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Title	Date	Expertise
Amendments to the Notifiable Transactions Regulations Amendments to the Notifiable Transactions Regulations made under the Competition Act came into force on February 2, 2010. These amendments reflect the legislative amendments to the Competition Act which were passed...	March 19, 2010	Competition and Antitrust	More
The Supreme Court of Canada Clarifies the Scope of the Federal Environmental Assessment Process On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its decision in MiningWatch Canada v. Canada (Fisheries and Oceans).	March 12, 2010	Environmental, Mining and Resources	More
Court Denies Motion for Mareva Injunction in a Section 8 Damages Action On March 2, 2010, the Federal Court denied a motion brought by Novopharm Limited seeking a Mareva injunction enjoining Eli Lilly Canada Inc. from transferring its revenues to its parent company, Eli Lilly and Company.	March 11, 2010	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
La LFI et la LACC et les donneurs de licences et licenciés Le 18 septembre 2009, après des années de reports parlementaires depuis 2005, les modifications importantes apportées à la Loi sur les arrangements avec les créanciers des compagnies (LACC) et à la Loi sur la faillite et l'insolvabilité (LFI)...	March 11, 2010	Insolvency and Restructuring, Technology	More
A New Threat for Structured Finance Transactions: Flip Clauses Enforceable? A recent U.S. bankruptcy case has challenged the enforceability of a common structured finance provision and exposed many highly rated transactions to the risk of downgrade and default.	March 10, 2010	Debt Finance, Insolvency and Restructuring	More
On the Legal Implications of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Adopting a ''beyond compliance'' approach to business management in the shadow of state laws and regulations can present both opportunities and challenges for the forward looking company.	March 10, 2010	Governance and Directors Liability	More
Enforced Self-Regulation: A New Paradigm for Canadian Human Rights Law? Corporate Social Responsibility (''CSR'') has been referred to as a form of ''self-regulation in the shadow of the law.'' While CSR strategies for corporate governance may be often ''voluntarily'' adopted, a CSR mandate can and should be seen to serve...	March 10, 2010	Governance and Directors Liability	More
Employment Related Human Rights Due Diligence in Ontario Section 26 of the Ontario Human Rights Code states that it is a ''...condition of every contract entered into by or on behalf of the Crown or any agency thereof and of every subcontract entered into in the performance thereof that...''	March 10, 2010	Governance and Directors Liability	More
Government Regulation, Costs and CSR Productivity gains can be achieved through corporate social responsibility activities, particularly when it comes to anticipating government action. CSR does not mean conservation for the sake of conservation; it also recognizes that...	March 10, 2010	Governance and Directors Liability	More
Health Canada Releases Finalized Guidance Document For Subsequent Entry Biologics On March 8, 2010, Health Canada released the finalized version of its Guidance Document on the approval of Subsequent Entry Biologics. The finalized Guidance Document follows the original and revised draft Guidance Documents, released on January...	March 10, 2010	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Bill C-300 Heads Back to Standing Committee When the House of Commons re-opens on March 3, 2010, Bill C-300 (the Corporate Accountability of Mining, Oil and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries Act) will be back in front of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International...	March 10, 2010	Governance and Directors Liability	More
ISO 26000 Social Responsibility Standard: A Sneak-peek and Legal Implications The International Standards Organization (''ISO'') Social Responsibility Standard 26000 is an attempt to standardize and codify the concept of social responsibility for organizations, including business.	March 10, 2010	Governance and Directors Liability	More
A New Scope for Material Environmental Social and Governance Disclosure? On April 9, 2009, a private member's resolution was passed unanimously by the Ontario Legislature calling on the Ontario Securities Commission to conduct a consultation on corporate social responsibility and environmental, social and governance...	March 10, 2010	Governance and Directors Liability	More
Prosecution Pitfalls: Have Recent Decisions Raised the Bar for the Duty of Candour (Inequitable Conduct)? Traditionally, Canada has not had a duty of candour comparable to that of the United States. As recently as 1999, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal held that the duty of disclosure must be provided for in statute, rules, or jurisprudence and...	March 9, 2010	Intellectual Property	More
Drug and Alcohol Policies: Some New Pieces of the Puzzle On December 2, 2009, Mtre Jean-Pierre Lussier issued an arbitral award affirming the validity of the alcohol and drug policy implemented at Shell Canada Ltd. The decision is of particular interest since Arbitrator Lussier provides answers to some...	March 9, 2010	Employment and Labour	More
Canadian Covered Bond Legislation Contemplated As Part of Federal Budget Having been involved in the establishment of covered bond programs for Canadian financial institutions from the outset, we are pleased to see that the Government's March 2010 budget contemplates the introduction of covered bond legislation.	March 8, 2010	Corporate Finance and Securities, Debt Finance	More
Toronto and Tel Aviv Exchanges Sign MoU: Is Dual-Listing on the Horizon? On February 10, 2010, the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize cooperation between the TASE and both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange.	March 8, 2010	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Obtaining a Legal Opinion is a Recognized Defense for a Municipality! In a recent decision, the Quebec Court of Appeal held that a municipality that had obtained a legal opinion that was neither frivolous nor manifestly erroneous could be relieved of liability in regard to a call for tenders.	March 8, 2010	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
A New Breed of Patent Troll? False Patent Marking in the US In a series of recent decisions, United States courts have clarified the law concerning patent marking, including the consequences of falsely marking items as patented.	March 5, 2010	Patents	More
Finally Some Relief - Elimination of Section 116 Certificate Requirements and Canadian Income Tax on Gains from Sale of Certain Shares by Non-Residents On March 4, 2010, the Canadian federal government tabled its Budget. Included in the Budget is a proposal which would eliminate, with effect from March 5, 2010, what has been a longstanding thorn in the side of foreign private equity and venture...	March 5, 2010	Tax	More
Federal Budget 2010 - Income Tax Measures On March 4, 2010, the federal government tabled its Budget. This bulletin summarizes the principal income tax measures affecting businesses contained in the Budget.	March 4, 2010	Tax	More
Quebec Court Discusses University's Rights and Obligations Regarding Employee Inventions The Quebec Court of Appeal recently released its decision in Université de Sherbrooke v. Beaudoin et al. which discusses the rights and obligations of a university when dealing with inventions made by its employees.	March 3, 2010	Patents	More
Court Holds That Innovators Have No Duty Of Care To Consumers Of Generic Drugs A proposed class action was commenced against Pfizer Canada Inc. et al. for alleged negligence relating to the manufacture and sale of Neurontin (gabapentin).	March 3, 2010	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Quebec Court of Appeal Considers the Nature of Claims Made Policies In the recent decision Fonds d'assurance de la responsabilité professionnelle de l'Ordre des architectes du Québec c. Syndicat de Beaucours, the Quebec Court of Appeal handed down one of a very few Quebec rulings on ''claims made'' liability...	February 25, 2010	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Les modifications clés touchant les sociétés ouvertes en vertu de la Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec À la suite du dépôt du Projet de loi 63 en octobre dernier, l'Assemblée nationale du Québec adoptait, le 1^er décembre 2009, la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions, dont l'objectif est de moderniser le régime juridique...	February 24, 2010	Corporate and Commercial	More
Les aspects relatifs à la gouvernance en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec À la suite du dépôt du Projet de loi 63 en octobre dernier, l'Assemblée nationale du Québec adoptait, le 1^er décembre 2009, lanouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions, dont l'objectif est de moderniser le régime juridique...	February 24, 2010	Corporate and Commercial	More
Les modifications de structure en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec À la suite du dépôt du Projet de loi 63 en octobre dernier, l'Assemblée nationale du Québec adoptait, le 1^er décembre 2009, la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions, dont l'objectif est de moderniser le régime juridique...	February 24, 2010	Corporate and Commercial	More
Le droit au rachat d'actions en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec À la suite du dépôt du Projet de loi 63 en octobre dernier, l'Assemblée nationale du Québec adoptait, le 1^er décembre 2009, la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions, dont l'objectif est de moderniser le régime juridique...	February 24, 2010	Corporate and Commercial	More
Les nouveaux recours d'actionnaires en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec À la suite du dépôt du Projet de loi 63 en octobre dernier, l'Assemblée nationale du Québec adoptait, le 1^er décembre 2009, la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions, dont l'objectif est de moderniser le régime juridique...	February 24, 2010	Corporate and Commercial	More
La convention unanime des actionnaires en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec À la suite du dépôt du Projet de loi 63 en octobre dernier, l'Assemblée nationale du Québec adoptait, le 1^er décembre 2009, la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions, dont l'objectif est de moderniser le régime juridique...	February 24, 2010	Corporate and Commercial	More
Les règles en matière de financement et de maintien du capital en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec À la suite du dépôt du Projet de loi 63 en octobre dernier, l'Assemblée nationale du Québec adoptait, le 1^er décembre 2009, la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions, dont l'objectif est de moderniser le régime juridique...	February 24, 2010	Corporate and Commercial	More
La nouvelle loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec - une réforme en profondeur du droit des sociétés au Québec En décembre dernier, le Gouvernement du Québec adoptait le Projet de loi n^o 63 intitulé Loi sur les sociétés par actions. La nouvelle loi constitue une réforme en profondeur du droit des sociétés applicable au Québec qui touchera...	February 24, 2010	Corporate and Commercial	More
La responsabilité des administrateurs et dirigeants en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec À la suite du dépôt du Projet de loi 63 en octobre dernier, l'Assemblée nationale du Québec adoptait, le 1^er décembre 2009, la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions, dont l'objectif est de moderniser le régime juridique...	February 24, 2010	Corporate and Commercial	More
Love My Tender, Love It Sweet - The Rebuffed Proponent On Friday, February 12, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada released the long awaited decision in Tercon Contractors Ltd. v. British Columbia (Transportation and Highways).	February 19, 2010	Construction, Engineering and Infrastructure	More
New Draft Policy and Regulations on Waste Management On November 25, 2009, the Government of Quebec published its Draft Quebec Residual Materials Management Policy and its Five-Year Action Plan, whose main goal is to make end waste the only residual material sent for disposal in Quebec.	February 19, 2010	Environmental	More
Canadian Competition Law: 2009 Year in Review In 2009, Canada made significant amendments to its competition and foreign investment laws, including introducing a ''per se'' criminal offence for conspiracies and emulating aspects of the pre-merger notification system in the United States.	February 11, 2010	Competition and Antitrust	More
Privacy and Technology Law Developments: 2009 Year in Review In the wake of the financial crisis and fragile recovery that consumed 2009, companies increasingly strove to reduce costs by leveraging technology, including cloud computing and social media, to conduct and grow their businesses.	February 10, 2010	Privacy and Access to Information, Technology	More
New Risks and Rewards for Licensors and Licensees in BIA/CCAA Amendments On September 18, 2009, after years of Parliamentary delay dating back to 2005, wide-ranging amendments to Canada's Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act came into force, providing...	February 8, 2010	Insolvency and Restructuring, Technology	More
New Insider Reporting Regime to Take Effect in Canada On January 22, 2010, the Canadian Securities Administrators published advance notice that they will adopt a new reporting regime for insiders of public issuers in Canada.	February 5, 2010	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Commercial Agreements Among Competitors: A New Antitrust Regime Coming to Canada in March 2010 Antitrust law in Canada is, for the most part, contained in the Competition Act (Act), a federal statute that prohibits various kinds of anticompetitive behaviour, including commercial agreements among competitors that have anticompetitive effects.	January 31, 2010	Competition and Antitrust	More
Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement in Canada: An Overview for Innovative Drug Manufacturers Navigating through the labyrinth of pricing regimes poses a significant challenge to drug manufacturers in Canada.	January 29, 2010	Life Sciences	More
Supreme Court Of Canada Denies Leave To Apotex. Liability Under Section 8 Of The Noc Regulations Is Now Clarified. On January 28, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada denied Apotex's application for leave to appeal from the first appellate decision concerning the scope of liability under section 8 of the Patented (Notice of Compliance) Medicines Regulations...	January 28, 2010	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Federal Court Confirms That Deputy Judges Over the Age of 75 Are Permissible On January 26, 2010, the Federal Court ruled that persons older than 75 years of age are permitted to sit as Deputy Judges of the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal.	January 27, 2010	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Federal Court Denies Prohibition Order - Patents Not Infringed [Desloratidine (Aerius®)] On December 22, 2009, the Federal Court dismissed an application for an Order preventing the Minister of Health from issuing a notice of compliance to Pharmascience Inc. in respect of a generic version of Schering-Plough's desloratidine drug ...	January 25, 2010	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Patenting Clean Technologies: Trends, Issues and Strategies With the renewed global focus on the environment and on developing clean technologies, patenting of clean technologies has become more prolific.	January 21, 2010	Cleantech, Intellectual Property, Patents	More
Getting Ready for the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act As of January 1, 2010, many public sector organizations in Ontario must be compliant with the ''Accessibility Standards for Customer Service'', a regulation enacted under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.	January 21, 2010	Employment and Labour	More
Peering Through the Cloud - Cloud Computing: Many Benefits but There are Some Legal Issues to Consider While outsourcing the processing or hosting of information is not a new idea, as many companies are familiar with application service providers and software-as-a-service, ''cloud computing'' has become a catch-all phrase that represents...	January 20, 2010	Technology	More
Legislative Amendments Affecting the Securities Sector in Quebec Many of the provisions of the Act to amend various legislative provisions principally to tighten the regulation of the financial sector came into force on December 4, 2009. The text of the Act can be found on the website of the...	January 13, 2010	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Supreme Court of Canada Revisits Notion of Accident in Insurance Law On December 18, 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Co-operators Life Insurance Co. v. Gibbens. The Court provides important guidance on the relationship between accidents and diseases in accident insurance policies...	January 13, 2010	Litigation	More
Country Q&A - Canada 2009/2010 Written by Penny S. Bonner, Martha A. Healey, Judith Robinson and Teresa J. Walsh, this section of PLC's Cross-border Handbook on Life Sciences examines pertinent life sciences topics as they relate to Canada.	January 12, 2010	Life Sciences	More
The Helicopter, the Horse and the Duty to Defend on Appeal In a decision rendered on October 29, 2009 in Hôtels Fairmont Inc. v. Schecter, the Quebec Court of Appeal was presented once again with an opportunity to clarify the limits of an insurer's duty to defend, in a lawsuit set against what was in some...	January 11, 2010	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Federal Court Of Appeal Extends The Jurisdiction Of The PMPRB To Include Sales From The U.S.A. [Thalomid (Thalidomide)] On December 23, 2009, the Federal Court of Appeal allowed the Attorney General's appeal from the decision of Campbell J. and restored the order of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board.	January 5, 2010	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Expanded Picketing Rights in Quebec In a recent decision regarding an interlocutory injunction requested by the Canadian Museum of Civilization against striking members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the Superior Court of Quebec held that it was acceptable for striking union...	January 4, 2010	Employment and Labour	More
Federal Court Rejects All Allegations of Invalidity and Grants Prohibition Order to Pfizer [XALATAN® (latanoprost)] On December 18, 2009, the Federal Court granted an application by Pfizer Canada Inc. and Pharmacia Aktieblolag for an order prohibiting the Minister of Health from issuing a notice of compliance to Pharmascience Inc. in respect...	December 22, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Prohibiting Comparative Advertising Under the Competition Act A recent decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court illustrates the powerful recourses available under the sections of the Competition Act that prohibit false and misleading advertising.	December 22, 2009	Competition and Antitrust, Media and Communications	More
Federal Court Upholds Commissioner's Decision To Refuse To Grant A Patent On The Ground Of Obviousness Double Patenting On December 8, 2009, the Federal Court dismissed an appeal by Bayer of a decision of the Commissioner of Patents refusing to grant a patent for Patent Application No. 508,336 on the basis of obviousness double patenting.	December 21, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
IMAX Decision - Secondary Market Liability for Misrepresentations On December 14, the Ontario Superior Court released its long-awaited reasons in IMAX. This is the first judicial interpretation of the leave requirements which must be met by a shareholder wishing to bring a civil secondary market liability claim...	December 21, 2009	Class Actions, Corporate Finance and Securities, Litigation	More
Workplace Violence and Harassment Legislation Passed - What Employers Need to Know Bill 168, which amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act with respect to violence and harassment in the workplace, received Royal Assent on December 15, 2009. It will come into force on June 15, 2010.	December 18, 2009	Employment and Labour	More
Canada Consumer Product Safety Act Passed by Senate with Amendments - The Debate Goes On On Tuesday, December 15, 2009, the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (Bill C-6) received third reading in the Senate. It was passed, but with amendments to the text as passed by the House of Commons.	December 18, 2009	Recall and Crisis Management	More
GST/QST on Investment Manager Fees On April 16, 2009 the Federal Court of Appeal released its decision which dealt with whether fully-discretionary investment management services were taxable supplies subject to GST.	December 18, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities, Tax	More
USPTO Announces Pilot Program to Accelerate Examination of Patent Applications for Green Technologies On December 7, 2009, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced the ''Pilot Program for Green Technologies Including Greenhouse Gas Reduction''. This pilot program provides patent applicants with the opportunity to accelerate...	December 15, 2009	Intellectual Property, Cleantech	More
Preparing for the "New" G8 Much ink was spilled on the state of Canada-China relations during Prime Minister Harper's visit to China last week. Canadian business circles expressed considerable regret at the long gap since the previous visit to China by a Canadian Prime Minister.	December 11, 2009	International Markets - China	More
SCC Confirms No Crown Priority For Unremitted GST/QST in a Bankruptcy On October 30, 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada released its long-anticipated decision in Quebec (Revenue) v. Caisse populaire Desjardins de Montmagny. At issue in this case (and two companion cases) was the legal characterization of Crown rights...	December 10, 2009	Insolvency and Restructuring, Tax	More
Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on the Labour Code's Anti-Scab Provisions For some years now, the Internet has been changing our behaviour and way of functioning as a society. But has that revolution also had an impact on the scope of our laws? That is the question that arose in connection with two labour disputes...	December 8, 2009	Employment and Labour	More
What Employers Should Remember When Hosting Company Parties The end of the year is upon us once again and employees across the country may be drawing names for office gift exchanges and receiving invitations to staff holiday parties. But as the holiday cheer begins to flow, employers face a number of concerns...	December 3, 2009	Employment and Labour	More
The Wal-Mart Case: Supreme Court Ruling Upholds Employers' Right to Close Their Businesses On November 27, 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down judgment in Plourde v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp., upholding a principle derived from a long line of Quebec cases which recognized an employer's right to close its business, even for reasons...	November 30, 2009	Employment and Labour	More
Federal Court Holds That Formulation Patents Must Claim All Medicinal Ingredients In Order To Be Eligible For Listing [Yaz (Drospirenone/Ethinyl Estradiol)] On November 17, 2009, Justice Russell of the Federal Court dismissed Bayer Inc.'s application for judicial review of the Minister of Health's decision that Canadian Patent No. 2,194,979 was ineligible for listing on the Patent...	November 24, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Federal Court of Canada Sets Aside 'Unreasonable' Decision of the PMPRB On November 12, 2009, Hughes J. of the Federal Court allowed the judicial review applications of Teva Neuroscience G.P.-S.E.N.C. and sent the decisions back to the Patented Medicines Prices Review Board for...	November 17, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Canada - US Electricity Trade: Challenges and Opportunities Canada is the largest foreign supplier to the US of all forms of power generation - oil and gas, uranium and, of course, electricity. There is a high degree of mutual economic dependence at stake reflecting the extent to which our two economies are close	November 17, 2009	Energy	More
Possible Change in the Canadian Landscape for Price-Fixing Class Action Certification Two recent decisions in Ontario and British Columbia certifying class actions alleging price fixing indicate that the courts in Canada may be adopting a new approach to these types of claims, potentially opening the door to more litigation in this area.	November 16, 2009	Class Actions, Competition and Antitrust	More
Federal Court Considers a Patent Disclaimer Filed After the Receipt of a Notice of Allegation On October 22, 2009, Justice Zinn of the Federal Court dismissed sanofi-aventis Canada Inc.'s application for an order of prohibition. In doing so, Justice Zinn considered several issues relating to disclaimers including: the date at which...	November 10, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
China Ascending If nothing else, a visit to China confirms that the economic centre of gravity is shifting to Asia and that trend is being accelerated by the global recession. It is Asia, not the U.S., that is lifting the world out of recession and that has not...	October 30, 2009	International Markets - China	More
The Do's and Don'ts of Doing Business with Foreign Suppliers The decision to outsource manufacturing processes is a difficult one for many domestic companies. Although domestic production and labour costs are increasingly prohibitive, there is a significant cost associated with ensuring the safety and...	October 30, 2009	Outsourcing, Product Liability	More
Getting to the ''Top of the House'' in China - A Canadian Law Firm's Perspective In Chinese astrology, 2008 was the Year of the Rat. In China, it was more like the year of the rat race. With much of the world in recession, China remained a robust growth story.	October 30, 2009	International Markets - China	More
Federal Court Finds That Generic Manufacturer is Estopped From Re-litigating Patent Validity in Regard to a Related Product On October 19, 2009 Justice Martineau of the Federal Court held that Apotex's notice of allegation (''NOA'') in respect of Canadian Patent No. 2,041,113 (the ''Patent'') and the drug ZYPREXA was null, void and of no effect, as Apotex had previously...	October 27, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Does Another Recent Decision From Outside Canada Have Implications For the Rights of Universities in Inventions Made by Their Academic Staff? Hot on the heels of an Australian decision in September, an October 1 decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University v. Roche Molecular Systems, Inc.) gives further reason for...	October 26, 2009	Patents	More
The Investment Canada Act: Paper Tiger No More This year has seen several significant developments related to the Investment Canada Act. These include the enhancement of the enforcement powers of the Minister of Industry (the Minister) and the expansion of the Minister's power to now also...	October 23, 2009	Competition and Antitrust	More
Passport for Business - Fall 2009 Ogilvy Renault's Passport for Business magazine is a publication dedicated to the business and legal issues facing American and Canadian companies.	October 23, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Privacy and Access to Information, Technology, Trade-marks	More
Peering Through the Cloud - Cloud Computing: Many Benefits but There are Some Legal Issues to Consider ''Cloud computing'' has become a catch-all phrase that represents the plethora of hosting and processing services available and delivered over the Internet. The growing popularity with consumers of online services as well as the entrance of some...	October 23, 2009	Outsourcing, Privacy and Access to Information, Technology	More
Privacy Laws and Regulations Around the Globe: The Impact on Doing Business Internationally The protection of personal information is an important issue as business operations become increasingly global in nature. Coupled with the Internet enabling personal data to be distributed almost instantaneously across the globe, privacy has...	October 23, 2009	Privacy and Access to Information	More
Canada Needs to Enlist Its Allies in the U.S. to Fight Buy American The federal government has voiced significant concerns over the pernicious effects of the Buy American provisions embedded in the Obama administration's $800-billion stimulus program.	October 20, 2009	International Trade	More
The Recourses of the Quebec Health Insurance Board and the Government of Quebec Against Persons Responsible for Bodily Injury Whether companies work in the services sector or the manufacturing sector, they occasionally face claims for bodily injury. These companies are often defended by their liability insurers. In any case, those handling claims of this kind need to be aware...	October 19, 2009	Litigation	More
The New Business Corporations Act: Quebec Company Law Gets a Major Overhaul On October 7, 2009, Quebec's Finance Minister tabled draft legislation (Bill 63) entitled the Business Corporations Act, which aims to modernize and substantially amend the legal framework applicable to legal persons currently governed by Parts I...	October 16, 2009	Corporate and Commercial	More
Leaders Impacted by Further Changes to Canada's Insolvency Laws Lenders that have had to work out their loans in Canada under Canadian bankruptcy laws, including the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, have generally regarded the Canadian process as one that was predictable...	October 15, 2009	Asset-based Lending, Debt Finance	More
