The first snowflakes have fallen. The stores are filled with Christmas decorations, and carols are playing on the radio … All the signs are there – the office Christmas party is fast approaching!
Despite the festive and casual nature of an office Christmas party, employers need to be on their guard, as many troublesome situations can arise at such an event.
You are no doubt familiar with the term “unanimous shareholder agreement”. But you may be under the impression that it is simply an alternate version of the term “shareholder agreement”. Far from it – it is a very different type of instrument.
On October 21, 2014, the Court of Appeal of Quebec rendered an important judgment in the matter of the bankruptcy of Sylvain Girard (500-09-024077-133) that will have a decisive impact in the handling of bankruptcy cases involving the tax authorities, namely the Agence du revenu du Québec (“ARQ”) and the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”).
On September 30, 2104, the Minister of Justice introduced Bill n°14: An Act to amend the Code of Civil Procedure and other provisions seeking principally to increase the ceiling of the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Division of the Court of Quebec from $7,000 to $15,000, and diminishing accordingly the jurisdiction of the Court of Quebec.
Clients often ask us to review the clauses in their sale contracts or various standard-form contracts that stipulate late-payment penalties.
The Integrity in Public Contracts Act, assented to by the Quebec legislature on December 7, 2012, amended, inter alia, the Act respecting contracting by public bodies so that authorization from Quebec’s financial markets regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”), must now be obtained by any business enterprise seeking to enter into a public contract or subcontract, for an amount determined by the government. Such authorization effectively certifies that the enterprise in question satisfies the high standards of integrity that the public has the right to expect from them. These new provisions apply to the entire public sector, including Crown corporations and municipalities.