Articles

Passed in principle on May 16, 2019 by the Quebec parliament, Bill 14 (An Act to facilitate the public administration’s digital transformation) aims to improve the government’s efficiency and service to citizens through digital transformation. The Bill will allow the release of personal information by designated public bodies, in specific circumstances, notwithstanding any existing restriction or prohibition in any other law, including the provisions of the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information – Quebec’s privacy legislation for the public sector.

As announced, the Canada Labour Code (the “Code”) has been thoroughly revamped effective September 1st, 2019, with the coming into force of several amendments to Part III.
The new provisions reflect Parliament’s intent, through the introduction of a range of more flexible labour standards, to achieve a better work-family balance, and to protect workers in insecure situations.

For several years now, a case law controversy has been repeatedly resurfacing regarding the obligations of an employer in the case of the administrative dismissal of a worker for incompetence.

A recent arbitration award in Nova Scotia has concluded that sex addiction, which is sometimes invoked by employees to justify inappropriate behaviour in the workplace, does not constitute a disability. Consequently, it is not possible to argue that it is a mitigating factor or that it triggers the employer’s duty to accommodate.

We are told by the Communications Security Establishment that in 2018, half of all advanced democracies holding national elections had their democratic process targeted by cyber threat activity.

This article originally appeared in the July-August 2019 issue of Canadian Lawyer InHouse magazine.

Recently, in Barer v. Knight Brothers LLC, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the applicable threshold for a party’s submission to a foreign court’s jurisdiction under the Civil Code of Québec. Québec defendants sued abroad – and foreign companies sued in Québec – should take notice.