Federal Court Invalidates Selection Patent for Zyprexa (Olanzapine) On October 1, 2009, Justice O'Reilly of the Federal Court held that Canadian Patent No. 2,041,113 was an invalid selection patent on the basis that the advantages of olanzapine in comparison to a previously disclosed genus and other...	October 15, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Importation of Product Made by a Patented Process is an Act of Infringement On October 1, 2009, after twelve years of litigation and a six-month trial, Justice Gauthier of the Federal Court held that Apotex Inc. had infringed eight Canadian patents pertaining to the drug CECLOR® (cefaclor) by using Lilly's patented...	October 15, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Canada Signs Three New PPH Pilot Program Agreements The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has entered into agreements with the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) to launch two-year pilot programs that...	October 14, 2009	Patents	More
Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving Takes Effect on October 26, 2009: What Should Employers in Ontario Do? On April 23, 2009, the Ontario Legislature passed into law the Countering Distracted Driving and Promoting Green Transportation Act, which amends the Highway Traffic Act to prohibit the use of certain display and handheld...	October 13, 2009	Employment and Labour	More
Clarifying Canada's New Two-Stage Merger Review Process: The Competition Bureau Publishes its Final Merger Review Process Guidelines On September 18, 2009, the Competition Bureau published its final Merger Review Process Guidelines, which describe the Bureau's approach to Canada's new two-stage merger review process adopted following the March 2009 amendments to...	October 6, 2009	Competition and Antitrust	More
Federal Anti-spam Offensive: An Analysis of the Proposed Electronic Commerce Protection Act (Bill C-27) On April 24, 2009, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, on behalf of the Government of Canada, tabled Bill C-27, being legislation to enact the Electronic Commerce Protection Act.	October 5, 2009	Privacy and Access to Information	More
Quebec Court of Appeal Rules in Power Corporation du Canada c. MÉDAC In a recent ruling Power Corporation du Canada c. Mouvement d'éducation et de défense des actionnaires, the Quebec Court of Appeal addressed certain issues related to section 157(1) of the Canada Business Corporations Act...	September 30, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
The Difficulty of Proper Disclosure for BIO-IT Patents According to the Canadian Patent Act a patent will only be granted if an invention is novel, non-obvious and useful, assuming that the claims define statutory (i.e., patentable) subject matter.	September 30, 2009	Patents	More
TSX to Require Security Holder Approval of Acquisitions of Public Companies by TSX Listed Issuers On September 25, 2009, the Toronto Stock Exchange (the ''TSX'') adopted amendments to its Company Manual which will become effective on November 24, 2009 ( the ''Effective Date'').	September 28, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities, Mergers and Acquisitions	More
Canada: Monopolisation Members of Ogilvy Renault's Competition/Antitrust Group discuss the abuse of dominance provisions in Canada's Competition Act in Global Competition Review's The Antitrust Review of the Americas 2010 publication.	September 25, 2009	Competition and Antitrust	More
An Insured May Be Represented by More Than One Lawyer in Some Circumstances Dans la décision Gagnon c. Sinotte et Turenne qu'elle a rendue le 13 août 2009, la Cour d'appel du Québec a reconnu le droit de l'assureur en responsabilité civile d'un demandeur-défendeur reconventionnel de désigner, pour le défendre...	September 23, 2009	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Do Universities Have Secure Rights in Inventions Made by their Academic Staff? A recent decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia (University of Western Australia v. Gray puts into question the rights that universities may hold in inventions made by their academic staff.	September 21, 2009	Patents	More
Canada and the U.S. Move To Detect and Further Prevent Foodborne Illnesses The Canadian government recently announced an injection of $75 million into Canada's food safety system to further improve Canada's ability to prevent, detect and respond to future foodborne illness outbreaks.	September 18, 2009	Recall and Crisis Management	More
Data Protection: Generics Appeal The Federal Court Decision Upholding Canada's Data Protection Regulations On September 11, 2009 Apotex Inc. filed a Notice of Appeal with the Federal Court of Appeal to set aside the decision of Mr. Justice Mandamin dated July 17, 2009, which upheld the validity of section C.08.004.1 of the data protection provisions in the...	September 15, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Canada - Japan: A Time for Deeper Engagement The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney delivered remarks in Tokyo on ''A Time For Deeper Engagement'' between Canada and Japan.	September 10, 2009		More
Repercussions of the Amazon Decision on BIO-IT Patents in Canada The Patent Appeal Board (C.D. 1290) recently rejected the Amazon "One-Click" patent application based on non-statutory subject matter. The Amazon patent application relates to software and business methods.	September 10, 2009	Patents	More
Suits Between Liability Insurers Now Possible in Quebec The question of whether a liability insurer that had paid out an indemnity owing to the negligence of its insured could seek reimbursement of a portion of that indemnity from another insurer covering the same risk had in recent years been the subject...	September 8, 2009	Litigation	More
Federal Court Grants Prohibition Order: Allegations Regarding Oxycontin® Patent Not Justified On July 17, 2009, the Federal Court (Harrington J) allowed an application by Purdue Pharma under section 6 of the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations and prohibited the Minister of Health from issuing a Notice of Compliance...	September 3, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
First Quebec Decision on the Validity of a No Smoking Policy Prohibiting Employees from Smoking Anywhere on the Employer’s Property A policy implementing a total ban on smoking anywhere on an employer's property was recently deemed legal.	August 26, 2009	Employment and Labour	More
Federal Court Finds Norvasc^® Patent to be Invalid On July 8, 2009, the Federal Court granted ratiopharm inc. a declaration under section 60(1) of the Patent Act that Canadian Patent No. 1,321,393 is invalid.	August 26, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
First Class Action Win for the Pharmaceutical Industry in Quebec On August 17, 2009, Justice Mark G. Peacock of the Quebec Superior Court ruled in favour of the respondent GlaxoSmithKline Inc., represented by Ogilvy Renault, dismissing a Motion for Authorization to Institute a Class Action made by the petitioner...	August 20, 2009	Class Actions	More
Multinational Corporations and Patchwork Privacy Laws: The Facebook Dilemma The Privacy Commissioner of Canada's recent report in response to complaints filed by the CIPPIC in respect of certain Facebook practices presents an interesting glimpse into the struggles multinational corporations face when attempting to comply with...	August 14, 2009	Privacy and Access to Information	More
Canada and the United States Launch a Joint Pilot Program for Accelerating Patent Examinations On January 28, 2008, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) launched a joint pilot program aimed at creating a fast track examination process for patent applications.	August 13, 2009	Intellectual Property, Patents	More
Competition Tribunal Issues Key Ruling on “Refusal to Deal” The Competition Tribunal dismissed an application by Nadeau Poultry Farm which would have forced Groupe Westco to continue selling their entire production of live chickens to Nadeau despite the fact that there was no contract of supply between the parties	August 10, 2009	Competition and Antitrust	More
New Registration Regime Introduced by Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements and Exemptions and Companion Policy 31-103 CP - Registration Requirements and Exemptions were published by the Canadian Securities Administrators on July 17, 2009.	August 5, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Online Income of eBay Sellers Taxable Announcement by Minister of National Revenue confirms that Canada Revenue Agency will begin to enforce the taxation of certain users of popular online marketplace eBay.	August 4, 2009	Tax, Technology	More
Amendments To The Occupational Health And Safety Regime: New Indemnities, Higher Fines, Periodic Payments Bill 35 modifying Quebec's occupational health and safety regime was passed by the National Assembly and assented to on June 10, 2009.	July 22, 2009	Employment and Labour	More
What's in a Name—or Logo, Design, Shape or Packaging? Executives often underestimate the value of their marketing tools when assessing their company's worth.	July 22, 2009	Trade-marks	More
Draft Investment Canada Regulations Establish National Security Review Process and General Review Thresholds When amendments to the Investment Canada Act were rushed through the Canadian Parliament earlier this year, many important details were left to be dealt with through revisions to the Investment Canada Regulations.	July 22, 2009	Competition and Antitrust, International Trade	More
DIP Financing Guarantees: Impediments and Approvals Debtor-in-possession financing, which is new short-term financing obtained by an insolvent company after the commencement of an insolvency proceeding, is a recurring theme for two primary reasons.	July 22, 2009	Insolvency and Restructuring	More
Federal Court of Canada Upholds Data Protection Regulations On July 17, 2009, Mandamin J. of the Federal Court of Canada dismissed the judicial review applications of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association and Apotex Inc. and upheld the constitutional validity of the Food and Drug Regulations.	July 22, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
New Federal Legislation Relating to Not-for-Profit Corporations Virtually all existing federal not-for-profit corporations are incorporated under, and subject to, Part II of the Canada Corporations Act.	July 17, 2009	Corporate and Commercial	More
Federal Court finds certain claims of ACE inhibitor patent invalid on the basis of no sound prediction and, alternatively, for obviousness. On June 29, 2009 Justice Snider of the Federal Court of Canada found that claims 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 of Canadian Patent No. 1,341,206 in relation to the drug ALTACE® (ramipril) were infringed by Apotex Inc. and Novopharm Ltd.	July 14, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Federal Court Sets Aside PMPRB Decision That Required Patentees to Report Payments Made to Third Parties Federal Court sets aside PMPRB decision that required patentees to report payments made to third parties	July 13, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Further Liberalization of Foreign Investment Policy in India The gradual liberalization and deregulation of the Indian foreign investment regime has generated significant interest among foreign investors, making India one of the fastest growing destinations for global foreign direct investment.	July 10, 2009	International Markets - India	More
Pay Equity: New Time Limits, New Obligations, New Powers The Act to amend the Pay Equity Act , billed by the Minister of Labour as legislation designed to “strengthen the Pay Equity Act” in response to the concerns expressed during consultations.	July 8, 2009	Employment and Labour	More
Bill 60: Changes to Quebec's Consumer Protection Act Stand to Have a Major Impact On June 17, 2009, Bill 60, legislation to amend Quebec's “Consumer Protection Act”, was tabled in the National Assembly by the province's Justice Minister.	July 8, 2009	Litigation	More
Guidance on Transition to New Registration Regime It is anticipated that National Instrument 31-103 - Registration Requirements and Exemptions will be published in final form July 17, 2009 and will take effect September 28, 2009.	July 7, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
When a Liability Insurer Hesitates in Taking Up the Insured's Defence Does It Risk Losing the Right to Appoint Counsel? The Quebec Court of Appeal recently had a chance to address this issue in Entreprises M. Bourget inc. c. Compagnie d'assurances Missisquoi.	July 3, 2009	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Federal Court of Appeal Clarifies Abuse of Process Doctrine in NOC Cases On June 22, 2009, the Federal Court of Appeal allowed Apotex Inc.'s appeal from the decision of Shore J., who had granted Janssen-Ortho Inc.'s application for a prohibition order in respect of the drug LEVAQUIN and Canadian Patent No. 1,304,080.	July 3, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Service Canada's Work-Sharing Program: Reducing the Impact of the Economic Downturn by Reducing Employees' Work Week Given the recent downturn in the economy, many employers are searching for creative ways to avoid layoffs and terminations where there has been a reduction in the level of their business activity.	July 2, 2009	Employment and Labour	More
Federal Court of Appeal Upholds Validity and Infringement of Coversyl® Patent On June 30, 2009, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the decision of Snider J. who had found Canadian Patent No. 1,341,196 valid and infringed by Apotex Inc.'s use, sale and export of its Apo-perindopril product.	July 2, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Requirements The Canadian government recently announced an amendment to the adverse drug reporting requirements.	June 29, 2009	Life Sciences	More
Canada's New Lead Limits Canada is proposing regulatory action to limit the amount of lead contained in specific products that can come in contact with the mouth.	June 29, 2009	Recall and Crisis Management	More
Phthalates—Canada Catches Up Canada has proposed legislative amendments that would restrict the sale, importation and advertising in Canada on six types of phthalates that are commonly used in children's toys and child care products.	June 24, 2009	Recall and Crisis Management	More
Federal Court Grants Prohibition Order Rejecting Allegations Of Obviousness, Inutility And Insufficiency Federal Court grants order of prohibition preventing the Minister of Health from issuing notice of compliance to Novopharm in respect of a generic version of Pfizer's sildenafil drug until the expiry of Canadian Patent No. 2,163,446.	June 24, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
To Whom are Directors' Fiduciary Duties Owed? Ava Yaskiel explains three key issues of the landmark decision, BCE Inc. v. 1976 Debentureholders, relating to the proposed privatization of BCE.	June 19, 2009	Governance and Directors Liability	More
Trade Secrets and Confidential Information Allyson Whyte Nowak explains how the options available to in-house counsel in the case of misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information are very different in Canada than those in the United States.	June 19, 2009	Intellectual Property	More
Passport for Business - Spring 2009 Cross-border business and issues with a distinctly Canadian perspective.	June 19, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities, Employment and Labour, Governance and Directors Liability, Intellectual Property	More
Addressing Employee Web 2.0 Indiscretions While Canadian employers have the right to discipline employees for Web 2.0 indiscretions, they must nevertheless establish “just cause” to terminate employees without notice.	June 19, 2009	Employment and Labour	More
Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations in Canada Canadian Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation programs provide a new option for U.S. companies looking for an alternative to private equity for acquiring companies.	June 19, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Federal Court Rules NEB Review Process Provides a Sufficient Framework for Consulting First Nations in Certain Circumstances The Federal Court of Canada dismissed the application by a group of First Nations bands known collectively as the Treaty One First Nations.	June 16, 2009	Aboriginal	More
The Quebec Court of Appeal Innovates By Recognizing "Potential Subrogation" Does Kingsway General Co. c. Duvernay Plomberie et Chauffage inc., [2009] QCCA 926 (C.A.) ("Kingsway") set a precedent or is it a unique case?	June 15, 2009	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Canada Consumer Product Safety Act: One Step Closer to Becoming Law On Friday, June 12, 2009, the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (Bill C-6) received final reading in the House of Commons and was passed by the House.	June 15, 2009	Recall and Crisis Management	More
Potential Unauthorized Use Of Your Trade-Marks On Facebook Facebook recently announced that effective as of 12:01AM, this Saturday June 13, 2009, Facebook will allow users to register a Facebook username (including trade-marks) as a URL	June 11, 2009	Trade-marks	More
Amazon Canadian Patent Application In a recent decision, the Patent Appeal Board (C.D. 1290) has rejected Canadian patent application number 2,246,933 entitled “Method and System for Placing a Purchase Order Via a Communications Network” filed by Amazon.com, Inc.	June 10, 2009	Patents	More
Federal Court Of Appeal Holds That Section 8 Liability Is Confined To Damages And Excludes Future Losses At long last, on June 4, 2009, the Federal Court of Appeal rendered its first substantive judgment on section 8 of the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (the "Regulations").	June 4, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
A Bill on Climate Change is Tabled in the Quebec National Assembly On May 12, 2009, Line Beauchamp, Quebec Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, tabled Bill 42 entitled An Act to amend the Environment Quality Act and other legislative provisions in relation to climate change.	June 1, 2009	Environmental	More
Update on Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards On May 21, 2009, the Canadian Securities Administrators issued Staff Notice 52-324, an update on the changeover to international financial reporting standards in Canada.	May 29, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Les recours de la Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec et de l'État québécois contre une municipalité Les municipalités du Québec reçoivent chaque année de nombreuses réclamations pour préjudice corporel, le plus souvent à la suite de chutes sur le trottoir ou d'accidents mettant en cause leurs installations sportives.	May 29, 2009	Litigation	More
Proposed Regulatory Changes to Cribs, Cradles and Bassinets Canada is proposing to amend its product safety regulations for cribs, cradles and bassinets.	May 21, 2009	Recall and Crisis Management	More
Apportionment Now Apportionment of defence costs between the insurer and insured in cases where there are claims which are covered and claims which are not covered	May 21, 2009	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
The H1N1 Flu Virus: Recommendations for Employers in Quebec The purpose of this bulletin is to provide you with general information about the H1N1 Flu Virus, also known as Swine Flu, and to respond to employers' concerns about this disease.	May 6, 2009	Employment and Labour, Federal Labour and Employment	More
A/H1N1 Flu and Pandemic Preparedness: An Employment and Labour Law Perspective On April 29, 2009, the World Health Organization raised its Pandemic Alert to Phase ''5'', in response to the spread of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection (commonly known as ''Swine Flu'').	May 1, 2009	Employment and Labour, Federal Labour and Employment	More
2009 Recall Update: Learning from the Lessons of 2008 The coming into force of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act in the United States and new regulatory initiatives in Canada herald an era of increasing public and regulatory scrutiny of food and consumer product safety.	April 30, 2009	Recall and Crisis Management	More
Battles Will Continue in Active Year for Proxy Fights While most proxy fightshave been in the resource sector so far, the scope of possible activity could widen as share prices in all sectors continue to struggle and shareholders become more aggressive.	April 29, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities, Litigation	More
The Current Economic Climate Calls for a Review of Your D&O Insurance Policy Shareholder securities claims are on the rise in the U.S. and in Canada. Bankruptcies are also on the rise. What these two phenomena have in common is that directors' and officers' personal liability is at greater risk.	April 29, 2009	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Getting It Done In Foreign Policy Speech given by Derek H. Burney, Senior Strategic Advisor at Ogilvy Renault, at the Canadian Airports Council.	April 28, 2009		More
The Current Economic Climate Calls for a Review of Your D&O Insurance Policy Shareholder securities claims are on the rise in the U.S. and in Canada. Bankruptcies are also on the rise. What these two phenomena have in common is that directors' and officers' personal liability is at greater risk.	April 27, 2009	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Does the CSST Owe You Money? According to Quebec's workers' compensation legislation, the CSST is to impute to an employer the cost of benefits payable by reason of an industrial accident that occurs or an occupational disease that is contracted while in that employer's employ.	April 23, 2009	Occupational Health and Safety and Workers Compensation	More
Your Guide to Doing Business in Canada This Ogilvy Renault publication provides non-Canadian businesses, organizations and investors a concise overview of Canada's legal and regulatory framework that impact the conduct of business in Canada.	April 21, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities, Employment and Labour, Intellectual Property, Litigation	More
Pursuing Breaches of Confidentiality Agreements by Non-Contracting Parties In its 1999 decision in Cadbury Schweppes Inc. v. FBI Foods Ltd., the Supreme Court of Canada famously held that, as a matter of equity, a breach of confidential information can be pursued against a knowing or even innocent third party recipient.	April 16, 2009	Intellectual Property, Litigation	More
Federal Court of Appeal holds that underlying data supporting a sound prediction of utility must be disclosed in the patent On March 25, 2009, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal of Justice Hughes' decision dismissing Eli Lilly's application for an order of prohibition.	April 16, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Stock Savings Plan II In 1979, the Quebec Government introduced the Quebec Stock Savings Plan (SSP) with the aim of helping Quebec companies to attract investor capital. Over the years, the Government restricted access to the plan and ultimately imposed a moratorium...	April 16, 2009	Tax	More
Ontario Superior Court Finds that Banks May Owe a Duty of Care to Non-Customer Third Parties If They Collect Fraudulent Cheques In Dupont Heating & Air Conditioning Ltd. v. Bank of Montreal, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a motion by a defendant, The Bank of Nova Scotia, which sought to have the plaintiff's claim against it summarily dismissed.	April 15, 2009	Debt Finance, Litigation	More
Health Canada Issues Finalized Guidance Document: Data Protection under C.08.004.1 of the Food and Drug Regulations The Guidance Document is substantially similar to the draft circulated in 2007, but also seeks to clarify the eligibility of innovative drugs, including combination drugs, the marketing status of innovative drugs, as well as the general review process.	April 13, 2009	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
TSX Proposes Amendments to Require Security Holder Approval for Dilutive Public Company Acquisitions The TSX has published for comment proposed changes to its Company Manual, which would require TSX listed issuers to obtain security holder approval where they propose to issue securities in connection with the purchase of a public company.	April 13, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities, Mergers and Acquisitions	More
Engaging Obama In an article originally published in the April 2009 issue of Policy Options, Derek Burney explains how the election of Barack Obama represents an opportunity for Canada to renew and redefine its relationship with the US.	April 9, 2009		More
Canada's New Two-Stage Merger Review Process Begins to Take Shape The Canadian Competition Bureau has released for public comment a draft of its Enforcement Guidelines on the Revised Merger Review Process, which describe the Bureau's approach to the two-stage merger review process.	April 8, 2009	Competition and Antitrust	More
Quebec Court of Appeal Limits the Subrogation Rights of Insurers Under a Builders' Risk Insurance Policy Efficiency and success in completing a construction project will often depend on the cooperative attitude prevailing among all the various participants performing work on the job site. Quebec courts will now have to take that reality into account.	April 7, 2009	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
La provision pour frais en matière civile : la Cour d'appel du Québec se prononce Rappelons qu'une provision pour frais est un montant d'argent avancé par une partie à une autre dans le cadre d'un litige en raison d'un déséquilibre économique entre celles-ci.	April 3, 2009	Litigation	More
Canada - US Relations in the Obama Age Derek Burney, Ogilvy Renault's senior strategic advisor and former Canadian ambassador to the United States, delivered this speech at the Carleton University Alumni Association National Capital Chapter Luncheon.	April 3, 2009		More
FINRA Proposes New Registration Category for Investment Bankers FINRA believes the creation of this new customized limited registration category will result in enhanced investor protection and member compliance. The proposed rule is also intended to allow members to allocate their training resources more efficiently.	April 2, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Canada Post Corporation v. Lépine - The Supreme Court of Canada Provides Limited Guidance on National Class Actions At issue was whether the Quebec courts should recognize an Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision certifying a multi-jurisdictional class action against Canada Post Corporation and simultaneously approving a settlement of that action.	April 2, 2009	Class Actions	More
The End of Restrictive Covenants in Employment Contracts? The Supreme Court has reinforced the Canadian view that a restrictive covenant is prima facie a restraint on trade and that only restrictive covenants that are reasonable and unambiguous will be enforced.	April 2, 2009	Employment and Labour	More
2009 Ontario Budget A summary of the principal tax measures contained in the 2009 Budget tabled by the Ontario Government on March 26, 2009.	March 27, 2009	Tax	More
New Canadian Trade-mark Opposition Practice Significant features of the new Practice Notice include the introduction of a ''cooling off'' period and clearer guidelines with respect to the Trade-marks Opposition Board's procedures for granting extensions of opposition deadlines.	March 27, 2009	Trade-marks	More
La fraude et le fardeau de la preuve Dans chacune de ces trois décisions commentées, les tribunaux ont donné raison à l'assureur, annulant la protection d'assurance émise en raison des déclarations frauduleuses de l'assuré.	March 27, 2009	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
L'obligation de renseignement d'une municipalité dans le cadre d'un appel d'offres La Cour d'appel a récemment retenu la responsabilité d'une municipalité au motif que cette dernière a fait défaut de renseigner adéquatement les soumissionnaires dans le cadre d'un appel d'offres qu'elle avait lancé.	March 24, 2009	Litigation	More
L'obligation de renseignement dans le cadre d'un appel d'offres La Cour d'appel a récemment retenu la responsabilité d'une municipalité au motif que cette dernière a fait défaut de renseigner adéquatement les soumissionnaires dans le cadre d'un appel d'offres qu'elle avait lancé.	March 24, 2009	Litigation	More
United States Immigration Alert An overview of important information pertaining to US immigration, including entering from visa waver countries, the I-9 employment authorization form, H-1B visas, and upcoming changes to US and Canadian citizen land/sea entry requirements.	March 20, 2009	Business Immigration and International Mobility	More
Highlights of the Quebec Budget 2009 - 2010 On March 19, 2009, the Quebec Minister of Finance, Monique Jérôme-Forget, tabled the Quebec Government's 2009 - 2010 Budget. The Ogilvy Renault Tax team has prepared a summary of the principal tax measures announced in the Budget.	March 20, 2009	Tax	More
When Efficiency Trumps Antitrust: Competition Bureau Publishes Final Bulletin on Efficiencies in Merger Review Although the Bureau's existing Merger Enforcement Guidelines describe the Bureau's analytical framework in assessing efficiencies, the Bulletin is intended to build upon the MEGs by providing practical guidance on the enforcement approach to efficiencies.	March 17, 2009	Competition and Antitrust	More
The Supreme Court of Canada Narrows the Scope of Faulty Design Exclusions Although they are in frequent use and well known to insurers and insureds in the construction industry, policy exclusions for faulty or improper design have been the focus of considerable debate in Canadian courts in recent years.	March 10, 2009	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Ogilvy Renault Annual Review 2008 Amid the tumultuous economic and financial events of 2008, Ogilvy Renault has continued to partner with our clients across Canada and around the world.	March 6, 2009		More
Country Q&A - Canada 2008 / 2009 Written by Penny S. Bonner, Martha A. Healey, Judith Robinson and Teresa J. Walsh, this section of PLC's Cross-border Handbook on Life Sciences examines pertinent life sciences topics as they relate to Canada.	March 5, 2009	Life Sciences	More
The IBA's 12th International Arbitration Day: A Closer Look at Due Process The International Bar Association recently held its annual International Arbitration Day in Dubai, U.A.E. The event was chaired by Pierre Bienvenu, Managing Partner of Ogilvy Renault and Co-Chair of the IBA's Arbitration Committee.	March 4, 2009	International Arbitration	More
