Description
With an academic background in business and practical experience in real estate management, Louise Boutin has geared her practice towards various aspects of real estate and municipal law, and particularly municipal taxation, real estate brokerage, construction, access to information, co-ownership and landlord/tenant relations. She also practices hospital law.

In municipal taxation, she represents taxpayers disputing the accuracy of their property assessments or seeking tax exemptions or recognition of tax exemptions for industrial properties (plants) or commercial properties (apartment buildings, office buildings, shopping centres, etc.).

Louise has served as legal counsel for the regulatory body of a group of professionals in Quebec with respect to both member discipline and civil and administrative proceedings before the courts. She also represents hospitals in disciplinary matters.

Her practice thus involves making civil, penal, disciplinary and administrative law appearances before various judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, incliding arbitration. 

Associations & Achievements
2011 - President-elect, Commercial Real Estate Wowen (CREW) Network

2010 - Secretary, Commercial Real Estate Wowen (CREW) Network

Since 2010 - Member, Disciplinary Board of the Québec Bar

Since 2007 - Member, Canadian Property Tax Association Inc. (CPTA)

Since 2005 - Member, Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network

1998 - Member, drafting committee of the Institut de développement urbain du Québec (Quebec Institute for Urban Development) responsible for a brief submitted to the Commission nationale sur les finances et la fiscalité locale (Quebec government commission on finance and local taxation)

1998 - Member, Municipal Taxation Drafting Committee of the Institut de développement urbain du Québec

1994 - Member of the recruiting committee for participants in the Arista contest (Montreal Junior Chamber of Commerce)

1992-2000 - Secretary-Treasurer
Syndicat des copropriétaires 7385-7405 Nîmes (association of co-owners)

1991-1995 - Secretary and member of the board
Fondation des Enfants Maltraités du Québec inc. (charitable foundation for abused children)

Since 1988 - Member of the Quebec Bar

Since 1988 - Member, Association of University of Sherbrooke Law Graduates

Since 1988 - Member, Canadian Bar Association

Presentations & Conferences
2011 - "Real Estate Assessment: Everything you need to know!", CREW Platinum Series conference organized by the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) network, with co-presenter Corinne Li, chartered appraiser at SNC-Lavalin. Approval of the conference for mandatory continuing education credit from the Quebec Bar and the Quebec Order of Chartered Appraisers is pending.

2010 - Review of 2010 case law, Canadian Property Tax Association inc, Montréal

2010 – “How to be a good expert advocate”, CPTA Annual National Workshop, Québec City, Québec

2010 - «Municipal Taxation: Points of Interest in 2010», Canadian Bar Association, recognized by The Quebec Bar and The Chambre des notaires.

2009 - Review of the case law, presentation to the Quebec Chapter of the Canadian Property Tax Association inc., approved by the Ordre des évaluateurs agréés du Québec ( Quebec Order of Certified Evaluators) and the Quebec Bar.

2009- Participant in a mock trial to demonstrate the different stages of a trial involving an appraiser as an expert witness, Annual conference of the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC) in Mont-Tremblant, activity recognized for the professional educational program by l'Ordre des évaluateurs agréés du Québec (Quebec Order of Certified Evaluators).

2008 - Cross-Canada Legal Panel, representative for Quebec of  taxpayers' lawyers, on the subject "Disclosure and Access to Information", CPTA Annual National Workshop, St. John's, Newfoundland

2007 - "Review of 2007 case law", presentation to the Quebec Chapter of the Canadian Property Tax Association Inc. approved by the Ordre des évaluateurs agréés du Québec (Quebec Order of Certified Evaluators)

2006- "Municipal Taxation Remedies", CREW

2004 - "Quebec Taxation," AEC, Toronto

2002 - Access to Municipal Information: a Right or a Danger?" Annual Conference of the Ordre des évaluateurs agrées du Québec

1998 - "Municipal Taxation", presentation to members, franchisees and employees of Vidéotron Group Ltd.

1998 - "Municipal Taxation Act", Quebec Bar Association

1995 - "Municipal Taxation", presentation to the Association des Grands Hôtels de Montréal (association of major Montreal hotels)

1992-1997 - "Municipal Taxation Act", UQAM (University of Quebec at Montreal). Contribution to teaching a course in real estate evaluation law.

Publications
2010 - « The assessment of a paper manufacturing plant », Canadian Property Tax Association, September/October 2010, Vol. 30, pp. 9-12

2010 - « What exactly is “industrial production”? », Canadian Property Tax Association, July/August 2010, Vol. 30, pp. 10-12

2010 - «The Electrical and Mechanical Systems: The End of a Saga?», Canadian Property Tax Association, March/April 2010, Vol. 30, pp. 15-18

2009 - The Assessment of The Electrical and Mechanical Systems (The Imperial Tobacco Case), Canadian Property Tax Association, September/October 2009, Vol. 29, pp.10-12

2009 - The exclusion of anti-pollution equipment for assessment purposes, Canadian Property Tax Association, March/April 2009, Vol. 29 pp. 13-15

2008 - The Assessment of a Co-op, Canadian Property Tax Association, September/October 2008, Vol. 28, pp.12-13

2008 - The exclusion of anti-pollution equipment for assessment purposes, Canadian Property Tax Association, January/February 2008, Vol. 28, pp. 11-13

1991-2005 - Drafting and coordinating the publication of a firm's newsletter.

1995 - Yet another tax? Focus on Canadian Municipal Assessment and Taxation, Vol. III, No. 8, pp 63-66

Representative mandates
Disciplinary law   
Represented, for nearly 15 years, a professional disciplinary organization created to protect the public, first founded as a private association and later legislatively constituted. Also represented the organization’s superintendant and the organization itself in multiple proceedings before the disciplinary committee and the courts in disciplinary, regulatory, and administrative cases.

Municipal taxation   
Represented most of the supermarket chains in Quebec on the issue of excluding furnishings from tax assessments.