Langlois and Fraticelli Provost Confirm Their Unification Agreement

The Superior Court rendered a decision addressing the confidentiality of disciplinary investigations conducted by the syndic of the Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec in Inspro c. Desjardins et al. This decision unequivocally reaffirms the principle that, in the absence of a disciplinary complaint, a syndic’s file retains its confidential character.

Québec’s legal warranty regime imposes strict obligations on professional sellers, largely owing to the presumptions set out in article 1729 of the Civil Code of Québec. However, these presumptions can be rebutted in certain circumstances. The Superior Court of Québec’s decision in 164019 Canada Inc. c. Porta-Max Système Inc. illustrates this well.

In one of the first substantive decisions under the Act respecting expropriation, the Administrative Tribunal of Québec clarified how compensation for expropriation is determined when a land parcel has distinct development potential and a developer has already spent years preparing it for development.

Private developers have been awaiting the first calls for tenders following the adoption of the Act to ensure the responsible governance of energy resources and to amend various legislative provisions. Hydro-Québec’s recently issued call for tenders A/O 2026-01, and it has provided some insight into Québec’s wind power development landscape over the coming years.

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.