Buyer Beware - Acquiring a Union Shop Out of Bankruptcy Could Leave You In For a Surprise The ruling in Bélanger c. Moulin à papier de Portneuf by the Court of Appeal highlights a situation that could arise more and more often as these difficult economic times result in increasing numbers of business bankruptcies.	March 3, 2009	Employment and Labour	More
Canada's Extraordinary Financing Framework: New Announcements On February 23, 2009, two initiatives were announced in the context of the Government of Canada's Extraordinary Financing Framework which supports financing for Canadian businesses and consumers.	March 2, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities, Debt Finance	More
Ontario's New Green Energy Act Released If passed, Bill 150 will enact a new Green Energy Act, 2009, and amend several other key energy and environmental statutes including the Electricity Act, 1998, the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998, the Environmental Protection Act, and the Planning Act.	February 23, 2009	Energy	More
Les pompiers ont droit à l'erreur La Cour d'appel vient de rappeler que les pompiers sont soumis à une obligation de moyens et non de résultat. Leur responsabilité n'est pas engagée même s'ils commettent une erreur dans la mesure où celle-ci ne constitue pas une faute.	February 17, 2009	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Federal Government Proposes Statutory Amendments to Assist Stability of Canadian Financial System An overview of the amendments proposed by Bill C-10: An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on January 27, 2009 and related fiscal measures.	February 13, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities, Debt Finance	More
The Quebec Derivatives Act Comes into Force This legislation results from a need identified by a group of specialists from the Autorité des marchés financiers for modern legislation to provide oversight of the derivatives sector given the remarkable growth of derivatives transactions worldwide.	February 13, 2009	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Caveat Venditor Continues The Canadian federal government re-introduced its proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act as Bill C-6 on January 29, 2009.	February 12, 2009	Recall and Crisis Management	More
Canada's Budget Bill to Overhaul the Competition Act and Investment Canada Act Bill C-10 is much more than a usual budget bill. Not only does it implement the announced measures, but it also makes important changes to laws that are usually amended by specific amending legislation.	February 10, 2009	Competition and Antitrust, International Trade	More
Caveat Venditor Continues: Ogilvy Renault Despite re-introducing its proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act as Bill C-6, the federal government has failed to address the flaws present in the previously proposed legislation, Bill C-52.	February 10, 2009	Recall and Crisis Management	More
OSC Overturns TSX Decision - Requires Shareholder Approval Based on Fairness Concerns The Ontario Securities Commission's decision on January 23 set aside a prior decision of the Toronto Stock Exchange, requiring approval by the shareholders of HudBay Minerals Inc. of the company's proposed acquisition of Lundin Mining Corporation.	February 4, 2009	Mergers and Acquisitions	More
Is Your Organization Contributing to a Multi Employer Pension Plan for Employees Working in Quebec? Employers who contribute to multi-employer pension plans governed by the Supplemental Pension Plans Act (SPPA) should be aware that the financial liability is not limited to the contribution they undertook to pay in the collective agreement.	January 29, 2009	Pension and Benefit Plans	More
Federal Budget 2009 On January 27, 2009, the federal government tabled its much-anticipated Budget. This Bulletin summarizes the principal income tax measures contained in the Budget and highlights certain non-income tax measures.	January 28, 2009	Tax	More
Canadian Securities Regulators Propose Amendments to Corporate Governance Regime In response to criticism that the current regime is too prescriptive and could be interpreted as setting minimum standards that may not be appropriate for all issuers, the proposals adopt a principles-based approach to corporate governance and disclosure.	January 26, 2009	Governance and Directors Liability	More
Competition Bureau Seeks Input on Updated Abuse of Dominance Guidelines While there are no major changes to the general enforcement framework for abuse of dominance, the updated Guidelines present new or expanded discussions of certain key concepts.	January 16, 2009	Competition and Antitrust	More
Union Ordered to Pay Damages for Intentional Injury to Foreman's Reputation, Honour and Dignity The Court of Québec allowed in part an action for $50,000 in damages brought against the Syndicat des salariées et salariés de General Dynamics usine de St-Augustin for their caricature of a foreman perceived as responsible for a new management policy.	January 15, 2009	Employment and Labour	More
Protocol Amending the Canada-US Tax Treaty Enters Into Force Last month, the Canadian Minister of Finance and the US Treasury Secretary announced the entry into force of the Fifth Protocol to the Canada-United States Income Tax Convention, 1980, which updates and amends the Treaty.	January 6, 2009	Tax	More
Comprehensive Canada-EU Air Transport Agreement Concluded On December 9, Canada and the European Union successfully concluded negotiations on a landmark Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement. The negotiations had commenced in November 2007 and the Agreement will come into effect the first half of 2009.	December 18, 2008	Transportation	More
Registration of Legal Hypothec for Land Rehabilitation Work Held Invalid by the Quebec Superior Court In the case involving a motion for cancellation of a construction legal hypothec registered against unbuilt land, the petitioner Charles-Auguste Fortier inc. had wanted to subdivide a parcel of land that it owned for purposes of residential development.	December 16, 2008	Environmental	More
Gravino v. Enerchem Transport Inc. - The Quebec Court of Appeal Clarifies the Maturing Business Opportunity Test The Court affirms an existing line of authority: a party subject to a covenant not to compete who has been released may compete with the party to whom the duty was owed, as long as it does not engage in unfair competition.	December 16, 2008	Governance and Directors Liability	More
New CEO/CFO Certification Requirements in Force December 15, 2008 National Instrument 52-109 - Certification of Disclosure in Issuers' Annual and Interim Filings and its Companion Policy will repeal and replace the current certification rules and expand the certification and disclosure requirements with respect to ICFR.	December 11, 2008	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Corporate Governance Manual Andrew Fleming and Thierry Dorval, co-chairs of our Governance and Directors' Liability Team, reviewed and revised the governance processes and procedures of the Chamber of Commerce, including the production of this manual.	December 9, 2008	Governance and Directors Liability	More
Quebec's New Securities Transfer Legislation and its Consequences for Secured Creditors The adoption of the Act respecting the transfer of securities and the establishment of security entitlements by Quebec's National Assembly is in line with measures taken by legislators in an effort to make laws reflective of the indirect holding system.	December 2, 2008	Debt Finance	More
News Flash - Provincial Elections in Quebec on December 8, 2008 Pursuant to the Quebec Election Act, every employer in Quebec must ensure that all persons in their employment who are qualified to vote are allowed 4 consecutive hours, excluding meal times, to exercise their right to vote while the polls are open.	December 1, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
Executive Compensation in Canada: New Disclosure Rules and Linking Pay to Performance Andrew Fleming and Tracey Kernahan, lawyers in the Business Law Group, wrote an article for the December 2008 issue of Financier Worldwide on the new rules of executive pay disclosure.	December 1, 2008	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
The Law of Nuisance in Quebec: Supreme Court of Canada Decides that Liability is No-Fault On November 20, 2008, the Court rendered its long-awaited decision in St. Lawrence Cement Inc. v. Barrette.The question of whether liability for nuisance in Quebec law requires proof of fault has long divided the courts and commentators.	November 24, 2008	Class Actions, Environmental	More
Changes in Store for Canada's Competition and Investment Laws In the recent Speech from the Throne entitled Protecting Canada's Future, the Canadian government outlined its plans to amend Canada's competition and investment laws.	November 24, 2008	Competition and Antitrust	More
Blogging in the Workplace: What Employers Need to Know Mary Gleason, Ottawa Chair of our Employment and Labour Law Group, writes in Lawyers Weekly on what measures employers can take to ensure employees conduct themselves appropriately while blogging about work.	November 14, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
Barium Recalls in Canada Since August 2008, there have been seven recalls in Canada involving barium in excess of the allowable limit on the surface paint of children's toys.	November 13, 2008	Recall and Crisis Management	More
The Competition Bureau Publishes Updated Guidance on Corporate Compliance Programs On October 24, 2008, the Competition Bureau published the final version of its updated information bulletin on Corporate Compliance Programs, which can assist Canadian businesses wishing to develop or improve their internal regulatory compliance program.	November 11, 2008	Competition and Antitrust	More
The Global Labor Challenge John Mastoras and Dan McDonald co-authored the section on Canada for this BEERG / HR Policy Association paper on collective bargaining outcomes and prospects in key world economies.	November 10, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
Mass Exodus of Employees, Implied Duties Owed to Employers and the Supreme Court of Canada On October 9, 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered a highly anticipated decision in RBC Dominion Securities Inc. v. Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., making two critical rulings.	November 10, 2008	Employment and Labour, Litigation	More
Taking Action Against Workplace Violence in Ontario Amendments to the Canada Labour Code's occupational health and safety regulations that address the issue of workplace violence came into force on June 18, 2008. British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Quebec have all passed similar legislation in recent years.	November 10, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
Quebec Court of Appeal Warns Insurers To Specify All the Reasons for Denial of Coverage Over the past several decades, the Quebec Court of Appeal has reminded insurers that the omission to invoke a reason for denial of coverage in a timely manner can be fatal to the insurer.	November 3, 2008	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Establishing a Defence Against Civil Liability for Misrepresentations Contained in Forward-Looking Information The Ontario Securities Commission recently published Policy 51-604 - Defence for Misrepresentations in Forward-Looking Information. The Policy provides guidance to issuers who are attempting to establish a defence against their liability to investors.	November 3, 2008	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Public Mergers and Acquisitions in Canada This guide to public M&As in Canada covers key questions and considerations pertaining to topics such as regulation, pre- and post-bid matters, transaction conduct, cross-border acquisitions, competition review, and federal income tax.	November 1, 2008	Mergers and Acquisitions	More
Ontario Bench and Bar Instructed to Consider ''Proportionality'' A very important change for Ontario litigation is the express addition of the concept of ''proportionality'' to the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure.	October 20, 2008	Litigation	More
Passport for Business - Fall 2008 Cross-border business and issues with a distinctly Canadian perspective.	October 20, 2008	Employment and Labour, Environmental, Litigation	More
Decision-Tree Analysis: An Effective Method to Manage Litigation in a Business Setting Brian Daley, a partner in the Intellectual Property group, explores how decision-tree analysis can be a valuable tool in comparing perspectives and possible outcomes in complex lawsuits.	October 20, 2008	Litigation	More
Canada Transitions to International Financial Reporting Standards in 2011 Dawn Whittaker provides information on the upcoming shift to International Financial Reporting Standards, as well as recommendations for US companies that have pending or existing relationships with Canadian organizations.	October 20, 2008	Mergers and Acquisitions	More
Checking References: Companies Collecting Personal Information for Hiring Purposes Can Run Afoul of Privacy The seemingly innocuous process of checking references can carry the risk of running contrary to privacy laws. Anthony Moffatt discusses best practices companies should keep in mind with respect to the ''patchwork quilt'' of Canadian privacy legislation.	October 20, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
A Heightened Focus on Environmental Claims: Some Things You Should Know Andrew Taylor examines how the parameters listed in the CSA's second edition of Environmental Claims: A Guide for Industry and Advertisers could impact the way companies market their products.	October 20, 2008	Environmental	More
New Rules on Executive Compensation Disclosure The CSA has introduced new rules regarding the disclosure of executive compensation which are intended to improve the quality of such disclosure.	October 16, 2008	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Quebec Court of Appeal Clarifies Criteria for Distinguishing Between a Contract of Insurance and a Contract of Warranty The Quebec Court of Appeal recently handed down its decision in regard to the class action brought by the Automobile Protection Association against Toyota Canada Inc.	October 10, 2008	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Client Alert - US TN Visas Extended From One to Three Years TN visas are available for Canadian and Mexican workers who seek temporary entry to the United States as professionals under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).	October 9, 2008	Business Immigration and International Mobility	More
Ontario Government introduces the Ideas for the Future Act On September 23, the Ontario government released the Ideas for the Future Act, 2008, fulfilling a promise included in the 2008 Ontario Budget.	October 8, 2008	Tax	More
News Flash: Employers' Obligations at Federal Election Time Under the Canada Elections Act, every employee who is qualified to vote has the right to take three consecutive hours, while the polls are open, i.e., from 9:30 A.M. until 9:30 P.M. (if in the Eastern time zone), for the purpose of voting.	October 7, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
Competing to Win in Canada Competition / Antitrust lawyer Paul Feuer reviews the June 2008 report on Canadian competitiveness released by the Competition Policy Review Panel.	October 1, 2008	Competition and Antitrust	More
Guidelines on Environmental Claims Serve as Reference for Companies Andrew Taylor explains the legal implications on product claims relating to environmental friendliness.	October 1, 2008	Cleantech, Environmental	More
The Insurer's Duty to Defend: The Quebec Court of Appeal Draws an Important Distinction The Quebec Court of Appeal recently handed down an important decision in the area of insurance law, affirming that a situation could arise where an insurer would ultimately have a duty to indemnify.	October 1, 2008	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Resolving Misconceptions about Foreign Nationals Working in Canada Yusra Siddiquee creates awareness of the appropriate duties that international employees and contractors can perform in Canada as business visitors.	October 1, 2008	Business Immigration and International Mobility	More
Financed Restructurings in Canada In an article published in Financier Worldwide, Kevin Morley and Mario Forte discuss the ways in which Canada has proven to be a fertile ground to finance restructurings, despite lacking provisions to expedite debtor-in-possession lending.	September 30, 2008	Asset-based Lending, Debt Finance, Insolvency and Restructuring	More
Criminal Offences and Discrimination in the Workplace The Supreme Court of Canada recently handed down a decision in Montréal (City) v. Québec (Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse) where it examined the rule, set out in Section 18.2 of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms	September 30, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
Proposed Amendments to Quebec's Code of Civil Procedure Aim to Curtail Abusive Court Proceedings and Promote a Fair Balance Between Parties The Quebec Justice Minister has tabled Bill 99, An Act to amend the Code of Civil Procedure to prevent abusive use of the courts and promote freedom of expression and citizen participation in public debate.	September 29, 2008	Litigation	More
Inadvertent Lapse of Patent Rights in Canada On September 9, 2008, Canada's Federal Court of Appeal rendered a decision in a closely watched case concerning the inadvertent lapse of patent rights: DBC Marine Safety Systems Ltd. v. Canada (Commissioner of Patents)	September 29, 2008	Patents	More
BC Supreme Court Reaffirms the Necessity of Consulting Aboriginal Peoples at the Strategic Planning Stage The British Columbia Supreme Court recently handed down a decision of considerable importance to both governments and the forestry industry, reminding them of the necessity of consulting and accommodating Aboriginal peoples.	September 26, 2008	Aboriginal	More
Private Equity Opportunities in the Global Energy Sector Charles Keizer is quoted in an article published in Financier Worldwide, describing how a renewed interest in alternative energy and greater energy demand from countries like China and India are affecting the industry.	September 15, 2008	Cleantech, Energy, International Markets - China, International Markets - India, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity	More
Proposed Income Trust Conversion Rules On July 14, 2008, following up on a promise made on December 15, 2006, the Department of Finance released draft legislation to amend the Income Tax Act (Canada) to facilitate the conversion of income trusts to public corporations.	September 5, 2008	Tax	More
ICANN Announces New Expansion of the Internet Domain Name System The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body in charge of managing the Internet domain name system, recently approved a series of recommendations which could dramatically change the Internet landscape.	September 2, 2008	Intellectual Property	More
Canada Moves the Environment and Climate Change to the Front Burner Faced with pressure from customers, stakeholders and governments, companies in Canada must now respond by being more accountable of their actions in how they affect the environment.	August 31, 2008	Cleantech	More
Passport for Business - Summer 2008 Cross-border business and issues with a distinctly Canadian perspective.	August 31, 2008	Environmental, Litigation, Mergers and Acquisitions, Pension and Benefit Plans, Recall and Crisis Management	More
Limitation of liability clauses: manufacturers, sellers and contractors beware Olivier Kott, a senior partner who represented Domtar Inc. in a landmark Supreme Court decision rendered in November 2007, writes in The Revay Report about the 18-year-old case and the impact it has on professional sellers and contractors.	August 31, 2008	Construction, Engineering and Infrastructure, Litigation	More
Be Mindful of the Investment Canada Act when Acquiring a Canadian Business Denis Gascon and Jason P.T. McKenzie discuss the implications of the Honourable Jim Prentice's rejection of the proposed acquisition of MDA by ATI as it relates to the Investment Canada Act.	August 31, 2008	Mergers and Acquisitions	More
Canada and U.S. Pension and Employee Benefits: Important Differences J. David Vincent, Senior Partner of the Employment & Labour team, discusses key issues such as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, health benefits, defined benefit pension plans, retirement, and collective bargaining.	August 31, 2008	Employment and Labour, Pension and Benefit Plans	More
Coping with Product Recalls in Canada Takes on New Urgency The number of product recalls and public notices of voluntary product withdrawals issued over the past year is unprecedented in Canada. Christine A. Carron provides insight on the current product recall situation and its effects on Canadian business.	August 31, 2008	Recall and Crisis Management	More
Pay Equity - The Superior Court Hands Down an Important Ruling The Court held that a certified association may call for the establishment of a separate pay equity plan in an enterprise even where the certified association does not represent any employees included in a predominantly female job class.	August 27, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
New Federal Legislation Relating to Not-For-Profit Corporations (Bill C-62) - Again On June 13, 2008, the federal government introduced legislation in the House of Commons which, it hopes, will eventually replace the Canada Corporations Act and apply to most federal not-for-profit corporations.	August 26, 2008	Corporate and Commercial	More
TSX Publishes Listing Rules For Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations On August 15, 2008, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) published for comments proposed new rules regarding the listing on the exchange of special purpose acquisition corporations (SPACs).	August 22, 2008	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
To support a patent listing in respect of a change in use, a patent must specifically claim that changed use; a broad claim is insufficient On July 25, 2008, the Federal Court of Appeal allowed an appeal of Simpson J's decision and affirmed the Minister's decision to remove Canadian Patent No. 2,269,053 ('053 patent) from the Patent Register.	August 14, 2008		More
Solicitor-Client Privilege Trumps Privacy Commissioner's Investigatory Powers In a unanimous ruling issued on July 17, 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that the Privacy Commissioner of Canada cannot order the production of documents over which a claim of solicitor-client privilege is asserted.	August 1, 2008	Privacy and Access to Information	More
Digging too Deep Anthony Moffatt has an article published in Canadian Employment Law Today discussing how employers should know the limits of privacy legislation and what they can collect when conducting reference checks.	July 30, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
No One is Bound to Do the Impossible On July 17, 2008 the Supreme Court rendered a highly anticipated decision in Hydro-Québec v. Syndicat des employé-e-s de techniques professionnelles et de bureau d'Hydro-Québec, section locale 2000 (SCFP-FTQ). Employers can finally heave a sigh of relief.	July 25, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
Notice to Industries that have Reduced their Greenhouse Gas Emissions Between 1992 and 2006 All businesses included in the various classes of industries contemplated in the Federal Government's Greenhouse Gas Regulatory Framework and that would be entitled to claim early action credits, should file a 'Notice of Interest' by July 28, 2008.	July 25, 2008	Environmental	More
The Supreme Court Revisits Attendance Management and Wallace Damages: Honda v. Keays In addition to providing a welcome respite for employers from seemingly limitless scrutiny of their conduct, the Supreme Court also took the opportunity to clarify its approach to the grant of damages laid down in Wallace.	July 22, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
Competition Policy Review Panel Presents Final Report: Compete to Win The Report assesses Canada's competitiveness, and in particular Canada's foreign investment and competition policies. It also provides recommendations to the Minister of Industry to make Canada more competitive in an increasingly global marketplace.	July 11, 2008	Competition and Antitrust	More
Heightened Focus on Environmental Claims To assist industry and advertisers in complying with Canadian legislation and national/international standards, the CSA recently released the second edition of the special publication Environmental Claims: A Guide for Industry and Advertisers.	July 7, 2008	Competition and Antitrust, Environmental	More
Canadian Government Procurement Complaints: Court Closes A Door The Federal Court of Appeal closed the door on non-Canadian suppliers using the Agreement on Internal Trade as a basis to challenge federal government contract awards before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal.	July 3, 2008	International Trade	More
Impartiality and Arbitrator Bias: The View from Canada's 14 Jurisdictions Canada's 14 federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions, all of which have adopted the Model Law and the New York Convention, provide a sort of legal microcosm within which the question of arbitrator bias is addressed from a variety of perspectives.	July 1, 2008	International Arbitration	More
New Regulations to Prevent Work Place Violence in Effect The newly amended Regulations apply to employers who are subject to federal labour jurisdiction, in industries such as banking, interprovincial and international transportation, broadcasting, federal Crown corporations and the federal public service.	July 1, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
Jurisdiction in Respect of Section 124 of the Labour Standards Act: The Court of Appeal Rules The Court of Appeal has ruled that a grievance arbitrator does not have jurisdiction to apply section 124 of the Act respecting labour standards and that only the Commission des relations du travail has jurisdiction in matters involving this remedy.	June 30, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
Federal Court Decision on Maintenance Fees and Equity The Court's decision is noteworthy not only for its analysis of the payment issue but also for its comments on the entitlement to equitable relief from forfeiture.	June 23, 2008	Patents	More
New Regulations Regarding Principal Protected Notes to Take Effect July 1, 2008 An overview of the new federal regulations introduced in response to concerns about investments in PPNs given the increased variety and complexity of such products.	June 11, 2008	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Canada's Access to Medicines Regime In September 2007, Canada became the first WTO member to authorize an antiviral drug for export, to Rwanda, under Canada's Access to Medicines Regime. The medicine has yet to reach Rwanda and criticism has been levied at CAMR as a result.	June 2, 2008	Intellectual Property	More
Canadian M&A in 2008: The After Party Rick Sutin wrote about the M&A landscape amidst a slow American economy and a high Canadian dollar. The article appears in the 2008 Lexpert Guide to the Leading U.S./Canada Cross-border Corporate Lawyers in Canada.	May 30, 2008	Cleantech, Corporate Finance and Securities, Insolvency and Restructuring, Mergers and Acquisitions	More
Supreme Court of Canada Denies Recovery in "Fly-in-the-Bottle" Case as Injury to Plaintiff not Foreseeable In its decision in Mustapha v. Culligan of Canada Ltd.,the Supreme Court of Canada made a major ruling on the law of negligence in Canada.	May 29, 2008	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Passage of Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) in the U.S. Opens the Door for Personalized Medicine On May 21, President Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). GINA prohibits discrimination by insurance companies or employers on the basis of "genetic information" about an individual or his or her family members.	May 28, 2008	Life Sciences	More
Proposed Certification Rules The Canadian Securities Administrators (the CSA) have published for public comment a new national instrument which, if enacted, would repeal and replace Multilateral Instrument 52-109 - Certification of Disclosure in Issuers' Annual and Interim Filings.	May 26, 2008	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Drug and Alcohol Testing by Employers in Canada - A Legal Issues Pulse-Check Since our last communication on the law on drug and alcohol testing by employers in Canada, three significant decisions have been rendered, one by an arbitrator in Ontario, one by the Quebec Court of Appeal and one by the Alberta Court of Appeal.	May 22, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
Summary of the Quebec Court of Appeal Decision in the BCE Matter On May 21, 2008, the Court partially allowed the debentureholders' appeal and set aside the Superior Court's approval of the plan of arrangement, casting a great deal of doubt on the likelihood that the transaction can be completed as planned.	May 22, 2008	Corporate and Commercial, Litigation	More
Canada Uses Investment Canada Act to Block Acquisition of MDA by Alliant Techsystems In an unprecedented decision, the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, rejected the proposed $1.3b acquisition of the information systems and geospatial businesses of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. by US-based Alliant Techsystems Inc.	May 15, 2008	Competition and Antitrust	More
Planning for Canada's Conversion to International Financial Reporting Standards - Advance Disclosure Obligations Canadian reporting issuers should be thinking about communicating to the market their conversion strategy and the potential impact of IFRS on their financial statements.	May 13, 2008	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Caveat Venditor The introduction of Bill C-52, the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, represents a sea change that will subject hundreds of thousands of consumer products to direct government regulation for the first time.	May 8, 2008	Recall and Crisis Management	More
