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) : L’absolution conditionnelle dont avait bénéficié l’accusé pour des accusations d’agression sexuelle et de voyeurisme est remplacée par une peine de détention de 12 mois; l’ordonnance de probation est également modifiée.

Intitulé : R. c. Houle, 2023 QCCA 99
Juridiction : Cour d’appel (C.A.), Québec
Décision de :  . . . [more]

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

Often, cases about the validity of termination provisions in employment contracts focus on whether the contract language sufficiently ousts the common law presumption of reasonable notice. Such provisions commonly refer to, or incorporate by reference, a minimum legislative standard amount of notice that must be given. What those generally familiar with the law might not think twice about is precisely which minimum standard applies. The one applicable to individuals, right? Now, what if the contract is silent about group terminations? Could an ex-employee argue the termination clause was invalid because it . . . [more]

Sam is frustrated. Having settled her big trial, she faces a pile of small tasks she is behind on. None of it is particularly challenging, but she spends hours a day surfing the net instead of getting caught up.

Chris is deadline driven. Every day runs like a fire drill of running to meet deadlines. They know they should plan to get projects started sooner but are stuck in the habit of relying on the stress of an impending deadline for motivation.

What do Sam and Chris have in common? They are both procrastinators.

Procrastination is avoiding taking action when . . . [more]

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Narrative Expansions: Interpreting Decolonisation in Academic Libraries. Edited by Jess Crilly & Regina Everitt. London, U.K.: Facet, 2022. xxxii, 290 p. Includes bibliographic references and index. ISBN 9781783304974 (softcover) US$78.99; ISBN 9781783305216 (ePUB) US$92.00.

Reviewed by Sonia Smith 
Law Librarian
Nahum Gelber Law Library, McGill University

Narrative Expansions: Interpreting Decolonisation . . . [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. Pivnick v. Planet Lazer Entertainment Ltd., 2023 BCCRT 7 (CanLII)

39. Under section 49 of the CRTA and CRT rules, the CRT will generally order an unsuccessful party to reimburse a successful party for CRT fees and reasonable dispute-related expenses. The CRT often awards partial . . . [more]

One of the main reasons to choose arbitration is that parties want a decision that’s final and binding. Until they lose. Then they want a court to give them a do-over to fix the arbitrator’s terrible mistakes.

Two recent decisions by the Courts of Appeal in British Columbia and Ontario remind us that the parties should get what they bargained for, “final” means final, and courts should not intervene except in exceptional situations.

In Spirit Bay Developments Limited Partnership v. Scala Developments Consultants Ltd. (2022 BCCA 407) the B.C. Court of Appeal said the court should not intervene, even . . . [more]

Presently, there is a shortage of donor sperm in Canada. This is partly attributed to the altruistic model in Canada, which removes a financial incentive for people to donate sperm or eggs (ova).

In the article “Feasibility of an altruistic sperm donation program in Canada: results from a population-based model“, the authors Daria O’Reilly et al remark that since the year 2000 there has been a marked decline in the supply of donor sperm from Canadian men. “This decline coincides with the introduction of new, more stringent regulations for donor screening and sample testing in 2000, and the . . . [more]

In 2011, the TALL Quarterly published a brief article authored by John Bolan, Public Services Librarian at the Bora Laskin Law Library (University of Toronto). The article addressed the burgeoning open access movement for scholarly literature generally, with a focus on the lack and lag of open access literature within the discipline of law and potential areas of growth in the field. Bolan wrote, “As befits the field of law, there are, however, exceptions to the exceptions that are worth noting.” With more than 10 years since Bolan’s article was published, this post reviews the exceptions highlighted as potential areas . . . [more]

For the longest time, I had no idea that there was a reading pane option in CanLII but once I discovered it, it was an absolute game changer. When you perform a search you’ll notice some options on the right hand side. There will be “Clear Filters” “By relevance” and then three icons. The second last icon when clicked on has two options “Default” and “Reading Pane”. Select reading pane and prepare to have your life changed. You’re welcome.

Another fantastic addition to CanLII is “DarkLII” which simply allows you to enable dark mode in CanLII. This was a very . . . [more]

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.

CONSTITUTIONNEL (DROIT) : Le gouvernement du Québec avait un devoir de consulter les Innus de Uashat et de Mani-Utenam ainsi que la Bande Innu Takuaikan Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam en ce qui concerne la construction d’une ligne de transport d’énergie; la consultation qu’il a menée était insuffisante pour préserver l’honneur de . . . [more]

Written by Lewis Waring, Paralegal, LL.B., Articled Clerk, Editor, First Reference Inc.

In a recent British Columbia ruling, an employee who engaged in a pattern of time theft was found to have been rightfully dismissed for cause. As a result of the dismissal being upheld, the employee was forced to repay a debt she owed to the employer due to an advance agreement that funded her home office supplies and her pursuit of professional credentials. . . . [more]