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 juge de première instance a commis une erreur de principe en prononçant, à l’égard d’un homme ayant agressé sexuellement sa partenaire intime, un sursis de peine qui ne reflétait pas adéquatement les objectifs de dénonciation et de dissuasion; la Cour substitue à celui-ci une peine d’emprisonnement . . . [more]

One of the earliest projects that was launched at the University of Victoria’s AI Risk and Regulation Lab was a mapping initiative that tracked both how artificial intelligence (AI) is regulated and litigated. To date, litigation tracking has primarily been focused on cases arising from the United States and internationally as until November 2024, there was virtually no domestic litigation to discuss. That changed recently when two lawsuits were filed in the month of November, signaling that Canada is now joining an international surge of AI-related legal disputes. In this column I will briefly review the two recently launched cases . . . [more]

Regular readers of this column (thank you) will recognize copyright reform is a common interest of mine, especially as such reform might lead to greater public access to research. Still, I only took up the copyright torch after a very loose consensus – among researchers, publishers, librarians and funders – around open access’ scientific value began to emerge. Such consensus has been called the iron law of copyright reform. Could such reform address, I dared to hope, reduce such impediments to open access as publishers dragging their heels, while holding on to subscription arrangements, even as they introduced rampant price . . . [more]

Imagine being offered a career-defining opportunity—one that could catapult your skills and confidence to the next level. Now, imagine turning it down, not because you lack potential, but because you fear falling short. This scenario is more common than you think, and the difference between seizing such opportunities and walking away often comes down to mindset. Are you operating from a fixed mindset, where abilities feel set in stone, or a growth mindset, where every challenge is a stepping stone to improvement?

Here is what this looks like in legal practice: Samantha is comfortable behind the scenes, the partners are . . . [more]

[Une version française suit]

On January 13, 2000, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its landmark decision in Arsenault-Cameron v. Prince Edward Island, 2000 SCC 1 (CanLII), [2000] 1 SCR 3, a case significant for its impact on minority language educational rights in Canada. This decision was also the Court’s first to adopt the Neutral Citation Standard for Case Law, a pivotal innovation introduced in 1999 by the Canadian Citation Committee. Neutral citations have since become a cornerstone of Canadian legal practice, providing a standardized, vendor-neutral method for referring to judicial decisions, as reported many times here . . . [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.

INTERNATIONAL (DROIT) : Le juge de première instance n’a pas commis d’erreur lorsqu’il a conclu à l’application de l’exception de renonciation résultant de l’engagement et du consentement des parties à soumettre un différend à l’arbitrage; il faut par ailleurs considérer que l’appelante a accepté que toute sentence résultant de l’arbitrage . . . [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.

For the Encouragement of Learning: The Origins of Canadian Copyright Law. By Myra Tawfik. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2023. 408 p. Includes bibliographic references and index. ISBN 9781487545246 (hardcover) $90.00; ISBN 9781487545253 (ePUB) $90.00; ISBN 9781487545260 (PDF) $90.00. Reviewed by Katarina Daniels Research Lawyer, Library Services Lead Davies Ward . . . [more]

Justice must be fair and impartial, but also must be seen to be fair and impartial – and inclusive tribunal processes are a big contribution to the sense of fairness that all participants in a tribunal proceeding are entitled to receive. Language – and people’s perception of that language – is an important gateway to fairness (and perceptions of fairness). Karen Yin has a website that focuses on the language of equity and has also recently published a book that serves as a useful guide to the use of what she terms “conscious language”: The Conscious Style Guide: A Flexible . . . [more]

Several of my posts this year have focused on the importance of plain language for our profession. Good, clear communication is a vital component of client management as it helps us better understand our client’s needs and enable the client to make informed decisions. On the other hand, poor communication is a leading cause of professional liability claims against lawyers. Understanding who your audience is and ‘stepping into their shoes’ is a key. In my last post, Good Communications: Don’t Forget Generational Considerations, I focused on the impact of generational differences and preferences. This is only one factor when . . . [more]

INTRODUCTION In the midst of writing this post yesterday, January 6th, I thought back to that day in 2021 when Donald Trump attempted a coup in the United States to seize the presidency despite having lost the 2020 election. This year’s certification of the 2024 election involved no such threat to democracy only because Trump won the election. But it may be because I have the concept of “coup” on my mind that I am tempted to describe West Whitby Landowners Group Inc. v. Elexicon Energy Inc. (Ont. CA) (“West Whitby”) as a “judicial coup”, albeit a coup somewhat more . . . [more]

Whether or not there is truth in the rumours that upstart, Harvey, has been keen to acquire the much-admired vLex, it was interesting to read the analysis by Isha Marathe, of Legaltech News, on the topic, as reported via legal market heroes, House of Butter. The HoB report concludes, “If Harvey wants to make true on the third item in its tech offerings—workflow automation; an AI assistant, and legal research—it’s going to have to find the data. The story of Harvey and vLex underscores the market barriers to a startup becoming a substantial legal research mainstay . . . [more]