Ontario Court of Appeal Denies a Liability Insurer the Right to Appoint Defence Counsel The past few years have seen a number of rulings by the courts relating to liability insurers' duty to defend their insureds. One of the questions that has been examined is whether an insured sometimes has the right to choose defence counsel.	April 25, 2008	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Battle of the Forms and Jurisdiction Clauses Is it possible for a jurisdiction clause to apply to a contractual relationship even though the clause appeared in fine print on standard-form documents issued only after the initial offer and acceptance?	April 24, 2008	International Arbitration, Litigation	More
Canadian Government Takes Action on Bisphenol A On April 19, 2008, Environment Canada and Health Canada recommended that the industrial chemical bisphenol A ("BPA") be classified as "toxic" under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 ("CEPA").	April 22, 2008	Environmental, Recall and Crisis Management	More
IBA Takeover Guide: Canada Jay A. Lefton provides an introduction to key laws, regulations, and issues surrounding takeover bids in Canada. This is a joint initiative between the IBA's Corporate and M&A Law and Securities Law committees.	April 1, 2008	Corporate Finance and Securities, Mergers and Acquisitions	More
Hold Separate Arrangement Accepted by the Commissioner of Competition Pending the Completion of a Merger Review The hold separate arrangement in relation to the acquisition of SNF Inc. by American Iron and Metal Company Inc. is an important precedent for Canadian and foreign businesses, as the inquiry into the merger's impact on competition had not been completed.	March 25, 2008	Competition and Antitrust	More
Montréal Exchange Inc.: No Insider Trading On March 13, 2008, the Autorité des marchés financiers confirmed to Montréal Exchange Inc. (MX), following an investigation, that trading in MX's stock had not given rise to any offence.	March 21, 2008	Corporate Finance and Securities, Debt Finance, Governance and Directors Liability	More
The BCE Decisions On Friday, March 7, 2008, the Quebec Superior Court handed down five judgments approving BCE's plan of arrangement for its privatization and dismissing all claims asserted by or on behalf of certain holders of Bell Canada debentures.	March 21, 2008	Corporate and Commercial, Litigation	More
Federal Court Sets Aside Competition Bureau Subpoenas In a pair of unprecedented rulings, Justice Anne Mactavish of the Federal Court of Canada quashed certain production orders she had previously issued against Labatt Brewing Company Ltd. and others in the inquiry into the Labatt/Lakeport merger.	March 17, 2008	Competition and Antitrust	More
Recalls 2008: Are You Ready? The number of recalls and public notices of voluntary product withdrawals that have been issued over the last year is unprecedented in Canada. This has resulted in a greater visibility and awareness of product safety and quality issues.	March 17, 2008	Recall and Crisis Management	More
National Class Actions in Canada - The Supreme Court Grants Leave to Appeal in Canada Post Corporation v. Michel Lépine The Supreme Court of Canada's decision to grant leave to appeal on this issue may lead to new guidance as to the role of Canadian courts in national class actions and the legal principles underlying national class actions in Canada.	March 10, 2008	Class Actions, Litigation	More
OSC Releases Notice on Environmental Reporting Obligations On February 28, 2008, the Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission released a Staff Notice on Environmental Reporting, which sets out the most thorough guidance to date on environmental disclosure for reporting issuers.	March 6, 2008	Corporate Finance and Securities, Environmental	More
New Rules for Filing and Disclosing Material Contracts Effective March 17, 2008 there will be new rules applicable to the filing and disclosure of material contracts with securities regulators.	February 27, 2008	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Federal Budget 2008 On February 26, 2008, the Conservative Government tabled its third budget. Budget 2008 contains targeted corporate and personal income tax measures, as well as measures to improve the efficiency of the tax system.	February 26, 2008	Tax	More
Amendments to the Act respecting labour standards: support for persons who have suffered tragic events Bill 58 amending the Act respecting labour standards with regard to absences and leave was passed by the Quebec National Assembly and assented to in December 2007.	February 22, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
New Requirements for Air Emissions Reporting by Canadian Companies Following the announcement of the Regulatory Framework for Air Emissions, the Government of Canada has published a notice which will allow it to collect information that is essential to the development of the proposed industrial air emissions regulations.	February 22, 2008	Environmental	More
Preserving Solicitor-Client Privilege When Engaging a Public Relations Firm Preserving Solicitor-Client Privilege When Engaging a Public Relations FirmFebruary 21, 2008 February 2008 Litigation Product Liability Recall and Crisis Management When confronted with significant litigation or a major...	February 21, 2008	Litigation, Product Liability, Recall and Crisis Management	More
Court of Québec holds that there is no minimum threshold for purposes of reporting environmental spills On December 6, 2007, Mr. Justice Michel Boissonneault of the Court of Québec (District of Roberval) handed down his decision in Procureur général c. Transport Doucet & Fils Mistassini inc. (in French only),[1] dismissing the argument that there exists...	February 19, 2008	Environmental	More
The New York Convention: 50 Years The New York Convention,[1] a key international arbitration instrument designed to facilitate the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, was adopted in 1958 under the auspices of the United Nations.	February 18, 2008	International Arbitration	More
Lobbyist Registration: New Rules and Burdens Coming on Canada Day The long-awaited amendments to the federal Lobbyists Registration Act are now scheduled to come into effect on July 1, 2008.	February 18, 2008	Corporate and Commercial	More
Ogilvy Renault Annual Review 2007 Ogilvy Renault's 2007 Annual Review highlights a year of success on behalf of both longstanding and new clients. We are proud to have helped them achieve their goals while delivering on our commitment to provide exemplary service.	February 18, 2008		More
The Competitive Edge There have been two recent developments regarding the government's intentions to review Canada's foreign investment policies and competition laws.	February 14, 2008	Competition and Antitrust	More
Supreme Court of Canada: Insurers Cannot Always Benefit from Legal Subrogation A recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, in a case from Quebec, confirms the wisdom of insurers' longstanding practice of obtaining a transfer of their insureds' rights when they pay claims.	February 13, 2008	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Termination Agreements - An End to the Uncertainty? The Civil Code of Québec provides that a party to a contract of employment with an indeterminate term may terminate it by giving notice of termination or, in the case of the employer, pay in lieu of notice to the other party.[1]	February 12, 2008	Employment and Labour	More
Decision on Timely Disclosure of Merger Negotiations Released by the Ontario Securities Commission On January 14, 2008, the Ontario Securities Commission (the Commission) issued its decision In the Matter of AiT Advanced Information Technologies Corporation (AiT), Bernard Jude Ashe (Ashe) and Deborah Weinstein (Weinstein).	January 28, 2008	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Litigation News The Supreme Court of Canada's recent judgment in the case of ABB Inc. v. Domtar Inc.[1] represents a landmark decision on sellers' and manufacturers' liability in Quebec.	January 18, 2008	Litigation	More
Commercial Arbitration in Canada The Canadian legislative landscape is expressly designed to support the use of arbitration, be it domestic or international. Canadian courts are increasingly knowledgeable of and available to assist with the arbitral process and, ultimately, the...	January 7, 2008	Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution, International Arbitration	More
Elimination of Withholding Tax on Arm's Length Payments of Interest On December 14, 2007, the legislation to eliminate Canadian withholding tax on interest paid or credited to arm's length non-resident lenders became law.	December 19, 2007	Tax	More
New Obligations for Quebec Enterprises to Report Emissions of Contaminants into the Atmosphere The new Regulation respecting mandatory reporting of certain emissions of contaminants into the atmosphere requires Quebec enterprises to henceforth report atmospheric releases of certain contaminants.	December 17, 2007	Environmental	More
New CSA Rules on Forward-Looking Information Will Take Effect December 31, 2007 Effective December 31, 2007, the Canadian Securities Administrators are amending several national instruments and forms which will implement new requirements for forward-looking information, including future-oriented financial information (FOFI)...	December 4, 2007	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Ogilvy Renault Annual Review 2006 2006 was an exciting year for our clients, lawyers and agents. We are particularly proud of our client-focused approach to providing service—a perspective clearly appreciated by those we serve.	December 3, 2007	Administrative and Judicial Review, Debt Finance, Employment and Labour, Environmental, Federal Labour and Employment, Insolvency and Restructuring, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Mergers and Acquisitions, Projects and Project Finance	More
Country Q&A - Canada 2007/2008 This document provides answers to some of the top questions regarding regulation, manufacturing, marketing and other topics in the field of life sciences.	December 3, 2007	Life Sciences	More
Civil Liability Remedy for Secondary Market Disclosure Now Available in Quebec On November 9, 2007, An Act to amend the Securities Act and other legislative provisions[1] (the "Act") came into force.	November 29, 2007	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Supreme Court of Canada: Manufacturers can never rely on ignorance of a defect as their sole defence The Supreme Court of Canada has just rendered a landmark decision on sellers' and manufacturers' liability in Quebec. In ABB Inc. v. Domtar Inc.,[1] the Court upheld Domtar's action against ABB Inc. and Alstom Canada Inc. for nearly 39 million dollars.	November 27, 2007	Product Liability	More
International finance transactions - Update on proposed elimination of Canadian withholding tax Draft legislation was released that, if enacted, will accelerate the effective date for the elimination of Canadian withholding tax on interest payments to arm's length non-resident lenders.	November 23, 2007	Debt Finance	More
Terence Dobbin featured in Financier Worldwide Terence S. Dobbin, a partner in Ogilvy Renault's Business Law practice, was invited to write a guest column in November's UK-based Financier Worldwide magazine.	November 21, 2007	Mergers and Acquisitions	More
New Effective Date for the Elimination of Withholding Tax on Interest A Notice of Ways and Means Motion tabled in Parliament on November 13, 2007 has moved forward the effective date for the elimination of Canadian withholding tax on interest payments to arm's length non-resident lenders.	November 21, 2007	Tax	More
Electronic Court Filing: A Cost Efficient Alternative for Today's Litigant E-filing is a major development which is quickly changing the way North American courts operate.	November 21, 2007	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Ontario Court of Appeal Overturns Denial of Certification in Foreign Exchange Class Action On November 14, 2007 the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in Cassano v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank,[1] certifying a class action alleging that Toronto-Dominion Bank ("TD") breached its contract with credit card holders by failing to ...	November 19, 2007	Class Actions, Litigation	More
"Constructive" dismissal or layoff: What Are the Consequences of the Distinction? Both case law and doctrine acknowledge that an employee's decision to leave his employment may have been prompted by his employer's actions, in which case we talk about a constructive dismissal.	November 15, 2007	Employment and Labour	More
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Rule Changes Put on Hold In August 2007, we reported that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had adopted new rules of practice which, in some instances, would significantly change the way patent applications are prepared, filed, and prosecuted in the U.S.	November 9, 2007	Intellectual Property, Patents	More
Recycling of Residual Materials: New Obligations for Companies in Quebec Does your company make products that require packaging? Do you have a business in Quebec that produces or distributes containers, packaging or printed matter?	November 7, 2007	Environmental	More
Getting Familiar with Family Day It's official. With Premier McGuinty's introduction of "Family Day," Ontario joins Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia in providing nine statutory holidays for all provincially regulated employees.	November 6, 2007	Employment and Labour	More
You Owe it to Yourself and Your Family to Consider Estate Planning We can help you in creative and cost effective ways with wills. Failure to have a professionally prepared Will almost invariably results in unnecessary delay, expense, and tax, not to mention heartache.	November 5, 2007	Estates, Trusts and Wealth Management	More
The London Agreement Reduces Translation Requirements for European Patents It will soon become significantly less costly to obtain patent protection in European countries.	November 5, 2007	Intellectual Property, Patents	More
New Cost Assignment Measures Adopted by the CSST Are Sure to Impact Your Financial Files! On May 1, 2007, the new cost assignment centre of Quebec's workers' compensation board (the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail or CSST) became operational.	November 2, 2007	Employment and Labour	More
Supreme Court of Canada Affirms Dismissal of Danier Leather Shareholder Class Action The Supreme Court of Canada issued its decision in the shareholder class action suit Kerr v. Danier Leather Inc.	October 19, 2007	Corporate Finance and Securities, Litigation	More
Income Splitting with Testamentary Trusts Canadian taxpayers are subject to a progressive income tax system in which the rate of tax increases as the level of income increases.	October 16, 2007	Estates, Trusts and Wealth Management	More
Defensive Tactics in Canadian M&A In the Sept. 2007 issue of Financier Worldwide, Terence S. Dobbin, partner in the Business Law Group, comments on the state of Canadian companies vis-à-vis corporate takeovers.	October 12, 2007	Mergers and Acquisitions	More
Takeovers Involving Foreign, State-Owned Enterprises and National Security On October 9, 2007, The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, announced that the Canadian Government would be accelerating the review of certain foreign investment matters and their treatment under the Investment Canada Act.	October 12, 2007	International Trade	More
Takeovers Involving Foreign, State-Owned Enterprises and National Security In summer 2007, amid rising pressure to ensure the national interest is being protected after several recent high-profile foreign takeovers, including Alcan, Hudson's Bay Co., Dofasco and Inco, the Government of Canada established the Competition ...	October 12, 2007	International Trade	More
Ontario Superior Court Certifies Class Action Against Health Canada On September 5, 2007, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released its decision in Taylor v. Canada (Health),[1] certifying a class action that alleges that Health Canada was negligent in that it failed to exercise its powers and responsibilities...	October 11, 2007	Class Actions, Life Sciences, Litigation	More
Ontario Superior Court Certifies Class Action Against Health Canada On September 5, 2007, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released its decision in Taylor v. Canada (Health), certifying a class action that alleges that Health Canada was negligent in that it failed to exercise its powers and responsibilities under ...	October 11, 2007	Class Actions, Litigation	More
International finance transactions - Update on proposed elimination of Canadian withholding tax In its second budget, the federal Conservative Government announced significant measures towards the elimination of withholding tax on interest paid or credited by Canadian-resident borrowers to arm's length non-residents, regardless of the latters' ...	October 10, 2007	Debt Finance	More
Changes to Canadian Trade-Mark Opposition Practice in Force as of October 1, 2007 On October 1, 2007, the Canadian Trade-marks Office implemented changes to the procedures followed by the Trade-marks Opposition Board.	October 10, 2007	Intellectual Property, Trade-marks	More
Twenty Years On, the Cassandras Are Still Wrong Derek H. Burney, Senior Strategic Advisor at Ogilvy Renault, reflects on the 20th anniversary of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA).	October 3, 2007	International Trade	More
Employers' Obligations regarding Voting in the Upcoming Ontario Provincial Election On October 10, 2007, voters will head to the polls for a provincial election. With the approach of the election, employers must be aware of their obligations, including allowing employees time to vote.	October 1, 2007	Employment and Labour	More
Canada's Federal Court of Appeal Makes Important Decision in Patent Invalidity for Obviousness George Locke, a partner in the IP group, wrote this article in the October 2007 issue of the international IP publication Patent World.	October 1, 2007	Intellectual Property, Patents	More
Internal By-laws: A "Must Have" for Good Governance by Pension Committees Pension plan governance is an issue that has attracted a great deal of attention in the last few years.	September 28, 2007	Pension and Benefit Plans	More
Update on Canada-US Tax Treaty - Hybrid Entities On September 21, 2007, the Minister of Finance announced the signing of the Fifth Protocol to the Canada-United States Income Tax Convention, 1980 (the "Treaty"), which updates and amends certain provisions of the Treaty.	September 27, 2007	Tax	More
Update on Canada-US Tax Treaty The March 19, 2007 Federal Budget announced that an agreement in principle had been reached to amend the Canada-United States Income Tax Convention.	September 24, 2007	Debt Finance	More
Markson v. MBNA Bank: The Ontario Court of Appeal Broadens the Scope of Aggregate The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released its decision in Markson v. MBNA Canada Bank. This is a class action based on the allegation that certain credit card fees and interest charges amounted to a criminal rate of interest.	September 14, 2007	Litigation	More
Indiscriminate Blogging by Employees May Breach Confidentiality Requirement In a recent Ontario arbitration award, Chatham-Kent v. CAW-Canada, Local 127 the termination of a unionized retirement home employee was upheld by an arbitrator for acts of insubordination and breach of confidentiality.	September 11, 2007	Employment and Labour	More
A Fitness Centre at Work: Appealing Working Condition or More Responsibility for the Employer? Are you one of those employers who are always looking for ways of attracting new talent in a field where qualified workers are scarce or building loyalty within your existing workforce?	September 11, 2007	Employment and Labour	More
News Flash: The CLP is Changing its Rules! The Government recently approved certain amendments to the Rules of Evidence, Procedure and Practice of Quebec's Commission des lésions professionnelles and accordingly adopted the Regulation to amend the Rules of evidence.	August 28, 2007	Occupational Health and Safety and Workers Compensation	More
Highlights of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Rule Changes The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has now adopted new rules of practice which, in some instances, will significantly change the way patent applications are prepared, filed, and prosecuted in the U.S.	August 28, 2007	Intellectual Property, Patents, Trade-marks	More
Supreme Court of Canada Considers the Right to Class Actions in the Context of an Arbitration Agreement The Supreme Court of Canada recently rendered its much-anticipated decision in Dell Computer Corp. v. Union des consommateurs, an appeal in which Ogilvy Renault acted for the London Court of International Arbitration which was granted intervener status by	August 27, 2007	Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Class Actions	More
NAFTA Tribunal Dismisses UPS Claims Against Canada An arbitral tribunal composed of Dean Ronald A. Cass, Yves Fortier, C.C., Q.C. and Judge Kenneth Keith recently ruled on an investment dispute opposing United Parcel Service of America Inc. and the Government of Canada.	August 16, 2007	International Arbitration, International Trade	More
Enforcement of Patent Rights in Pre-Trial Proceedings An article co-authored by Brian Daley, a partner at Ogilvy Renault, compares pre-trial procedures in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.	August 15, 2007	Insurance and Professional Liability, Patents	More
The spirit of the law -The Spirits International case In Canada, trademark rights are acquired and maintained through use.	August 14, 2007	Intellectual Property, Trade-marks	More
Grey goods may or may not constitute copyright infringement On July 26, 2007, Canada's highest court rendered an important decision which will be of interest to those who distribute imported goods in Canada.	July 31, 2007	Intellectual Property	More
Litigation News Recent decisions in the area of class actions appear to have lowered the bar for plaintiffs seeking to certify class actions in Ontario.	July 24, 2007	Litigation	More
Canadian Government to Reconsider Foreign Investment Review Provisions of the Investment Canada Act In early June 2007, the federal government announced a plan to review the Investment Canada Act.	July 4, 2007	International Trade	More
NASD Proposes Revised Rules for Fairness Opinions On June 7, 2007, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amendments to proposed NASD Rule 2290 which imposes new disclosure and procedural requirements for fairness ...	June 29, 2007	Mergers and Acquisitions	More
The Supreme Court of Canada's New Approach to Interjurisdictional Immunity and Paramountcy On May 31, 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada released two long-awaited and important decisions - Canadian Western Bank v. Alberta and British Columbia (Attorney General) v. Lafarge Canada Inc.	June 27, 2007	Litigation	More
Resource Development and the Duty to Consult and Accommodate Aboriginal Peoples: Ontario Superior Court Takes On a Major Supervisory Role The Superior Court of Justice of Ontario affirmed in two recent rulings that the duty to consult and accommodate the concerns of an Aboriginal community whose rights could be affected by mineral exploration activities arose from the time those...	June 21, 2007	Aboriginal, Litigation, Mining and Resources	More
Patent Invalidity for Obviousness: Canada's Federal Court of Appeal Renders an Important Decision On June 7, 2007, Canada's Federal Court of Appeal rendered a decision in Novopharm Limited v. Jannsen-Ortho Inc. that dealt with several patent issues.	June 21, 2007	Patents	More
References Provided Over the Telephone: Employers, Watch Out! The Quebec Court of Appeal recently ruled on a case where a woman suspected that her former employer was harming her by providing poor references about her.	June 19, 2007	Employment and Labour	More
Supreme Court of Canada Declares Collective Bargaining A Charter Right On June 8, 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a landmark decision declaring meaningful collective bargaining to be a right protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.	June 15, 2007	Employment and Labour	More
The National Holiday: Last Minute Legislative Changes On June 7, 2007, the National Assembly unanimously adopted legislation amending the National Holiday Act and the Act respecting hours and days of admission to commercial establishments.	June 14, 2007	Employment and Labour	More
Merger Review: New Timing Considerations Following The Commissioner of Competition v. Labatt Brewing Co. Ltd. et al The Competition Tribunal's decision significantly limits the ability of the Commissioner to obtain interim orders under section 100 of the Competition Act pending a merger review and to halt the implementation of a merger transaction.	June 5, 2007	Competition and Antitrust	More
Canadian Businesses Will be Affected by the New European Regulatory Framework for the Management of Chemical Substances On December 18, 2006, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted a regulation and a directive establishing the REACH system and setting up the European Chemicals Agency. REACH oversees the registration, evaluation and ...	June 4, 2007	Environmental	More
Brian Mulroney delivers closing speech at the Congrès du Barreau 2007 "It is with considerable emotion that I return from whence I came. And it is with both great pride and humility that I receive the Medal of the Quebec Bar Association."	June 2, 2007	Administrative and Judicial Review	More
Developments in Canadian M&A In this article published in LEXPERT's 2007 Guide to the Leading U.S./Canada Cross Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada, Terence S. Dobbin, Francis R. Legault and Pierre R. Dagenais explain why corporate Canada experienced a tremendous amount of mergers ...	May 30, 2007	Mergers and Acquisitions	More
The Selective Distribution of Brand Name Products in Canada On March 23, 2007, the Competition Tribunal ("Tribunal") rendered a decision concerning the supply of (or refusal to supply) brand name wares to department stores.	May 28, 2007	Competition and Antitrust, Intellectual Property	More
Proposed Internal Controls Certification The Canadian Securities Administrators are proposing to introduce a new national instrument to repeal and replace Multilateral Instrument 52-109 - Certification of Disclosure in Issuer's Annual and Interim Filings (MI 52-109).	May 25, 2007	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Doing Business with Foreign States and State Companies Doing business with foreign states can be very attractive for Canadian firms. States can award lucrative contracts on a scale uncommon in the business world.	May 25, 2007	Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Corporate and Commercial, International Arbitration, International Trade, Litigation	More
Highlights of the Quebec Budget 2007-2008 On May 24, 2007, the Quebec Minister of Finance, Monique Jérôme-Forget, tabled the Quebec Government's 2007-2008 Budget.	May 24, 2007	Tax	More
BC Court of Appeal Clarifies Duty to Consult and Concept of Priority In R. v. Douglas et al, four members of the Cheam First Nation who had been convicted of fishing without a licence by the Provincial Court of British Columbia and who were subsequently acquitted on summary conviction appeal, had their convictions ...	May 23, 2007	Aboriginal	More
Amendments to Canada's Patent Rules to Come Into Force on June 2, 2007 On June 2, 2007, amendments to Canada's Patent Rules ("Amendments") will come into force.	May 18, 2007	Patents	More
What You Should Know Before Acquiring A Biometric Access Control System New access control systems which identify individuals by their biometric characteristics or measurements are now available to replace traditional systems (punch cards, magnetic cards, electronic keys).	May 18, 2007	Employment and Labour	More
Federal Court of Appeal Ups the Ante for Patentees Litigating under the PM(NOC) Regulations In Sanofi-Aventis Canada Inc. v. Novopharm Limited 2007 FCA 163 the Federal Court of Appeal has decided that a patentee who unsuccessfully challenges an allegation made by a generic drug manufacturer under the PM(NOC) Regulations cannot re-litigate ...	May 16, 2007	Life Sciences, Patents, Privacy and Access to Information	More
KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc.: the United States Supreme Court speaks on patent invalidity for obviousness On April 30, 2007, the Supreme Court of the United States released its unanimous decision in KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc. The Supreme Court reversed a decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ("CAFC") and restored a District ...	May 4, 2007	Patents	More
Canada's New Air Emissions Reductions Plan On April 27, 2007, the federal government released its Regulatory Framework for Air Emissions which is intended to significantly reduce greenhouse gases and other air pollutants (together "air emissions") in Canada.	May 3, 2007	Environmental	More
Tainted Spouse Trusts When planning their Wills, most people understand that the capital gains tax that normally arises on death can be deferred if everything is left to one's spouse or to a trust for the exclusive benefit of the spouse.	May 1, 2007	Estates, Trusts and Wealth Management	More
Distance Contracts and E-commerce The Quebec legislator has initiated a complete overhaul of the Consumer Protection Act (the "CPA") in order to modernize the legislation, which was adopted in 1978.	April 24, 2007		More
Duty to Consult and Accommodate Aboriginal Peoples: Impact on the Mining Industry in Canada In November 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled, in Haida and Taku River, that the federal and provincial Crown has a duty to consult Aboriginal peoples and to accommodate their concerns even before Aboriginal title or rights claims have been decided.	April 16, 2007	Aboriginal, Litigation, Mining and Resources	More
Proposed New Rules on Executive Compensation Disclosure The CSA recently published for public comment proposed amendments to National Instrument 51-102 - Continuous Disclosure Obligations (the "Proposed Amendments") and Form 51-102F6 - Statement of Executive Compensation (the "Form").	April 11, 2007	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Cross-border Transactions: Proposed Elimination of Canadian Withholding Tax On March 19, in its second budget, the federal Conservative Government announced significant measures to eventually eliminate withholding tax on interest paid by Canadian-resident corporate borrowers to arm's length non-residents...	April 3, 2007	Tax	More
