Due Diligence
You’re thinking of acquiring a business and wondering whether it’s worthwhile to do due diligence? Here is a summary of some considerations that will help you better understand the importance of that exercise.
Publications
Time Limit for Publication of an Amendment to a Call for Tenders – Reflections on the Impact of Recent Legislative Amendments on Your Contractual Strategy
This article first appeared in French in the September 2016 edition of the “Direction APPRO” bulletin of the Quebec Corporation of certified municipal officers (COMAQ).
The time limit for the receipt of bids for construction, supply and services contracts involving an expenditure of at least $100,000 is no less than 15 days following the publication of the call for tenders.
Suspension of Arbitration Hearing Pending a Court Decision on the Constitutionality of Bill 15: Two Contradictory Decisions
Following the publication of our last article, entitled “Quebec’s Bid to Reform Municipal Pension Plans Will Have to Wait for the Superior Court to Determine the Validity of Bill 15”, which concerned the decision rendered by arbitrator Claude Martin in the matter of Ville de Montréal v. Fraternité des policiers et policières de Montréal, a second interlocutory decision in a similar case was rendered barely one month later in the matter of Ville de Montréal v. Syndicat des professionnelles et professionnels municipaux de Montréal.
The Impact of Failing to Comply with the Formal Requirements of a Suretyship Contract
The courts have stressed this many times: in order to proceed against a surety, the creditor must have respected the conditions of the suretyship contract.
Statements of Offence Can Now Cost You Even More!
This article initially appeared in French in the August 30, 2016 bulletin of the APECQ.
The total amount of the fine pursuant to a statement of offence includes the penalty itself, court costs and a “contribution”. The amount of the latter, which until October 20, 2015 was a fixed amount of $14, is now as much as 25% of the amount of the fine!
Unreasonable Delays in Criminal and Penal Matters: the Supreme Court Toughens the Rules!
On July 8, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its decision in R. v. Jordan, [2016] SCC 27 (hereinafter, “Jordan”), which discussed issues regarding the right to be tried within a reasonable time in criminal and penal matters. This decision is truly a game changer: before the provincial courts a delay of 18 months or more will now be presumed excessive and could lead to the charges being dismissed.