Précis de droit professionnel, Éditions Yvon Blais (contributor)

The purpose of disciplinary law is to protect the public rather than to compensate victims. In certain circumstances, a breach of professional ethics may also constitute a civil fault. This raises the following question: can a disciplinary decision influence the outcome of a civil proceeding?

The Arbitration Tribunal recently dismissed an application for a safeguard order filed by the Association des avocats et notaires de l’État du Québec. The decision reiterates that a safeguard order is, by nature, temporary and exceptional. It also underscores the need to demonstrate a clearly established right at the interim stage before such relief can be granted.

In a recent decision, the Commission d’accès à l’information had to determine if a request addressed to the Chambre des notaires du Québec constituted a request for access to documents within the meaning of the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information, or if it was seeking to obtain a legal opinion.

The Québec government published a draft regulation amending the Regulation respecting hazardous material, an extensive overhaul of a regulatory scheme that has remained largely unchanged since the late 1990s. The reform seeks to modernize hazardous materials management by strengthening control mechanisms, which should in turn address certain shortcomings in the application of the current framework.

Few stakeholders have had the opportunity to design and construct projects using the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) approach. Many would like to familiarize themselves with the underlying concepts without necessarily “taking the plunge.” One of the options available is based on a well-known model: the CCDC-5B Construction Management Contract for Services and Construction.

In December 2025, the Québec government enacted substantial amendments to the Labour Code, giving itself broader authority to regulate the right to strike when strike action could significantly impact the well-being of the population. This new mechanism was recently applied for the first time in Québec.

The federal government has introduced a temporary public policy to allow eligible temporary foreign workers in Québec to obtain a new work permit valid for up to 12 months. This measure aims to prevent the loss of status of workers pursuing permanent residency through the Québec Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ).

The estimated total cost of work on a construction site is a key factor in determining the extent of the principal contractor’s health and safety obligations. Two decisions by the Administrative Labour Tribunal shed light on the criteria used to clarify the scope of the “total cost of work”.

When an insurance policy is drafted in clear and unequivocal terms, courts must apply it with full force and refrain from neutralizing its exclusions through the rules of contractual interpretation. In Emond v. Trillium Mutual Insurance Co., the Supreme Court of Canada reaffirmed the framework that governs the interpretation of insurance contracts.