Technology Licensing - The Importance of Being Precise The Counsel to Counsel article appearing on this Web site is provided with permission of LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell®.	April 1, 2007	Technology	More
Proactively Managing Software Sourcing The Counsel to Counsel article appearing on this Web site is provided with permission of LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell®.	April 1, 2007	Technology	More
"A More Sinister Complexion": The Critical Need for Thorough and Robust Privacy Compliance Procedures and Plans Personal information stored on stolen devices can be used for purposes such as fraud and identity theft - problems that have reached epidemic proportions throughout North America.	March 21, 2007	Life Sciences, Privacy and Access to Information	More
Litigation News On January 25, 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Double N Earthmovers Ltd v. Edmonton.	March 19, 2007	Litigation	More
Federal Budget 2007 On March 19, 2007, the Conservative Government tabled its second budget.	March 19, 2007	Tax	More
The CSA Propose a Harmonized Registration Regime The CSA recently published for public comment proposed National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements (the Rule) and Companion Policy 31-103 CP (the Companion Policy).	March 19, 2007	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Check the Rules of the Game When Buying a Bankrupt Business In the past, the judicial sale of a bankrupt business allowed the purchaser to continue the operations of the business without being bound by the obligations of the bankrupt business to its employees.	March 15, 2007	Employment and Labour, Insolvency and Restructuring	More
Can an Enterprise Communicate Personal Information on its Clientele Outside Canada? An analysis of the findings of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada in recent inquiries, and impacts of Bill 86 on Quebec enterprises	March 12, 2007	Privacy and Access to Information	More
Employee Privacy Trumps Workplace Safety Concern: An Update on Random Drug Testing A disappointing decision for employers on random drug testing was released by an Ontario Board of Arbitration on December 11, 2006.	March 8, 2007	Employment and Labour	More
ITEC Publications Publication topics include: outsourcing and shared services; technology transactions and commercialization; due diligence and corporate governance for technology transactions; intellectual property and technology; financing technology deals; ADR in...	March 5, 2007	Technology	More
Statutory Copyright Damages Come of Age In December 2006, the Federal Court of Canada rendered a decision where it awarded $500,000 in damages for copyright infringement in the field of software.	February 28, 2007	Intellectual Property	More
The Doctrine of Inequitable Conduct May Have Arrived in Canada In a startling decision released on January 24, 2007, a judge of the Federal Court has deemed a patent to be abandoned based on the patentee's failure to disclose in good faith all appropriate facts in its patent application, and respond in good faith ...	February 23, 2007	Life Sciences, Patents, Privacy and Access to Information	More
Highlights of the Quebec Budget 2007-2008 On February 20, 2007, the Quebec Minister of Finance, Michel Audet, tabled the Quebec Government's 2007-2008 Budget.	February 21, 2007	Tax	More
Supreme Court of Canada Reverses Course on Procurement Law Every year Canadian businesses make purchasing decisions cumulatively worth billions of dollars through tendering processes.	February 13, 2007	Construction, Engineering and Infrastructure	More
Canada's New Chemical Management Plan In December 2006, the federal government introduced Canada's new Chemical Management Plan (the "Plan"), intended to improve the degree of protection in Canada against chemicals that are considered hazardous to the environment and human health.	February 13, 2007	Environmental, Litigation	More
Proposed CSA Rules Relating to Forward-Looking Information Including Future-Oriented Financial Information and Financial Outlooks In December 2006, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published for comment proposed amendments to several national instruments and forms that would implement new requirements for forward-looking information, including future-oriented...	February 13, 2007	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Avoiding Probate Fees Using Multiple Wills In 1992, the Ontario government tripled probate fees. These are the fees that the government charges for putting its seal of approval on the will of a deceased person, thereby confirming the authority of the executors named in the will to administer ...	February 7, 2007	Estates, Trusts and Wealth Management	More
The Hollowing Out of Corporate Canada? Speech given by Derek H. Burney, Senior Strategic Advisor at Ogilvy Renault, at the Conference Board of Canada Mergers & Acquisitions: New Threats and Opportunities conference.	January 19, 2007	Mergers and Acquisitions	More
New U.S. Supreme Court Ruling: Increased Power Afforded to Patent Licensees On January 9, 2007, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a patent licensee is no longer required to terminate or breach its licence agreement in order to seek a declaratory judgment that the underlying patent is invalid, unenforceable or not ...	January 17, 2007	Intellectual Property	More
Canada Seeks Uniformity with New Organic Products Regulations From Update Magazine January/February 2007, Issue 1. Reprinted with permission from FDLI.	January 2, 2007	Life Sciences	More
Bills C-257 and C-236: A Complete Prohibition on Replacement Workers? There are two bills currently pending before Parliament which propose to amend the Canada Labour Code (the "Code").	December 20, 2006	Employment and Labour	More
Drug Name Confusion: Health Canada's "Look-alike, Sound-alike" Drug Name Review Policy It has now been one year since Health Canada released a new policy to review drug and other health product names as part of its pre-market regulatory approval process.	December 16, 2006	Life Sciences, Trade-marks	More
Former Distributor Retains Legitimate Interest in Disputed Domain Name On November 15, 2006, in a domain name dispute submitted to the National Arbitration Forum pursuant to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy") of the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), an arbitration ...	December 15, 2006	Intellectual Property, Trade-marks	More
International Tribunal Awards US$83.8 million to Airport Investors On October 2, 2006, an international arbitral tribunal constituted under the rules of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) awarded US$83.8 million to foreign investors in Hungary's Budapest-Ferihegy International ...	December 15, 2006	Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution, International Trade	More
The Arthurs Report On October 30, 2006, Professor Harry Arthurs, serving as a federally appointed Commissioner, delivered his report entitled "Fairness at Work: Federal Labour Standards for the 21st Century" ("Arthurs Report") to the federal Minister of Labour, the ...	December 11, 2006	Federal Labour and Employment	More
In a rush to obtain your U.S. patent?—The USPTO proposes a two-tiered system for examining patent applicationsIn a rush to obtain your U.S. patent?—The USPTO proposes a two-tiered system for examining patent applications The waiting time to obtain a patent from the American patent office (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO) is getting longer and longer, especially in the information technology, telecommunications and business methods sectors. On August 25, 2006 ...	December 4, 2006	Patents	More
Country Q&A - Canada 2006/2007 This document provides answers to some of the top questions regarding regulation, manufacturing, marketing, and other topics in the field of life sciences.	December 1, 2006	Life Sciences	More
General Information - Trade marks Overview; registering a trade-mark; common law trade-marks; licenses; trade-mark use; maintaining valid trade-marks.	November 29, 2006	Life Sciences, Trade-marks	More
The Challenges of Governing, a speech by Derek Burney "The Challenges of Governing" is a speech from Derek Burney, Senior Strategic Advisor at Ogilvy Renault LLP, given at the Deloitte National Public Sector Industry Conference, Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, on November 15, 2006.	November 27, 2006	Corporate and Commercial	More
Governing Green: Canada Introduces Organic Products Regulations The organic products industry in Canada has been growing at a rate of 15-20% annually for the past 10 years and is now the fastest growth sector in agriculture.	November 9, 2006	Life Sciences	More
A Tip to Save You Money in Protecting Your Brand On September 19, 2006, the Federal Court of Canada rendered a decision which will influence your document management policy.	November 9, 2006	Trade-marks	More
Federal Labour Standards Review: Recommendations Fairness at Work: Federal Labour Standards for the 21st Century.	October 30, 2006	Federal Labour and Employment	More
If at First You Don't Succeed. On October 17, 2006, Justice Hughes delivered Reasons for Judgment in Janssen-Ortho Inc. and Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. v. Novopharm Limited,[1] a patent infringement action brought in respect of the drug levofloxacin.	October 30, 2006	Patents	More
Doing Business with Foreign States and State Companies Doing business with foreign states can be very attractive for Canadian firms.	October 26, 2006	Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution, International Trade	More
Supreme Court Denies Deduction for Foreign Exchange Losses on Foreign Currency Debt On October 20, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its decision in the cases of Imperial Oil Ltd. v. The Queen and Inco Ltd. v. The Queen.	October 24, 2006	Tax	More
Quebec Court of Appeal Provides Guidance on Conditions for Authorization of Class Action After almost nine months of deliberation, the Court of Appeal has just handed down its decision in the Agropur case.	October 23, 2006	Class Actions, Litigation	More
Amendments to Procurement Contracts Are Subject to CITT Review The decision of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal ("CITT" or the "Tribunal") in Canyon Contracting[1] may significantly limit the ability of federal government departments and agencies to amend contracts that have been awarded following a ...	October 19, 2006	International Trade	More
In Canada - Don't Be Vulnerable to a Departing Employee Ogilvy Renault's Employment and Labour Law practice is one of Canada's largest management-side practices.	October 16, 2006	Employment and Labour	More
Court of Appeal Releases Its Decision in Keays v. Honda On September 29, 2006, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its long-awaited decision[1] in the appeal of the trial judge's award in Keays v. Honda Canada Inc. As we reported to you in April 2005, the trial judge awarded 15 months' notice, an ...	October 11, 2006	Employment and Labour	More
Ontario and Federal Government Sign Agreement for Combined Ontario Corporate Tax Administration - A Blessing and A Curse? On October 6, 2006 the federal and Ontario Ministers of Finance signed an agreement under which the federal government will collect and administer Ontario's corporate income tax.	October 10, 2006	Tax	More
Unions in Canadian Restructurings... Who's the Gatekeeper? Not for reproduction or publication by any persons other than ABFjournal.	October 10, 2006	Asset-based Lending	More
Antitrust: A Cross-border Perspective Reprinted from 2006 Lexpert Guide to the Leading 100 Canadian Industry Specialists. (c) Thomson Carswell.	October 10, 2006	Competition and Antitrust	More
Permission to search On 27 July 2006, Canada's highest judicial instance rendered its first decision1 on Anton Piller2 Orders (APO), an effective remedy often used by intellectual property rights owners to preserve evidence in their fight against counterfeit products.	October 4, 2006	Intellectual Property, Litigation, Trade-marks	More
Abuse of dominance in Canada An extract from The Antitrust Review of the Americas 2007, a Global Competition Review special report.	October 2, 2006	Competition and Antitrust	More
The Weakest Link: A Privacy Case Study and Cautionary Tale The single greatest privacy challenge facing institutions today does not lie in creating policies and procedures that are compliant with Canadian law.	October 2, 2006	Privacy and Access to Information	More
Extra Protection for Canadians Investing Abroad Canadian companies and individuals are investing abroad more than ever before.	September 15, 2006	Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution, International Arbitration	More
OSC Issues Decision in Sears Canada Bid The Ontario Securities Commission recently released its decision regarding the proposed privatization of Sears Canada Inc. ("Sears Canada") by its U.S. parent, Sears Holdings Corporation ("Sears Holdings").	September 12, 2006	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Important Supreme Court of Canada Decision on Receiver Liability as a Successor Employer On July 27, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in The Industrial Wood & Allied Workers of Canada, Local 700 v.GMAC Commercial Credit Corporation of Canada et al. dealing with, among other things, the authority of Bankruptcy Courts...	August 10, 2006	Asset-based Lending, Debt Finance, Employment and Labour, Insolvency and Restructuring, Litigation	More
Update - Regulating Drug Prices in Ontario - A Hasty Attempt to Resolve Intricate Issues This bulletin updates our commentary of April 2006 in which we described proposed changes to the Drug Interchangeability and Dispensing Fee Act (DIDFA) and the Ontario Drug Benefit Act (ODBA).	August 10, 2006	Life Sciences	More
Litigation News In Canada 3000 Inc., Re; Inter-Canadian (1991) Inc. (Trustee of), 2006 SCC 24, the Supreme Court of Canada held that Canadian airport authorities as well as NAV Canada were entitled to seize and detain aircraft operated by airlines that had incurred ...	July 25, 2006	Litigation	More
Bill 86: More Protection for Personal Information? After many years of consultation, Bill 86[1] was assented to on June 14, 2006, following its passage by the Québec National Assembly.	July 19, 2006	Privacy and Access to Information	More
Damages for Peace of Mind Contracts - The Supreme Court of Canada Rules In Fidler v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada, 2006 SCC 30, the Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed that an award of damages for mental distress may be made in a breach of contract case where the object of the contract was to secure a psychological ...	July 14, 2006	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Does It Matter Whether the Best Is REALLY the Best? Advertising Claims in Canada From Update Magazine July/August, Issue 4. Reprinted with permission from FDLI.	July 12, 2006	Life Sciences	More
Changes to CSA Practices Regarding Technical Reports Filed for Prospectus Offerings The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have issued Staff Notice 43-306 announcing changes in administrative practices regarding...	July 11, 2006	Mining and Resources	More
No Smoking Allowed . Almost On May 31, 2006, the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, S.O. 2005, c. 18 (the "Act"), one of the most restrictive pieces of anti-smoking legislation in North America, came into effect.	July 11, 2006	Employment and Labour	More
The Competitive Edge Officials from the Mergers Branch at the Competition Bureau recently signalled an important change in their approach to pre-merger short and long-form notification filings under the Competition Act, namely, that they will be seeking more long-form...	July 6, 2006	Competition and Antitrust	More
Claims-Made Insurance - Supreme Court of Canada Rules on What Constitutes a "Claim" On June 1, 2006 the Supreme Court of Canada held in Jesuit Fathers of Upper Canada v. Guardian Insurance Co. of Canada, 2006 SCC 21, that coverage is not available under a claims-made insurance policy for injuries that are merely discovered during the ...	June 29, 2006	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Supreme Court Confirms Seizure and Detention Remedies of Airport Authorities and NAV Canada On Friday, June 9, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that major Canadian airport authorities as well as NAV Canada were entitled to seize and detain aircraft operated by airlines that had incurred airport and air navigation charges until the ...	June 22, 2006	Debt Finance, Insolvency and Restructuring, Transportation	More
Federal Government proposes important changes to the PM(NOC) Regulations and to the data protection provisions of the Food and Drug Regulations The Government of Canada will publish in the Saturday, June 17, 2006 Canada Gazette the attached draft regulations amending the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations and the Food and Drug Regulations.	June 16, 2006	Life Sciences	More
5 Lessons from the Supreme Court of Canada Mattel and Veuve Clicquot Decisions. Trade-mark owners must diligently protect their marks.	June 15, 2006	Trade-marks	More
The State of Famous Marks in Canada On June 2, 2006, Canada's highest court, the Supreme Court of Canada, allowed the mark CLIQUOT, used in relation with women's clothing boutiques, to co-exist in the marketplace with the famous VEUVE CLICQUOT branded champagnes, and allowed the mark ...	June 7, 2006	Intellectual Property, Trade-marks	More
Federal Government enacts key changes to the PM(NOC) Regulations and to the data protection provisions of the Food and Drug Regulations The Government of Canada announced today that it has passed significant amendments to the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations and the Food and Drug Regulations.	June 6, 2006	Intellectual Property	More
Federal Court of Appeal Upholds Fix for Incorrect Claims of Small Entity Status The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled that section 78.6 of the Patent Act, which came into force earlier this year, is effective in addressing problems caused by the payment of certain fees associated with patents and patent applications as a small ...	June 6, 2006	Intellectual Property	More
Quebec introduces Bill 17, An Act respecting contracting by public bodies On May 11, 2006, Monique Jérôme-Forget, Minister responsible for Government Administration and Chair of the Conseil du trésor, introduced Bill 17, An Act respecting contracting by public bodies.	June 1, 2006	Construction, Engineering and Infrastructure	More
Personnel Agencies: Are They the Real Employer? On December 12, 2005, the Commission des lésions professionnelles, sitting as a bench of three commissioners, handed down four important decisions on the question of the identification of the real employer in a tripartite relationship involving a ...	May 18, 2006	Employment and Labour	More
Social Host Liability - Direction from the Supreme Court of Canada On May 5, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Childs v. Desormeaux, 2006 SCC 18, held that, as a general rule, the host of a private party at which alcohol is served does not owe a duty of care to a person injured by a guest who consumed alcohol at ...	May 12, 2006	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Canadian Withholding Tax on Loans Between Non-Residents A non-resident planning to expand its business into Canada must decide whether to carry on the business directly (i.e., through a branch, partnership or joint venture) or to incorporate a Canadian subsidiary.	May 4, 2006	Asset-based Lending, Tax	More
2006 Federal Budget Highlights On May 2, 2006, the Conservative Government tabled its inaugural budget.	May 2, 2006	Tax	More
Can a Patent Be Invalid as a Result of Misrepresentations Made During Prosecution of the Application? A recent decision of the Federal Court of Appeal has called into question the long-held principle that a patent cannot be held invalid simply because of misrepresentations made during prosecution of a patent application, at least in the absence of fraud.	April 21, 2006	Intellectual Property, Patents	More
A Short-Sighted Approach to Reducing Drug Costs in Ontario On April 13, 2006, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care proposed sweeping amendments to the Drug Interchangeability and Dispensing Fee Act (DIDFA) and the Ontario Drug Benefit Act (ODBA).	April 19, 2006	Life Sciences	More
New Rules for Ontario Tobacco Retailers Most Ontarians already know that May 31, 2006 is the day Ontario's ban on smoking in public areas comes into effect.	April 18, 2006	Litigation	More
The Retirement of Mandatory Retirement Following in the footsteps of other jurisdictions such as Manitoba and Quebec, Ontario retired mandatory retirement on December 12, 2005, when the Ending Mandatory Retirement Statute Law Amendment Act ("Bill 211") received Royal Assent.	April 11, 2006	Employment and Labour	More
First Decisions of the Commission des relations du travail on Psychological Harassment Since June 1, 2004, An Act respecting labour standards has provided that every employee has a right to a work environment free from psychological harassment and has obliged employers to take reasonable action to prevent such harassment and, whenever ...	April 2, 2006	Employment and Labour	More
Treat Your Employees (and Ex-Employees) Well ... or It Will Cost You! The following cases demonstrate an alarming upward trend in the potential liability of Canadian employers who fail to deal fairly with current and even former employees.	March 27, 2006	Employment and Labour	More
Bill 112: More Than a Smokescreen The Act to amend the Tobacco Act and other legislative provisions (Bill 112) was assented to on June 17, 2005[1] and most of its provisions will come into force on May 31, 2006.	March 8, 2006	Employment and Labour	More
Ogilvy Renault LLP 2005 Annual Review We are pleased to share the following 2005 highlights from our four main practice areas: Business Law, Litigation, Intellectual Property and Employment and Labour Law.	March 7, 2006	Corporate Finance and Securities, Debt Finance, Employment and Labour, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Mergers and Acquisitions	More
Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring: Friends, neighbours and business partners - insolvency cooperation between Canada and the US Canada and the US enjoy a long history of successful economic integration and cooperation.	March 1, 2006	Asset-based Lending	More
Changes to the Employment Standards Act in the Wake of the Mount Sinai Decision As a result of recent changes to the regulations under the Employment Standards Act, 2000, employers in Ontario are now required to pay both statutory notice and severance to employees whose employment has been terminated due to frustration of contract...	February 15, 2006	Employment and Labour	More
Grey Goods: Encouraging News for Canadian Distributors The bane of local distributors. They are genuine, thereby escaping anti-counterfeiting recourses based on trade-mark registrations,[i] but they are imported and sold in violation of the Canadian distributor's rights.	February 8, 2006	Intellectual Property, Trade-marks	More
The Supreme Court Rules: The C.C.Q. Notice of Termination Does Not Apply to Employees Covered by a Collective Agreement In two separate grievances, arbitrators had found that they had jurisdiction, following the closure of a business, to determine that terminated employees were entitled to reasonable notice under Articles 2091 and 2092 of the Civil Code of Québec even ...	February 6, 2006	Employment and Labour	More
Bill C-29 - An Act to amend the Patent Act CORRECTION TO SMALL ENTITY The Canadian Government has amended the Patent Act to allow corrective payments on patents and applications in order to overcome the drastic results of the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal decision in Barton No-Till Disk et al v. Dutch Industries ...	February 1, 2006	Intellectual Property, Patents	More
Ontario Court of Appeal Reverses Danier Decision Issuers and their advisers can breathe a sigh of relief given the recent and highly anticipated decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in the shareholder class action suit Kerr v. Danier Leather Inc.[1] On December 15, 2005, the court unanimously ...	January 18, 2006	Litigation	More
Election Update: Protection for Political Participation and Employee Free Speech With the approach of the federal election, employers have election-time obligations that arise well before voting day.	January 10, 2006	Employment and Labour	More
Fundamental changes to Canadian insolvency laws Much to the astonishment of Canadian finance and insolvency professionals, Bill C-55, an Act to establish the Wage Earner Protection Act, to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, and the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and to make consequential...	January 3, 2006	Asset-based Lending	More
Asset-Based Lending - Recent Developments of Importance The financing market seems able to constantly adapt to the needs of lenders/pools of capital and to business borrowers.	January 1, 2006	Asset-based Lending	More
Project Finance - Recent Developments of Importance The emergence of public-private partnerships (often referred to as PPPs or P3s), soaring worldwide energy prices, the Kyoto Protocol and the growing endorsement of the "Equator Principles" have had a significant impact on project finance transactions...	January 1, 2006	Projects and Project Finance	More
Banking and Financial Institutions - Recent Developments of Importance There has been no meaningful legislative or policy reform in the Canadian financial services sector in 2005, other than draft legislation considered below with respect to corporate governance.	January 1, 2006	Debt Finance	More
New Legislation for Liability for Continuous Disclosure Violations in Force on December 31, 2005 Secondary market investors will have statutory right of action for continuous disclosure violations effective December 31, 2005	December 31, 2005	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Secondary Market Liability is Almost Here - An Ogilvy Renault LLP Seminar Amendments to the Securities Act (Ontario) will come into force on December 31, 2005.	December 20, 2005	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Bill C-55 - An Overview Of Certain Major Amendments Following the bankruptcy and insolvency reform of 1997, amendments were made to the	December 9, 2005	Insolvency and Restructuring	More
Measures to Address Problems Arising from Past Small Entity Status Claims to Come into Force on February 1, 2006 The Federal Government has set a date for the coming into force of its response to the problem of owners of patents and patent applications paying certain associated fees as a "small entity" when they should not have paid such fees as a small entity.	December 8, 2005	Intellectual Property	More
Section 106 of the Competition Act: RONA Passes the Test On May 30, 2005, the Competition Tribunal handed down an important decision in RONA inc. v. Commissioner of Competition, marking the first time the Tribunal has had occasion to interpret the new wording of section 106 of the Competition Act.	December 5, 2005	Competition and Antitrust	More
Asset-based Lending in Canada The financing market seems able to constantly adapt to the needs of lenders/pools of capital and to business borrowers.	December 1, 2005	Asset-based Lending	More
The New Parental Insurance Plan The new Quebec parental insurance plan, which was introduced by An Act respecting parental insurance,[1] will come into force on January 1, 2006.	November 29, 2005	Employment and Labour	More
First Order Issued under Ontario's PHIPA The Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner has issued the first Order under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA).	November 25, 2005	Employment and Labour	More
'Tis the Season to Be Careful The holiday season is fast approaching and workers across the country are drawing names for office gift exchanges and receiving invitations to staff holiday parties.	November 25, 2005	Employment and Labour	More
Kirkbi and Lego Are Blocked from Asserting a Functional Trade-Mark LEGO building blocks have fired the imagination of children and those young at heart for many years.	November 25, 2005	Intellectual Property, Trade-marks	More
Focus on Quebec Employment and Labour Law In principle, every employee has a duty of loyalty to his employer and cannot publicly disclose anything likely to tarnish the employer's reputation.	November 8, 2005	Employment and Labour	More
Ontario's New Civil Liability Regime for Continuous Disclosure Violations - as it Relates to Mutual Funds Amendments to the Securities Act (Ontario) will come into force on December 31, 2005.	October 31, 2005	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Canada's Offset System, A Creative Response to the Kyoto Protocol The Government of Canada is in the process of developing a Canadian offset system for greenhouse gases (GHGs), as envisioned in its 2005 Climate Change Plan.	October 21, 2005	Energy, Environmental	More
Summary Judgment in Patent Infringement Cases: Three Helpful Recent Decisions In the three-week period between June 15 and July 6 of this year, Mr. Justice Hugessen of the Federal Court of Canada issued three decisions on motions for summary judgment brought by defendants in patent infringement actions.	October 11, 2005	Intellectual Property	More
Canada Privacy Commissioner Finds Complaints About an Insurer's Videotape Surveillance Not Well Founded On August 9, 2005, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada brought some clarity to the lawfulness of videotape surveillance in the context of an insurer seeking information to defend a lawsuit.	September 30, 2005	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Impact of National Instrument 45 106 Prospectus and Registration Exemptions on Private Placements in Quebec On September 14, 2005, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) and the other Canadian Securities Administrators implemented National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus and Registration Exemptions...	September 28, 2005	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Federal government announces moratorium on providing advance income tax rulings on flow-through structures, including income trusts On September 8, 2005, the federal government issued a paper and launched consultations with the public on the tax treatment of income trusts.	September 20, 2005	Corporate Finance and Securities, Tax	More
