The first installment of Quebec's 40th Parliament is now in session. Quebec's new Premier Pauline Marois delivered a speech from the throne that established zero tolerance for and a commitment to fight against corruption within the government. The theme: “Integrity”!

This week, the 34th International Meeting of Data Protection & Privacy Commissioners, is taking place in Punta del Este, Uruguay. The meeting brings together leading decision-makers and stakeholders from all over the world to discuss and [at least attempt to] resolve pressing privacy-related issues. The week kicked off with the Public Voice meeting, hosted by civil society representatives and canvassing a breadth of public policy issues.

One matter of interest that was explored during a highly informative panel on civic participation and e-voting, raised the question of whether public sector Privacy Impact Assessments should include a mandatory . . . [more]

The Quebec government has decided that in the spring of 2013, they will table proposed legislation to legalize doctor-assisted suicide.

We’ve learned of a new Practice Direction on Filing Electronic Versions of Documents in Civil Appeals and Judicial Review Applications in the Divisional Court which will be implemented next month – it establishes a regularized process to satisfy the requirement to file electronic versions of factums and transcripts – a requirement that is already in place under Rules 61.09 and 61.12 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. The Practice Direction also encourages parties to file all electronic documents with the Divisional Court in certain proceedings. The Practice Direction does not relieve the requirement to file documents in paper format as . . . [more]

Nearly two years ago — a lifetime on the internet — Royal Assent was given to Canada’s anti-spam law (otherwise known as An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act, S.C. 2010, c. 23. The CRTC was given power to make regulations under the Act, which it has done, although they have not yet . . . [more]

I’m sure that many of you noticed a brief flash in the news recently regarding Quebec’s strategic maple syrup reserve and the security issues surrounding said reserve. There were many tongue in cheek references to Maple Syrup’s place in the culture of Quebec and Canada in the media and then the news cycle moved on. Alas, we here at Slaw dig deeper and try to ascertain the legal angle to such events, and it seems that Maple Syrup does indeed occupy a significant place in Canadian culture.

A rudimentary CanLII search reveals that “Maple Syrup” has appeared in court cases . . . [more]

Yesterday, my partner Anne-Sylvie Vassenaix-Paxton gave a talk to ALAI Canada (L’Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale) on the impact the new French HADOPI laws no. 1 and 2, have had on peer to peer file sharing and protection of personal data under French law.

The acronym stands for the Haute Autorité pour la Diffusion des Oeuvres et la Protection des Droits sur Internet (HADOPI), a body which co-ordinates a variety of legal measures against illegal downloading including sanctions against parents of downloaders.

Two points are interesting from a North American perspective. The French Constitutional Council threw out a draft of . . . [more]

As I’m sure most of you will know by now, an Alberta judge has caught the world’s eye with a hefty (176 page) decision that, among other things, produced a taxonomy of vexatious litigants who adhere to one cause or another or to a set of supposedly effective trial practices. (See, for example, the stories in the Globe and Mail or the Edmonton Journal.) Meads v. Meads 2012 ABQB 571 can be found on CanLII, of course; and the main object of this post is to point you to this location, so that you can read the judgment, or . . . [more]

A recent Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench decided that an injured worker should have his case heard on its merit to determine if his medical marijuana should be paid for by workers’ compensation.

The Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner is calling on organizations to make privacy a part of their corporate culture. Dr. Ann Cavoukian, says it is not enough for organizations to have a privacy policy in place - they must take steps on an ongoing basis to make sure it is reflected in every aspect of their operations.

Earlier today I followed from afar the US Library of Congress launch of the new Congress.gov, which is still in beta. As we watch the new site develop, we can also begin our good-byes to THOMAS, which, it was confirmed today, will be replaced. Andrew Weber of the Law Library of Congress posted the news – about the new Congress.gov and the eventual demise of THOMAS – at that institution’s blog, In Custodia Legis:

Today also marks the first public announcement of the eventual end of THOMAS. It isn’t going away today or tomorrow, but sometime in the

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Manitoba is the second province in Canada that intends to make their province accessible for persons with disabilities.