Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : Le fait que la plaignante a écouté et enregistré une conversation privilégiée entre l’accusé et son avocat a enfreint l’article 7 de la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés; toutefois, des réparations moins sévères que l’arrêt des procédures peuvent corriger l’abus de procédure, notamment l’interdiction que . . . [more]

Written by Daniel Standing LL.B., Editor, First Reference Inc.

Not too long ago, it was the stuff of science fiction and action films-the locked door that opened by a retinal scan. The keypad required a fingerprint as additional security. Well, what was at issue in 2023 CanLII 5478 (BC LA) isn’t too far removed from those one-time fantasies. Here, an employer implemented a biometric finger scan system for employees to use, and it had a good reason that had nothing to do with security. Would vastly improved recordkeeping and human resources services suffice as justification? Some employees got fired for . . . [more]

Over the years I’ve spoken with many people who believe they “have a book in them” or an idea for a book. But to take liberties paraphrasing Stephen Fry’s protagonist in The Hippopotamus: books aren’t made up of ideas, they’re made up of words.

So how do you string those words together at scale?

Firstly, I’d like to encourage you to reconsider. Writing a book is difficult, and it means spending pretty much all your spare time for a year or so working, and the remuneration is almost never good. Almost everyone I’ve spoken with gets more return doing . . . [more]

At the beginning of each month, we tell you which three English-language cases and French-language cases have been the most viewed* on CanLII in the previous month and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about. La version française suit.

For this past month, the three most-consulted English-language decisions were:

1. R. c. Epstein, 2023 QCCQ 630 (CanLII)

[164] There is no evidence that Mr. Epstein watched, followed or monitored the complainants. Nor did he repeatedly communicate with them. Obviously, the accused often walked in front of the complainant’s home. That is understandable, even inevitable. . . . [more]

On April 4, 2023, I published an article in the Canadian Bar Association’s National magazine titled “Are 80% of legal problems in Canada really going unmet?” It explores the question of whether people’s needs are being me in Canada’s legal system based on the data in the Canadian Legal Problems Survey.

One topic I wanted more insight on was what the sources of costs for people with legal problems that caused financial hardship are. Here is a visualization of the proportion of people reporting costs associated with each category for the 2.6 million Canadians who have financial difficulties . . . [more]

Indemnification clauses are often placed into contracts, without parties giving them much attention. However, when these clauses are triggered, the consequences can be devastating. 

In the recent case, Burr v. Tecumseh Products of Canada Limited, 2023 ONCA 135, the Ontario Court of Appeal dealt with the consequences of an indemnity clause with respect to costs of a proceeding. The Court upheld the trial judge’s decision in finding that there was an agreement to indemnify between the parties. However, the Court granted leave to appeal with respect to a part of the cost order and remanded that issue back to . . . [more]

Shareholder disputes are a notorious part of business life: What every legal professional needs to know about managing bitter conflicts and disputes that often engulf the shareholders of closely-held corporations in 2023.

When the relationship sours among shareholders in a closely-held company, legal professionals need to be prepared to rapidly deploy the latest strategic and tactical advice to their often distraught clients, and with the highest standards of ethics and professionalism, in order take advantage of the full range of available shareholder rights and remedies.

Business counsel and litigators must stay current on key legal developments and best practices in . . . [more]

We lawyers have done a good job convincing ourselves, convincing the courts and convincing legislators that we are more special than other professionals. But are we really more deserving of the special protections and privileges that we have convinced others to afford us? Increasingly, those special privileges are being called into question around the globe and it is only a matter of time until the searchlights focus their lens on us here in Canada. I fear that we will be found to be wanting.

This occurred to me during a recent panel discussion on “The International Bar Association’s Gatekeepers Project: . . . [more]

Today’s Tips Tuesday is a little trick that I use to save myself time when I need to reference a statute quickly. I use CanLII for the majority of my legal research and for all of my statute referencing. Instead of navigating to CanLII’s home page each time and searching the statute, I use bookmarks instead.

In my browser’s toolbar, I created a Legislation folder and have bookmarked all of the statutes that I might need to reference in my practice. For me this list includes:

• Alberta King’s Printer
• Alberta Rules of Court
• Civil Enforcement Act
• Condominium Property Act
• Employment

I’ve observed a trend. It involves the feelings of legal advocates coming into play during mediation. This is often presented as an emotional tie to the client, passion about the collaborative opportunity or being personally dedicated to finding a fair outcome. While I am not sure this is planned strategy, it suggests a ‘heart on one’s sleeve’ fashion in mediation representation.

If you want to paint a mental picture, or otherwise embrace a stereotype about the emotional type of lawyer I am referring, consider Angry Dad from The Simpsons as counsel at your mediation. A male-presenting legal advocate who would . . . [more]