Teachers' Freedom of Expression The B.C. Court of Appeal recently heard an appeal from the decision of Arbitrator Don Munroe who concluded that various School Boards had breached the freedom of expression rights of teachers.	September 12, 2005	Employment and Labour	More
Fixed Charges on Receivables: Where Do We Stand? One of the hottest debates within the financial and legal community in recent years has been the ability of lenders to take effective fixed security over the receivables while accommodating a borrower's commercial need to deal freely with the cash...	September 2, 2005	Debt Finance	More
Substance Over Form: Federal Court of Appeal Overturns Disclosure Exemption Last year the Federal Court (trial division) restricted disclosure under the Access to Information Act of confidential information submitted by a pharmaceutical company in connection with a New Drug Submission.	August 31, 2005	Life Sciences	More
Insurer to indemnify radio station for damages awarded to victim of defamation In an August 5, 2005 decision, Justice Jean Bouchard of the Quebec Superior Court ordered Chubb Insurance Company of Canada to reimburse its insured, a radio station whose rights had since been acquired by TVA Group Inc., some $948,000, consisting of ...	August 30, 2005	Litigation	More
Protecting Confidential Information in the Workplace: Ontario Decisions Strengthen Employers' Arsenal Never has the old adage "knowledge is power" been more true than in the modern business era where know-how is often a company's most valuable asset.	August 25, 2005	Intellectual Property	More
RMH Teleservices International Inc. v. BCGEU While the BC Labour Relations Board has acknowledged employers' expanded rights to communicate with their employees as set out in Section 8 of the Labour Relations Code, it has now placed certain limits on those rights.	August 15, 2005	Employment and Labour	More
Canadian Dumping Law: CBSA Discontinues "Zeroing" On June 2, 2005, the Canada Border Services Agency ("CBSA") issued the Statement of Reasons for its final determination with respect to the dumping of laminate flooring from Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany and Poland and its final...	August 12, 2005	International Markets - China, International Trade	More
Canada's New Law Permitting Compulsory Licences for Export of Pharmaceuticals Comes into Force In July 2004, we distributed an information bulletin entitled "Canada Amends Patent Law to Allow Compulsory Licences for Export of Pharmaceuticals."	July 7, 2005	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Government of Canada Launches Trade Agreements Guide For Municipalities On June 4, 2005, the Government of Canada officially launched the web-based International Trade Agreements and Local Government: A Guide for Canadian Municipalities (the "Guide").	June 30, 2005	International Trade	More
A Rigorous Approach to Certification - The Saskatchewan Experience While class action litigation has been a feature of the legal landscape in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia for a number of years, Saskatchewan's class action legislation is relatively new.	June 30, 2005	Class Actions	More
Proposed Amendments to the Copyright Act On June 20, 2005, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Ms. Liza Frulla, tabled Bill C-60 containing proposed amendments to the Copyright Act.	June 29, 2005	Copyright and Entertainment	More
End to Mandatory Retirement in Ontario On June 7, 2005, the McGuinty government introduced legislation to eliminate mandatory retirement in Ontario.	June 22, 2005	Employment and Labour	More
Quebec Budget Supports Growth in Intellectual Property As part of its annual Budget tabled on April 21, 2005, the Quebec Government announced a number of measures designed to foster the development of intellectual property.	June 13, 2005	Intellectual Property	More
Recent Developments regarding Canadian Unlimited Liability Companies US businesses that establish operations or acquire businesses in Canada often make use of a Canadian unlimited liability company (ULC). This newsletter highlights some recent ULC developments.	June 2, 2005	Tax	More
The Importance of Applying to Register a Trade-mark Sooner Rather Than Later Somehow, your marketing people were a bit dilatory. You've been using your trade-mark for some time, but they did not file an application to register it.	June 1, 2005	Trade-marks	More
Canada's Large Industrial Corporations Soon To Be Regulated Under the Kyoto Protocol On April 13, 2005, the federal government made public its updated implementation plan for the Kyoto Protocol, which was ratified by Canada on December 17, 2002.	June 1, 2005	Environmental	More
Recent Ruling Confirms Severance Pay Entitlement for Disabled Employees In March 2004 we told you about a decision of the Ontario Divisional Court in Ontario Nurses' Association v. Mount Sinai Hospital.	May 20, 2005	Employment and Labour	More
Court Likens Relationship of Underwriter's Attorneys with Issuer to Solicitor-Client Relationship The decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal in Métro c. Regroupement des marchands actionnaires inc.[1] is the first decision handed down by a Quebec court that likens the relationship between an underwriter's attorneys and an issuer to a solicitor...	May 20, 2005	Litigation	More
Constitutionality of Quebec Class Action Authorization Process Upheld by Appeal Court On April 29, 2005, the Quebec Court of Appeal released a much anticipated judgment regarding class actions in Quebec.	May 19, 2005	Litigation	More
PM(NOC) Regulations Section 8 Damages - A Glimmer of Hope To date, the Federal Court of Appeal has been reluctant to interpret Section 8 of PM(NOC) Regulations based on its plain meaning.	May 12, 2005	Intellectual Property	More
Patriot Act Raises Concerns about Reach to US-linked Companies The USA Patriot Act,[1] which significantly expanded the power of US authorities to obtain personal information records located in the US, has recently raised concerns in Canadian legal circles about the extraterritorial reach of orders requiring the ...	May 9, 2005	Privacy and Access to Information	More
Employment Contracts Need to Be Given Due Consideration Any valid contract, including an employment contract, requires the parties to give each other something in exchange for entering into the agreement.	May 3, 2005	Employment and Labour, Privacy and Access to Information	More
The Quebec Stock Savings Plan (QSSP) To Be Replaced by the SME Growth Stock Plan In 1979, the Quebec Government introduced the Quebec Stock Savings Plan (QSSP) with the aim of helping Quebec companies to attract investor capital. Over the years, the Government restricted access to the plan and ultimately imposed a moratorium on its...	May 1, 2005	Tax	More
Ontario Court Awards $500,000 in Punitive Damages in Wrongful Dismissal Case On March 17, 2005, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released a decision that contains one of the highest awards for damages in an employment law case that Canada has ever seen.	April 26, 2005	Employment and Labour	More
Never a Dull Moment in the World of Labour Law The case law relating to labour and employment is constantly evolving; in this issue, we would like to draw your attention to the following topics...	April 25, 2005	Employment and Labour	More
National Instrument 55-101 Insider Reporting Exemptions is Amended The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) will implement amendments to National Instrument 55-101 Insider Reporting Exemptions (the "Instrument") and Companion Policy 55-101CP (the "Policy") on April 30, 2005, subject to receipt of the necessary...	April 25, 2005	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
A National Approach to Corporate Governance is Finalized On April 15, 2005, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published in final form National Policy 58-201 Corporate Governance Guidelines (the "Policy") and National Instrument 58-101 Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices...	April 19, 2005	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Criminal Record: The Court of Appeal Clarifies an Insured's Duty to Inform The extent of the duty that a client has to disclose information relevant to the risk when making an initial declaration has given rise to much litigation in the insurance industry.	April 13, 2005	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Proxy Season 2005: A Checklist for Issuers Over the past year many changes have been introduced by the Canadian regulators, and other changes will become effective in the near future which will affect issuers this proxy season.	March 21, 2005	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
New Rules for Technology Licensing Licensing helps disseminate innovations and allows companies to integrate and use complementary technologies and capabilities.	March 17, 2005	Intellectual Property	More
Lobbyists Registration: New Canadian Federal Government Requirements on the Horizon for Business Enterprises The Lobbyists Registration Act (the "Act")[1] applies to all persons who lobby the Government of Canada, whether for the benefit of their company or organization, or for the benefit of clients.	March 1, 2005	Corporate and Commercial	More
Converging Practice & Procedure in Canada. A "Kinder, Gentler" Insolvency Process In Canada, the two most notable trends over that last few years have been a continuing convergence of substantive and procedural aspects of previously distinct processes, and a movement toward a "kinder, gentler" insolvency process, which has been more...	February 28, 2005	Asset-based Lending, Insolvency and Restructuring	More
2005 Federal Budget Tax Highlights As expected from this minority government, this Budget proposes changes that provide a little something for almost everyone.	February 23, 2005	Tax	More
Don't Make an Offer They Can't Refuse! Employers often make offers or inducements to lure the best and brightest prospective employees away from other organizations.	February 17, 2005	Employment and Labour	More
Double Trouble: Parallel Prosecutions for Health and Safety Offences A very recent case involving a construction supervisor suggests that parallel prosecutions brought under the Criminal Code of Canada [1] and occupational health and safety ("OHS") legislation are now a reality.	February 16, 2005	Employment and Labour	More
Is Your Business E-mail Address Personal or Public Information? Does an individual's business e-mail address constitute "personal information" that is protected by privacy laws?	February 8, 2005	Employment and Labour, Privacy and Access to Information	More
British Columbia's Employment Privacy Guidelines This is the third of a three-part series describing new developments in workplace video surveillance and privacy rights.	February 1, 2005	Employment and Labour, Privacy and Access to Information	More
The New Ontario PHIPA Impacts Organizations Outside the Health Care Field This bulletin summarizes the impact of the Ontario Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA) on organizations that are not "health information custodians" under PHIPA, whether or not those organizations already comply with the federal ...	January 27, 2005	Privacy and Access to Information	More
Securities Regulators Adopt Policy on Income Trusts On December 3, 2004 the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published and implemented National Policy 41-201 - Income Trusts and Other Indirect Offerings.	January 10, 2005	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Pursuing Breaches of Confidentiality Agreements by Non-Contracting Parties In its 1999 decision in Cadbury Schweppes Inc. v. FBI Foods Ltd., the Supreme Court of Canada famously held that, as a matter of equity, a breach of confidential information can be pursued against a knowing or even innocent third party recipient.	January 1, 2005	Intellectual Property, Litigation	More
Pursuing Breaches of Confidentiality Agreements by Non-Contracting Parties In its 1999 decision in Cadbury Schweppes Inc. v. FBI Foods Ltd., the Supreme Court of Canada famously held that, as a matter of equity, a breach of confidential information can be pursued against a knowing or even innocent third party recipient.	January 1, 2005	Intellectual Property, Litigation	More
In the Kitchens of the Nation On November 23, 2004, the Canadian Government passed a motion to promote the development of replacements to processed trans fats.	December 22, 2004	Life Sciences	More
New Federal Legislation Relating to Non-Profit Corporations Virtually all existing federal non-profit corporations are incorporated under, and subject to, PartII of the Canada Corporations Act.	December 7, 2004	Corporate and Commercial	More
Back to the Future: Proposed LRA Amendments Set the Stage for More Litigation Much to the chagrin of the business community, on November 3, 2004, the Ontario government introduced Bill 144, The Labour Relations Statute Law Amendment Act, 2004 ("Bill 144").	December 4, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Canadian Diet Drug Litigation Settled The Supreme Court of Ontario has recently approved the settlement of the Canadian diet drug class action (Wilson et al. v. Servier et al.).	December 2, 2004	Class Actions, Life Sciences	More
Peoples v. Wise: Long-Awaited Guidance on Directors' Duties to Creditors Directors face important challenges in this post-Enron world of stricter regulation and growing shareholder activism. Now, more than ever, they need firm guidance to help them comply with their legal duties.	November 15, 2004	Corporate and Commercial, Litigation	More
Proposed Competition Act Amendments On November 2, 2004, the Minister of Industry tabled Bill C-19 proposing amendments to the Competition Act which would expand the monetary remedies available with respect to abuse of dominance, deceptive marketing practices and misleading advertising...	November 12, 2004	Competition and Antitrust	More
Global Projects Practice Profile - London At Ogilvy Renault, we have succeeded in building Canada's leading domestic and international projects and project finance practice.	November 9, 2004	Projects and Project Finance	More
The CSA Propose a Unified Approach to Corporate Governance On October 29, 2004, the Canadian Securities Administrators published proposed National Policy 58-201 Corporate Governance Guidelines and National Instrument 58-101 Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices .	November 4, 2004	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Changes on the Horizon in Quebec Securities Law: A Step Towards Harmonization On November 11, the Minister of Finance introduced Bill 72, An Act to amend the Securities Act and other legislative provisions.	November 1, 2004	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Trade mark Application Requirements Requirements & useful information; filing in Canada; mark made known in Canada; other types of marks.	November 1, 2004	Insurance and Professional Liability, Trade-marks	More
Canadian Patent Forms / Available Forms Patent applications may be either wholly in English or in French. Forms do not need to be in the same language as the patent application.	November 1, 2004	Patents	More
Overview of Patent Law in Canada Canada's patent system underwent a major overhaul in 1989. The following important changes were introduced at that time, and are applicable to all patent applications filed since then, as well as to patents issuing therefrom.	November 1, 2004	Patents	More
Two Cautionary Tales for Employers What you don't know can hurt you. A recent case[1] from the New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench suggests that there is no difference between honest and negligent misrepresentations.	November 1, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Patent Application Requirements Patent Application Requirements and Useful Information. Contents: Deadlines, Requirements, Examination and Additional Information	November 1, 2004	Patents	More
A Cautionary Tale for Employers: Innocent Mistakes Can Be Costly What you don't know can hurt you. A recent case (Graham v. St. Anne-Nackawic Pulp Co., [2004] N.B.J. No. 148) from the New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench suggests that there is no difference between honest and negligent misrepresentations.	November 1, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Major Reforms Proposed for Environmental Offences in Ontario On October 27, 2004, the Ontario Government introduced Bill 133 (the Environmental Enforcement Statute Law Amendment Act, 2004) for first reading.	November 1, 2004	Environmental	More
Millions in Damages Awarded for Unfair Competition and Breach of Employment Duties The BC Supreme Court recently awarded damages that may amount to more than $2 million dollars - including $315,000 in punitive damages - to RBC Dominion Securities ("DS") after nine investment advisers ("IAs") suddenly defected to the local competition...	November 1, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Federal Court Strengthens the Confidentiality of Information Held by Health Canada In its recent decision Merck Frosst Canada & Co. v. Canada (Minister of Health), 2004 FC 959, the Federal Court restricted the disclosure of confidential information submitted by pharmaceutical companies to Health Canada as part of New Drug Submissions.	October 1, 2004	Life Sciences	More
New Shortened Deadline for Filing Annual Financial Statements Could Impact 2005 Annual Meeting Under the new Canadian continuous disclosure regime, reporting issuers, other than venture issuers, must now file and deliver their annual financial statements within 90 days of their year-end instead of within 140 days.	October 1, 2004	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Employer Must Pay New Ontario Health Premium, Arbitrator Rules A number of cases have advanced to arbitration on the issue of whether employers should be responsible for payment of the new Ontario Health Premium ("OHP") introduced by the McGuinty government in its 2004 budget.	October 1, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
New Whistleblower Legislation Provides Criminal Sanctions Against Employers New whistleblower protection legislation came into force in Canada on September 15, 2004.	October 1, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Proposed Regulations Governing Compulsory Licences for Export of Drugs and Devices Canada has become the first country in the world to implement the August 30, 2003 decision of the General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO), allowing compulsory licences for the export of pharmaceutical products (drugs and devices).	October 1, 2004	Intellectual Property, Life Sciences	More
Wal-Mart, Unions and Free Speech in Canada On August 2, 2004, the Quebec Labour Relations Board certified the United Food and Commercial Workers ("UFCW") to represent workers at the Wal-Mart store in Jonquière, Quebec, thus opening the door for the UFCW to become the first union to represent...	October 1, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Country Q & A - Canada This document provides answers to some of the top questions regarding regulation, manufacturing, marketing, and other topics in the field of life sciences.	October 1, 2004	Life Sciences	More
Successor Employer Issues: Unions Emerge as Key Stakeholders in Canadian Restructurings In Canada, the landscape for loan restructuring has been altered by an increased and more aggressive activism in the bankruptcy process by labor unions clearly dissatisfied with their historical treatment in Canadian insolvencies.	September 1, 2004	Asset-based Lending, Debt Finance	More
Intellectual Property Due Diligence Due diligence with respect to intellectual property assets, including patents, is becoming increasingly important asthe value of these assets rises. Clients require accurate and practical information with respect to intellectualproperty assets...	September 1, 2004	Intellectual Property	More
Copyright: A solution to grey market blues You've worked hard to set up a comprehensive licensing program. It has paid off: you're able to generate almost pure revenue, with very little overhead. Why do silver linings only come with clouds?	September 1, 2004	Intellectual Property	More
Video Surveillance in the Workplace - 2 In May 2002, the CAI published a document containing the minimum rules applying to the use of surveillance cameras.	September 1, 2004	Employment and Labour, Privacy and Access to Information	More
"But I Didn't Know": Monsanto v. Schmeiser and Knowledge of Patent Infringement The recent ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada in Monsanto v. Schmeiser (2004 SCC 34), a patent infringement case, received much attention in the general media.	July 1, 2004	Life Sciences	More
Case Comment: Fidler v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada On May 17, 2004, BC's Court of Appeal made a substantial punitive damages award against the insurance company, Sun Life, even though there was evidence supporting Sun Life's decision to deny disability benefits and even though its actions were not...	July 1, 2004	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Canada Amends Patent Law to Allow Compulsory Licences for Export of Pharmaceuticals Canada was the first country in the world to implement the August 30, 2003 decision of the General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO), allowing compulsory licences for the export of pharmaceuticals to address public health problems.	July 1, 2004	Life Sciences	More
Video Surveillance in the Workplace - 1 The Federal Court of Canada recently released one of the first decisions interpreting federal privacy legislation in an employment context in Eastmond v. Canadian Pacific Railway, 2004 FC 852.	July 1, 2004	Employment and Labour, Privacy and Access to Information	More
Employer Allowed to Claim Damages for Abuse of the Grievance Process In a recent case, arbitrator Richard Marcheterre recognized an employer's right to claim damages for abuse of process where a union had submitted a grievance to arbitration that was completely without basis.	June 28, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Debating Mandatory Retirement in Ontario This article sets out both sides of the heated debate on mandatory retirement.	June 9, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Bill 31 - Health Information Protection The Ontario government has introduced Bill 31, the Health Information Protection Act, 2004.	June 9, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
The Danier Decision: Important Guidance on Forecasts A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice should cause issuers, underwriters and their advisers to exercise caution in publishing and monitoring financial forecasts, particularly in the context of an initial public offering.	June 4, 2004	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Supreme Court of Canada clarifies the scope of lawyers' professional secrecy obligations Information exchanged between lawyer and client is not automatically protected by the Quebec civil law concept of professional secrecy.	June 2, 2004	Litigation	More
Important Assets: Owning & Maximizing Value In 1982, 65% of the market value of S&P companies in the U.S. was made up of tangible assets. However, in 1998, tangible assets accounted for only 15% of the market value whereas 85% of the market value was assigned to intangible assets.	June 2, 2004	Corporate and Commercial	More
Employers' rights and obligations regarding voting in federal elections On June 28, 2004 the country will head to the polls for a federal general election. In order to prepare for this event employers need to understand their rights and obligations regarding the provision of voting time under the Canada Elections Act.	June 1, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Compassion in the Workplace: Compassionate Care Benefits in Canada Effective January 4, 2004, amendments to the Canadian Employment Insurance Act (EIA) establish a new benefit: six weeks of compassionate care benefits for employees who must miss work in order to care for or support a gravely ill family member.	June 1, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Employers' Obligations to their Employees Regarding Voting in Federal Elections As you know, a federal general election will be held on June 28, 2004. The Canada Elections Act[1] gives employees certain rights in this regard which you must respect.	June 1, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
The Electricity Restructuring Act: Ontario's Potential Electricity Market On June 15, 2004, Ontario Energy Minister Dwight Duncan introduced for first reading Bill 100, the Electricity Restructuring Act, which amends both the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 and the Electricity Act, 1998.	June 1, 2004	Energy	More
British Columbia's Extended "Family Status" Protection & Public Sector Employees' Right to "Free Speech" on the Job Two recent British Columbia decisions increased employee rights in the workplace. In one, the B.C. Court of Appeal expanded employee protection from discrimination based on "family status" while in another Arbitrator Don Munroe, Q.C. held that the...	June 1, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
New York Convention of 1958 & UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration In a perfect world, arbitral awards, like court judgments, would be voluntarily respected by the losing party.	June 1, 2004	Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution, International Arbitration	More
Employers' obligations to their employees regarding voting in federal elections The Canada Elections Act states that "Every employee who is an elector is entitled, during voting hours on polling day, to have three consecutive hours for the purpose of casting his or her vote."	May 1, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Criminal Convictions Conclusive of an Act or Omission The Supreme Court of Canada has recently held that, in most circumstances, a grievor's criminal conviction is conclusive evidence of an unlawful act or omission, carrying with it all consequent legal effects.	April 30, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
A New Vision for Ontario's Electricity Sector On April 15, 2004, Energy Minister Dwight Duncan announced significant changes to Ontario's electricity sector. In legislation to be introduced this June, the government will propose a ''hybrid' model for the electricity sector - part regulated pricing...	April 16, 2004	Energy	More
Psychological Harassment in the Workplace: The Legislator Means Business In this Bulletin: Summary of provisions regarding psychological harassment in the workplace, Invitation to a seminar on Monday, April 26, 2004	March 30, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Federal Budget Proposes New Tax Treatment for Non-Resident Holders of Mutual Funds The 2004 Federal Budget proposes significant changes to the income tax treatment of non-residents who hold units of mutual fund trusts and shares of mutual fund corporations.	March 30, 2004	Tax	More
Two Private Access Cases Proceed on the Merits before the Competition Tribunal In two recent cases, the Competition Tribunal has, for the first time, granted leave to private parties to bring an application under the ''refusal to deal'' provision.	March 30, 2004	Competition and Antitrust	More
Severance Pay and Frustration of the Employment Contract As a result of a very recent decision of the Ontario Divisional Court, employers will no longer be able to refuse to pay statutory severance to employees whose contracts of employment have been frustrated by disability.	March 22, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Nice assets, here's cash More small and mid-sized companies are choosing this flexible form of financing.	March 15, 2004	Asset-based Lending	More
What You Need to Know about Changes to the Canadian Continuous Disclosure Regime The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) recently published National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (the CD Instrument) which is expected to come into force on March 30, 2004.	March 4, 2004	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
The Wonderful World of Municipal Assessments and Property Taxes Successive legislative enactments in recent years have sought to improve the municipal taxation system and ensure an equitable division of the property tax burden, but the main consequence for the taxpayer has been to create a bewildering array of...	March 4, 2004	Real Estate	More
British Columbia Business Corporations Act to Come Into Force On October 31, 2002, the British Columbia government approved the new Business Corporations Act (the ''New Act''), which, as amended in October 2003 by the Business Corporations Amendment Act, 2003 and the Business Corporations Amendment Act (No. 2), ...	February 9, 2004	Corporate and Commercial	More
Never a Dull Moment in the World of Labour Law The world of labour law has seen many developments in the last few months of 2003 and at the beginning of 2004; therefore we thought it would be useful to review the following matters...	February 3, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
The Canadian Securities Administrators Venture Further into the Corporate Governance Arena The Canadian Securities Administrators took a further step into the corporate governance arena by publishing proposed Multilateral Policy 58-201 Effective Corporate Governance and Multilateral Instrument 58-101 Disclosure of Corporate Governance...	February 2, 2004	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Quebec... No Longer Feared in ABL Workouts Insolvency and restructuring proceedings in Canada in general, and in Quebec in particular, have evolved in ways which are favorable to the asset-based lending marketplace.	February 1, 2004	Asset-based Lending	More
Compassionate Care Benefits With the passage of the Budget Implementation Act,1 amendments were made to the Employment Insurance Act ,2 entitling employees to employment insurance benefits if they are absent from work temporarily to provide care or support to a member of their...	January 5, 2004	Employment and Labour	More
