The legalization of non-medical cannabis and the upcoming legalization of cannabis derivatives and edibles have had an invigorating effect on many investors and entrepreneurs, who see this as an exceptional business opportunity. However, before embarking on the development of a cannabis cultivation or processing project, several important elements must be taken into account.
In October 2018 Canada became one of the first countries in the world to legalize the recreational use of cannabis. At the time the legislation was adopted, many employers thought that this had all happened a bit too quickly. The media storm surrounding the unreliability of available screening methods also heightened fears about workplace-related dangers stemming from cannabis use. Now that the dust has settled, what lessons can be drawn from what has transpired over the last twelve months?
For almost a year now, holders of a federal licence, distributors and retailers authorized by the Canadian provinces and territories may commercialize dried cannabis, fresh cannabis, cannabis oil, cannabis plants and the seeds of cannabis plants, as the case may be.
This coming October 17, new categories of cannabis – namely edible cannabis, cannabis extracts and cannabis topicals – will be legalized, and a wide array of new products will hit the market.
Among the principals lessons to be learned from the Target security breach post mortem, is that an organisation should include an assessment of third party service providers information security posture in the course of their due diligence efforts, stipulate contractual security requirements and audit compliance therewith in the course of performance of the agreement.
On October 3, 2019, the Quebec government launched a public consultation on new measures to strengthen corporate transparency. This consultation was announced in the government’s 2019-2020 budget and is one of the measures implemented as part of the Tax Fairness Action Plan launched in November 2017. The objective of the new measures is mainly to facilitate the fight against tax evasion.
The right to medical assistance in dying (“MAID”) for mentally competent adults in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability who are experiencing enduring and intolerable suffering but not facing an imminent or reasonably foreseeable death, was recently debated before the Superior Court of Quebec (the “Court”) in the matter of Jean Truchon et Nicole Gladu v. PGC et PGQ. In a judgment rendered this past September 11, Justice Christine Baudouin declared that the criteria of a “natural death [that] has become reasonably foreseeable” (“RFND”) in the Criminal Code (also referred to herein as the “Federal Statute”) and of “[being] at the end of life” in the Act respecting end-of-life care (the “Provincial Statute”) are contrary to the federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”) and that the two respective provisions are unconstitutional.