Bay Ins. Co. v. Faber Bros., Inc., No. 04 C 5160, 2007 WL 1029366 (N.D. Ill. March 30, 2007), that a distributor of firearms is not covered under general liability insurance contracts for claims alleging that its sales of firearms created a public nuisance that led to bodily injuries. Factual BackgroundThe insured, Faber Bros., Inc., is a distributor and wholesaler of firearms ...
The purposes of this Health Care Alert are to: 1) summarize recently proposed federal regulations which will require physician disclosure of ownership interests in hospitals to patients; 2) remind health care providers of existing Texas laws requiring disclosure of ownership interests and 3) suggest best practices for disclosure of ownership interests ...
On Capitol Hill, U.S. lawmakers are considering legislation that would authorize the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve generic versions of biological products. Representative Henry Waxman (D, CA), of “Hatch-Waxman” fame, has introduced the “Access to Life Saving Medicine Act” (H.R. 1038) to advance this change to U.S. law. In introducing the legislation, Rep ...
In accordance with its announcement in its Notice of Intent published on October 21, 2006(1), the federal government, on April 26, published the regulatory framework it favours for greenhouse gases emissions and other air pollutants.The “Regulatory Framework for Air Emissions”, despite its title, is not a restrictive regulation ...
In recent weeks, hefty fines for data breaches have been issued in the United Kingdom and Greece. Surprisingly, these fines have not been levied by data protection authorities, but by other regulators with overlapping jurisdiction over data security. The authors, from Hunton & Williams, write that data protection enforcement in Europe appears to be entering a new phase ...