Ontario's Electricity Conservation and Supply Task Force Releases Final Report Ontario's Electricity Conservation and Supply Task Force Releases Final Report	January 2, 2004	Energy	More
2003 Annual Review Highlights of some of our top cases in Securities, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Litigation.	January 1, 2004	Corporate Finance and Securities, Litigation, Mergers and Acquisitions	More
Ordinary Course Dividends Not Part of Series of Transactions As most practitioners are aware, subsection 55(2) of the Income Tax Act (Canada)1 can apply to recharacterize all or part of an otherwise tax-free intercorporate dividend (including a deemed dividend) as proceeds of disposition if the dividend...	December 18, 2003	Debt Finance	More
Authorized Foreign Banks A 2001 technical bill introduced a regime of authorized foreign (schedule III) banks that may establish branches in Canada and carry on business here.	December 18, 2003	Debt Finance	More
Trusts Provide Probate Planning Opportunities for Seniors Avoiding probate has long been a key consideration in developing estate plans for individuals and their families.	December 18, 2003	Tax	More
The Canadian Private Sector Privacy Patchwork Ogilvy Renault's Labour and Employment Law Group is one of Canada's largest management-side practices.	December 11, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
Supreme Court Confirms Ministerial Powers in the Area of Soil Decontamination In a judgment handed down on October 30, 2003,1 the Supreme Court of Canada established certain rules that will make it easier for Quebec's Environment Minister to exercise his authority in regard to the characterization and rehabilitation of ...	December 9, 2003	Environmental	More
CSA Corporate Governance Initiatives Impact on Assessing Directors' Duties? Concern with restoring investor confidence in the capital markets and deterring corporate malfeasance has resulted in numerous corporate governance initiatives being undertaken in recent years in Canada.	December 5, 2003	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Bill C-45 - Codifying Criminal Liability Coming changes to the Criminal Code of Canada demonstrate the severity with which the Federal Government views breaches of workplace health and safety legislation.	December 4, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
Bill 31 Amendments to Sections 45 and 46 of the Quebec Labour Code On November 14, 2003, Mr. Michel Després, Minister of Labour, introduced Bill 31 - An Act to amend the Labour Code .	December 1, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
PIPEDA and Provincial Private Sector Privacy Laws One of the most common misunderstandings about the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is its relationship to provincial private sector privacy laws such as the Quebec Act respecting the protection of personal...	November 28, 2003	Privacy and Access to Information	More
Bad Faith or Wallace Damages Awarded by Arbitrator A British Columbia labour arbitrator recently awarded a reinstated employee damages amounting to approximately four months' wages as a result of the employer's "bad faith" conduct.	November 6, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
Bad Faith or Wallace Damages Awarded by Arbitrator A British Columbia labour arbitrator recently awarded a reinstated employee damages amounting to approximately four months' wages as a result of the employer's "bad faith" conduct.	November 6, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
Grievance Arbitrators Have Power To Enforce Human Rights Legislation In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court of Canada held that the provisions of human rights and employment-related statutes are implicitly incorporated into all collective agreements and thus fall within the jurisdiction of grievance arbitrators.	October 15, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
Loyalty to the insured, the insurer or both? The Quebec Court of Appeal, in its decision of August 18, 2003 in Groupe DMR inc. v. Kansa General International Insurance Company Ltd. et al., has sent some clear signals regarding the conduct of counsel appointed by a liability insurer to take up an...	October 15, 2003	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Ontario Election: "Change" Wins, But How Big Will It Be? On Thursday October 2, Ontarians heeded the request to "choose change", and provided the Liberals with a majority government. What is the expected impact of this change on employers in this province?	October 8, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
IP ENews September 2003Intellectual Property Group NEWS * The Canadian Government has announced that it will introduce retroactive legislation to fix the problem created by the trial level and Court of Appeal decisions in the Dutch...	October 7, 2003	Intellectual Property	More
Federal Legislative Measures Proposed to Combat Insider Trading and Criminal Negligence On June 12, 2003, the Minister of Justice of Canada, the Honourable Martin Cauchon, tabled two bills in the House of Commons aimed at extending the application of the Criminal Code to Canadian businesses and organizations.	September 17, 2003	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Commentary on the New Nutrition Regulations Food labelling has been under scrutiny and debate both in Canada and in the United States. Labelling guidelines in Canada, never harmonized with those of the United States, now appear somewhat more consistent with them.	September 16, 2003	Life Sciences	More
Fraudulent Conveyances: US & Canadian Legislation While lenders in the US will be familiar with the caution to "always lend to your assets", many may not be aware that the foregoing principle derives from fraudulent conveyance concerns under the US Bankruptcy Code.	September 1, 2003	Asset-based Lending	More
OSFI Releases for Comment Draft Revised Guideline for Outsourcing of Business Functions On August 11, 2003, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), the chief regulator of financial institutions in Canada, released Draft Revised Guideline B-10 on Outsourcing of Business Functions for review and comment.	August 20, 2003	Technology	More
Commentary on New Natural Health Products Regulations Marking an end to well over five years of discussion, debate, consultation and legislative drafting, on June 18, 2003, the Canadian government published new Natural Health Product Regulations[1] (the "NHP Regulations")	July 31, 2003	Life Sciences	More
The CSA Propose Reforms To Enhance Investor Confidence Following a ten-month consultation initiated by the Ontario Securities Commission, the Canadian Securities Administrators1 have released for public comment new proposed rules regarding audit committee composition and functions, certification of interim...	July 31, 2003	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Supreme Court of Canada Gives Green Light to Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Supreme Court of Canada decision confirms the impartiality and independence of federal tribunal, invalidating employer objections.	July 30, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
First the Millenium Bug - Now the Privacy Bug As of January 1, 2004, all businesses in Canada must comply with federal privacy legislation, known as the PIPEDA,1 unless they do business strictly within a province that has in place provincial legislation judged by the federal government to be...	July 2, 2003	Privacy and Access to Information	More
"Small Entity" Status in Canada Following Federal Court of Appeal Decision "Small Entity" Status in Canada Following Federal Court of Appeal DecisionJune 10, 2003 Intellectual Property GroupBACKGROUNDFor many years, patent applicants in Canada could pay reduced government fees, typically 50% less ...	June 10, 2003	Intellectual Property	More
The Supreme Court Rules on the Barrie Public Utilities Case The Supreme Court of Canada has released its long-awaited decision in Barrie Public Utilities v. Canadian Cable Television Association .	June 2, 2003	Energy	More
"Sole Discretion" Clauses in Contracts Many common types of contracts contain provisions that purport to provide one party with the exclusive and unfettered right to determine whether an important condition has been satisfied, and therefore whether or not certain remedies may ensue...	June 2, 2003	Technology	More
Workplace Medical Emergencies: Lessons Learned from SARS With the immediate threat of the SARS outbreak apparently on the wane, employers must be proactive in considering their legal obligations to ensure a safe workplace before the next medical emergency occurs.	May 28, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
New Privacy Legislation for the Private Sector in British Columbia Bill 38, the Personal Information Protection Act ("Act") is to come into force in British Columbia on January 1, 2004.	May 28, 2003	Privacy and Access to Information	More
Impaired Driving and Keeping Your Job in Canada? Maybe, Maybe Not! Loss of an employee's driver's licence due to impaired driving raises challenging legal issues for an employer in Canada if the licence is required to perform the essential duties of the job.	May 27, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
The Death Knell of Management Rights? In a very recent decision, the Canada Industrial Relations Board decided that an employer could not introduce a voluntary severance program without negotiating its terms and conditions with the employees' trade unions.	May 8, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
Multi-risk Policies and the B.C. Insurance Act: the Supreme Court Rules The Supreme Court of Canada has brought some clarity to the confusion surrounding the application of the British Columbia Insurance Act to broad multi-peril policies. On May 1, 2003, the highest court handed down its decisions in both KP Pacific Holdings	May 8, 2003	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
SARS Update for Employers The purpose of this bulletin is to provide you with general information about SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), also known as atypical pneumonia, and to respond to employers' concerns about this disease.	May 1, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
On-Line Insider Reporting System The System for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders (SEDI), which was suspended last year, will be back on-line starting May 5. Insiders will be required to file insider trading reports on SEDI commencing June 9, 2003.	April 28, 2003	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Limit Liability of Unitholders of Publicly Traded Trusts The Government of Ontario announced on March 27, 2003 that it intends to introduce legislation to clarify that investors in publicly traded trusts will not be liable for the activities of the trust.	April 10, 2003	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Death by "Accidental Means" = "Accidental Death" In a judgment rendered on March 21, 2003, Martin v. American International Assurance Life Co.,1 the Supreme Court of Canada has revisited the interpretation of the term death by "accidental means" in a policy of insurance.	April 7, 2003	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Dealing with SARS in the Workplace This bulletin addresses concerns that many employers may have with respect to the possible spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ("SARS") in the Lower Mainland. The guidelines outlined below will assist employers in protecting their employees and..	April 7, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
SARS Update: Some Questions and Answers As part of our continuing efforts to assist you at this challenging time, we have compiled some questions and answers on some of the more complex situations that employers have encountered.	April 7, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
Threshold and Fees for Merger Notification under the Competition Act to Increase on April 1, 2003 The Competition Bureau is increasing the size-of-transaction threshold for merger notification to C$50 million, meaning fewer small mergers will require notification.	April 1, 2003	Competition and Antitrust	More
Excluding Goods from Anti dumping Findings: the CITT Opens a New Avenue for Importers As a result of a recent decision, importers and exporters of goods to Canada that are subject to an existing anti-dumping finding may now be able to obtain an exclusion from the finding (and thereby stop paying anti-dumping duties) if the importer ...	March 31, 2003	Intellectual Property	More
Ontario Superior Court Rules on True Sale On January 21, 2003, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice confirmed1 that a revolving receivables securitization was a true sale and the use of securitization proceeds to redeem certain bonds of the seller of the receivables was not oppressive.	March 31, 2003	Debt Finance	More
New Developments in Securities Regulation Insider reports to be required for certain derivative transactions, OSC introduces new fee regime & CSA proposes simplification of resale rules.	March 31, 2003	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Canada's New Competition Rules for Mergers The Superior Propane Case, a significant leading competition law merger case, is the first case in which the efficiencies defence was successfully relied upon. Its strategic implications for Canadian businesses are significant.	March 26, 2003	Competition and Antitrust	More
Financing A Canadian Restructuring: Are There Any DIPs in Canada? While U.S. borrowers are able to finance themselves while they try to restructure by seeking debtor-in-possession	March 1, 2003	Asset-based Lending	More
Complying with Quebec's Amended Labour Standards Act - Some Practical Advice Following consultations held in the summer of 2002 and discussion in parliamentary committee, the Government of Quebec passed legislation[1] to amend the Act respecting labour standards on December 19, 2002.	March 1, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
Using U.S. Employment Contracts in Canada: Make Your Choice of Law Carefully Ogilvy Renault's Labour and Employment Law Group is one of Canada's largest management-side practices. We represent a significant number of private and public sector employers and provide a wide variety of advocacy services and strategic advice.	March 1, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
2002 Annual Review In 2002, Ogilvy Renault continued to be at the forefront of significant corporate and commercial litigation. Clients relied on the expertise of our experienced trial lawyers in an array of complex matters, including many class actions and international...	February 25, 2003	Litigation	More
Supreme Court Revisits Doctrine of Sound Prediction in Patent Law The Supreme Court of Canada has just ruled that when applying for a patent, inventors must either have demonstrated, or be able to soundly predict, that their invention will have the promised utility.	February 21, 2003	Life Sciences	More
Employers' Vicarious Liability: Is Cell Phone Use Next? While the issue of cell phone use and employers' vicarious liability has not yet been tested in Canada, recent case law emerging from the United States may give employers cause for concern.	February 14, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
The Mouse That Won't Roar - For Now With the December 5, 2002 release of a 5 4 majority decision in Harvard College v. Canada (Commissioner of Patents)1, a sharply divided Supreme Court of Canada brought to an end that case's 17 year odyssey through the Canadian patent examination and.....	January 22, 2003	Life Sciences	More
Stock Option Rights in Wrongful Dismissal Claims: The Canadian Conundrum Ogilvy Renault's Labour and Employment Law Group is one of Canada's largest management-side practices. We represent a significant number of private and public sector employers and provide a wide variety of advocacy services and strategic advice.	January 9, 2003	Employment and Labour	More
The Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Act, S.Q. 2002, c. 23 Send to a contactPrintable Version The Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Act, S.Q. 2002, c. 23December 13, 2002 Litigation GroupIn keeping with similar laws enacted by the Parliament of Canada and the legislatures of certain...	December 13, 2002	Litigation	More
Reform of Quebec's Code of Civil Procedure: ''Fast Track'' Becomes the Rule On June 8, 2002, the Quebec National Assembly adopted the Act to reform the Code of Civil Procedure (S.Q. 2002, chapter 7, Bill 54), which introduces extensive changes to the rules of civil procedure.	December 13, 2002	Litigation	More
TSE: Corporate Governance Standards & Listing Requirements In late November 2002, The Toronto Stock Exchange corresponds with all listed companies and numerous other participants in the capital markets to explain the current statusof the proposed changes to its Corporate Governance Guidelines and announces...	December 13, 2002	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Changes to Employment Standards Changes to British Columbia's Employment Standards Act and the regulation thereunder came into effect on November 30, 2002. These changes were introduced earlier this year with the Employment Standards Amendment Act, ...	December 13, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Authorization of Class Action Suits Accelerated Further under Quebec's New Procedure Code The Act to reform the Code of Civil Procedure will come into force on January 1, 2003. The Act introduces some major changes concerning class action suits.	December 13, 2002	Class Actions	More
New Regulatory Structure for the Quebec Financial Sector On December 11, 2002, an amended Bill 107, An Act respecting the Agence nationale d'encadrement du secteur financier was enacted.	December 13, 2002	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Modernization of the Civil Code: Repeal of the Bulk Sales Provisions On June 13, 2002, the Quebec National Assembly adopted Bill 50, which amends the Civil Code of Québec (C.C.Q.) and certain other laws. Section 8 of Bill 50 has completely repealed the provisions of the C.C.Q. regulating bulk sales.	December 5, 2002	Mergers and Acquisitions	More
Canada Customs Imports Administrative Monetary Penalties On October 7, 2002, the AMPS provisions applicable to commercial importers, exporters, customs brokers, carriers, freight forwarders and customs warehouse operators came into effect.	December 4, 2002	Competition and Antitrust	More
CSA Finalizes Policy on Selective Disclosure On July 12, 2002, the Canadian Securities Administrators (the "CSA") adopted the final version of National Policy 51 201 Disclosure Standards (the "Policy").	December 4, 2002	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Amendments to Security holder Communication Procedures The Ontario Securities Commission has adopted a rule (National Instrument 54 101) (the "New Rule") which replaces National Policy Statement 41 (the "Old Policy")1 dealing with communications with shareholders and other securityholders.	December 4, 2002	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
Section 32 of Quebec's Worker's Compensation Legislation and Federal Undertakings In two unanimous rulings, one in Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail v. Compagnie de chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique1 and the other in Purolator Courrier ltée v. Hamelin,2 the Quebec Court of Appeal has held that section 32 ...	December 3, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
New Findings Released on Air Canada's Aeroplan Frequent Flyer Program On March 20, 2002, the Privacy Commissioner, George Radwanski, made public his findings in the matter of a complaint that had been launched in respect of Air Canada's Aeroplan Frequent Flyer program (the "Air Canada Report").	December 2, 2002	Privacy and Access to Information	More
All in the Family: Supreme Court of Canada Decision on "Family Status" and Employment A very recent Supreme Court of Canada decision confirms that the "marital" and "family" status categories in the Ontario Human Rights Code should be given a broad and liberal interpretation in employment matters.	December 1, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Financing a Canadian Restructuring - To Dip or Not To Dip One of the greatest challenges faced by a company which is trying to restructure its affairs through formal court proceedings is the question of how it is going to finance itself during the process.	November 29, 2002	Insolvency and Restructuring	More
Have You Checked Out Your Web Site Lately? Even if the majority of those likely to visit your Web site are not French-speaking, you could still be required to make a French-language version of your site available to Netsurfers.	November 29, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Stock Options - Dealing with Declining Share Price Stock option plans are effective compensation when share prices are rising. However, in a climate of declining share prices, stock options often require "repricing" in order to maintain their incentive effect.	November 29, 2002	Tax	More
Picketing During Labour Disputes Legislatures in Canada have for the most part preferred to leave to the courts the task of defining the rights and obligations concerning picketing during labour disputes.	November 28, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Sleepless in Nova Scotia: Sleep Loss as a Compensable Injury In a very recent decision, the Nova Scotia Workers' Compensation Board accepted that a shift worker's sleeplessness was a compensable injury. If similar claims are advanced and accepted in Ontario...	November 28, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Pharmaceuticals and the WTO: New Challenges Ahead Most world trade is conducted pursuant to rules established by the Members of the Geneva-based World Trade Organization ("WTO"). These rules have major implications for the pharmaceutical industry.	November 28, 2002	Intellectual Property	More
How Much Is Too Much? Recent Ruling on Hours of Work In a recent decision, an Arbitrator has ruled that to allow employees to work 16 hour "double" shifts is a violation of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 .	November 22, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Evolution of Canadian Legislation Affecting Innovative Drug Patents Since the early 1920's, the federal government has struggled with the appropriate level of legislative protection to extend to drug patents.	November 22, 2002	Intellectual Property, Patents	More
Ontario Proposes to Institute Private Right of Action and Additional Liability for Continuous Disclosure Violations and to Delegate Additional Enforcement Powers to the OSC On October 30, 2002, the Ontario government introduced Bill 198, an omnibus bill implementing various measures contained in the 2002 Budget and proposing amendments to 29 different statutes.	November 21, 2002	Insurance and Professional Liability, Patents	More
New Regulatory Structure for the Quebec Financial Sector On May 8, 2002, Pauline Marois, Quebec Minister of Finance, tabled an ambitious bill in the National Assembly. Bill 107, An Act respecting the Agence nationale d'encadrement du secteur financier, proposes a completely new regulatory structure for the ...	November 16, 2002	Debt Finance	More
Non-Statutory Restrictions on the Use of Personal Information The recent flurry of interest in privacy legislation triggered by the passing of the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act 1 ("PIPEDA") has, to some extent, overshadowed the fact that protection of the privacy of personal..	October 26, 2002	Privacy and Access to Information	More
Employee Background Checks The Supreme Court of Canada has brought some clarity to the confusion surrounding the application of the British Columbia Insurance Act to broad multi-peril policies.	October 15, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Ensuring the Efficacy of Interim Relief in Aid of Arbitration in Quebec Canada is one of the many jurisdictions that has adopted the 1985 UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.	September 17, 2002	International Arbitration	More
Waning Fortunes: The Erosion of Unionization in Canada Ogilvy Renault's Labour and Employment Law Group is one of Canada's largest management-side practices. We represent a significant number of private and public sector employers and provide a wide variety of advocacy services and strategic advice.	September 16, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Non-governmental Organizations and the World Trade Organization It is not so any more that businesses must stand by and watch from the sidelines as WTO dispute settlement proceedings wind their way to judgements with heavy consequence for the industry involved.	June 11, 2002	Employment and Labour, International Trade	More
We Can Work It Out: The Canadian Perspective on Arbitration in a Non-Union Setting Ogilvy Renault's Labour and Employment Law Group is one of Canada's largest management-side practices. We represent a significant number of private and public sector employers and provide a wide variety of advocacy services and strategic advice.	June 1, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Unions Win Major Expansion of Picketing Rights from Top Court Until now, no non-unionized business in Canada would have expected to find itself being picketed by unions from another workplace. Today, this could well be legal.	March 21, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
The ADA: What Are the Rules in Canada? Ogilvy Renault represents many of Canada's large public and private sector employers and provides a wide variety of advocacy services and strategic advice.	March 21, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Terminating the Sexual Harasser : A Step Back from Bannister? IN Xerox Canada Ltd. v. Ontario (Director of Employment Standards) , the Ontario Superior Court of Justice was invited to endorse a hard-line approach in dealing with incidents of sexual harassment in the workplace.	March 20, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Latest Developments on Personal Information (Bill C-6) The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (known as Bill C-6) was adopted by the House of Commons on April 4, 2000 and it is expected that it will come into force on January 1, 2001.	March 19, 2002	Privacy and Access to Information	More
Common Law Notice Periods and the Demise of the 24-Month Cap Human resource professionals and many employers have long believed that, absent extraordinary and specific circumstances, no terminated employee would ever likely obtain a court award in excess of the equivalent of 24 months notice.	March 19, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Securities Law Update: Amendments to the Securities Act (Ontario) and Amended Disclosure Rules on Corporate Governance On December 14, 1999, proposed amendments to the Securities Act (Ontario), the Commodity Futures Act and the Toronto Stock Exchange Act received royal assent and came into effect.	March 19, 2002	Corporate Finance and Securities	More
KMart Decision: Consumer Leafleting Is Not Picketing IN A UNANIMOUS DECISION released on Thursday, September 9, 1999,(1) the Supreme Court of Canada held that the prohibition of peaceful consumer leafleting as "picketing" violates the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and...	March 19, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Supreme Court Restores Record-Setting $1M Punitive Damages Award Against Home Insurer The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a punitive damages award of $1 million against an insurer, while high, was "within the rational limits" given the reprehensible character of its bad-faith denial of its policyholder's fire insurance claim.	February 1, 2002	Insurance and Professional Liability	More
Natural Health Products Regulations: A Vague New Vision Natural health products - neither food nor drug but something new entirely? Bringing an end to years of speculation and debate, Health Canada has finally published proposed Natural Health Products Regulations.	February 1, 2002	Life Sciences	More
Supreme Court of Canada Says Secondary Picketing is a Primary Freedom On January 24, 2002, the Supreme Court of Canada released a decision[1] which clarifies the common law with respect to secondary picketing. The decision in Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, Local 558 v. Pepsi-Cola Canada Beverages (West)...	February 1, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
The Quebec Government Introduces A New Contaminated Land Bill In December 2001, the Quebec Minister of the Environment, the Honourable André Boisclair, introduced Bill 72, entitled An Act to amend the Environment Quality Act and other legislative provisions with regard to land protection and rehabilitation.	February 1, 2002	Environmental	More
Co-ordinating Foreign Proceedings with Restructurings in Canada: The Loewen Group Inc. In the past few years, the Canadian courts have considered a number of cases in which a debtor conducting a cross-border business has filed concurrently for protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA") in Canada and under foreign...	February 1, 2002	Insolvency and Restructuring	More
The Supreme Court of Canada Recognizes Broad Powers of Municipalities On June 28, 2001, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a unanimous judgment in 114957 Canada Ltée v. Hudson in which it found that a municipal by-law prohibiting the use of pesticides fell within the ambit of the general regulatory powers conferred...	January 1, 2002	Environmental	More
Bigbrother@work.ca: Electronic Surveillance North of the Border With businesses relying increasingly on computer networks, voicemail and the Internet, Canadian courts, arbitrators and employers struggle to determine what level of privacy should be afforded to employees using a company's electronic systems, and the...	January 1, 2002	Employment and Labour	More
Does Your Food, Drug, Medical Device or Cosmetic Pose a Risk to the Environment? Effective September 13, 2001, products regulated under the Canadian Food and Drugs Act are subject to the New Substances Notification Regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.	October 1, 2001	Life Sciences	More

All Publications

Amendments to the Notifiable Transactions Regulations

The Supreme Court of Canada Clarifies the Scope of the Federal Environmental Assessment Process

Court Denies Motion for Mareva Injunction in a Section 8 Damages Action

La LFI et la LACC et les donneurs de licences et licenciés

A New Threat for Structured Finance Transactions: Flip Clauses Enforceable?

On the Legal Implications of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability

Enforced Self-Regulation: A New Paradigm for Canadian Human Rights Law?

Employment Related Human Rights Due Diligence in Ontario

Government Regulation, Costs and CSR

Health Canada Releases Finalized Guidance Document For Subsequent Entry Biologics

Bill C-300 Heads Back to Standing Committee

ISO 26000 Social Responsibility Standard: A Sneak-peek and Legal Implications

A New Scope for Material Environmental Social and Governance Disclosure?

Prosecution Pitfalls: Have Recent Decisions Raised the Bar for the Duty of Candour (Inequitable Conduct)?

Drug and Alcohol Policies: Some New Pieces of the Puzzle

Canadian Covered Bond Legislation Contemplated As Part of Federal Budget

Toronto and Tel Aviv Exchanges Sign MoU: Is Dual-Listing on the Horizon?

Obtaining a Legal Opinion is a Recognized Defense for a Municipality!

A New Breed of Patent Troll? False Patent Marking in the US

Finally Some Relief - Elimination of Section 116 Certificate Requirements and Canadian Income Tax on Gains from Sale of Certain Shares by Non-Residents

Federal Budget 2010 - Income Tax Measures

Quebec Court Discusses University's Rights and Obligations Regarding Employee Inventions

Court Holds That Innovators Have No Duty Of Care To Consumers Of Generic Drugs

Quebec Court of Appeal Considers the Nature of Claims Made Policies

Les modifications clés touchant les sociétés ouvertes en vertu de la Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec

Les aspects relatifs à la gouvernance en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec

Les modifications de structure en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec

Le droit au rachat d'actions en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec

Les nouveaux recours d'actionnaires en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec

La convention unanime des actionnaires en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec

Les règles en matière de financement et de maintien du capital en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec

La nouvelle loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec - une réforme en profondeur du droit des sociétés au Québec

La responsabilité des administrateurs et dirigeants en vertu de la nouvelle Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec

Love My Tender, Love It Sweet - The Rebuffed Proponent

New Draft Policy and Regulations on Waste Management

Canadian Competition Law: 2009 Year in Review

Privacy and Technology Law Developments: 2009 Year in Review

New Risks and Rewards for Licensors and Licensees in BIA/CCAA Amendments

New Insider Reporting Regime to Take Effect in Canada

Commercial Agreements Among Competitors: A New Antitrust Regime Coming to Canada in March 2010

Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement in Canada: An Overview for Innovative Drug Manufacturers

Supreme Court Of Canada Denies Leave To Apotex. Liability Under Section 8 Of The Noc Regulations Is Now Clarified.

Federal Court Confirms That Deputy Judges Over the Age of 75 Are Permissible

Federal Court Denies Prohibition Order - Patents Not Infringed [Desloratidine (Aerius®)]

Patenting Clean Technologies: Trends, Issues and Strategies

Getting Ready for the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act

Peering Through the Cloud - Cloud Computing: Many Benefits but There are Some Legal Issues to Consider

Legislative Amendments Affecting the Securities Sector in Quebec

Supreme Court of Canada Revisits Notion of Accident in Insurance Law

Country Q&A - Canada 2009/2010

The Helicopter, the Horse and the Duty to Defend on Appeal

Federal Court Of Appeal Extends The Jurisdiction Of The PMPRB To Include Sales From The U.S.A. [Thalomid (Thalidomide)]

Expanded Picketing Rights in Quebec

Federal Court Rejects All Allegations of Invalidity and Grants Prohibition Order to Pfizer [XALATAN® (latanoprost)]

Prohibiting Comparative Advertising Under the Competition Act

Federal Court Upholds Commissioner's Decision To Refuse To Grant A Patent On The Ground Of Obviousness Double Patenting

IMAX Decision - Secondary Market Liability for Misrepresentations

Workplace Violence and Harassment Legislation Passed - What Employers Need to Know

Canada Consumer Product Safety Act Passed by Senate with Amendments - The Debate Goes On

GST/QST on Investment Manager Fees

USPTO Announces Pilot Program to Accelerate Examination of Patent Applications for Green Technologies

Preparing for the "New" G8

SCC Confirms No Crown Priority For Unremitted GST/QST in a Bankruptcy

Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on the Labour Code's Anti-Scab Provisions

What Employers Should Remember When Hosting Company Parties

The Wal-Mart Case: Supreme Court Ruling Upholds Employers' Right to Close Their Businesses

Federal Court Holds That Formulation Patents Must Claim All Medicinal Ingredients In Order To Be Eligible For Listing [Yaz (Drospirenone/Ethinyl Estradiol)]

Federal Court of Canada Sets Aside 'Unreasonable' Decision of the PMPRB

Canada - US Electricity Trade: Challenges and Opportunities

Possible Change in the Canadian Landscape for Price-Fixing Class Action Certification

Federal Court Considers a Patent Disclaimer Filed After the Receipt of a Notice of Allegation

China Ascending

The Do's and Don'ts of Doing Business with Foreign Suppliers

Getting to the ''Top of the House'' in China - A Canadian Law Firm's Perspective

Federal Court Finds That Generic Manufacturer is Estopped From Re-litigating Patent Validity in Regard to a Related Product

Does Another Recent Decision From Outside Canada Have Implications For the Rights of Universities in Inventions Made by Their Academic Staff?

The Investment Canada Act: Paper Tiger No More

Passport for Business - Fall 2009

Peering Through the Cloud - Cloud Computing: Many Benefits but There are Some Legal Issues to Consider

Federal Court Finds Norvasc^® Patent to be Invalid