Description
Sébastien Laprise has extensive expertise in municipal law and public procurement law. In the municipal law area, he acts for private-sector businesses, individuals and municipalities in matters involving all aspects of municipal activity.

For example, he advises clients in preparing applications for permits, zoning changes and minor exemptions from zoning bylaws, and provides expert analysis on claims asserting acquired rights. He also represents clients before courts and administrative tribunals in matters involving urban planning, environmental issues, real estate appraisals, municipal taxation and expropriation.

Sébastien’s thorough knowledge of municipal law has also allowed him, over the course of his career, to develop leading-edge expertise in public procurement. His clientele, composed of public and para-public entities as well as businesses in the private sector, highly appreciates his advice, particularly regarding the call-for-tenders process, bid compliance, the development and implementation of contract management policies and any issues that may arise in the course of performing a public contract.

Because of this high-profile expertise, Sébastien is a much sought-after speaker and presenter to entities providing training to procurement professionals.

Associations & Achievements
Since 2011 - Sébastien Laprise is active on social media and is the initiator and administrator of the Public Procurement (Approvisionnement public) professional group on Linkedin, which is aimed at those interested in procurement issues involving Québec and Canadian public entities. He is a regular and published commentator on public procurement matters.
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Approvisionnement-public-4181943?trk=myg_ugrp_ovr

2009 - Member of the Quebec City Regional Council. the Taxation Committee and the Urban Planning Committe of the Urban Development Institute of Quebec (QCRCUDIQ)

2009 - Member of the executive of Centre de Plein Air le LaSallien Inc. (summer camp for the hearing-impaired)

2006 - FSQ board member

Presentations & Conferences
2009 - "Real Estate Development: Keys to Success", Urban Development Institute of Quebec

2009 - “The ABCs of compliance with calls for tenders”, Centre des services partagés du Québec (goods and services procurement agency for public bodies in Quebec)

2009 - “Exceptions to the rules governing calls for tenders”, Rendez-vous Sam, Fédération québécoise des municipalités (municipal purchasing service event organized by the Québec federation of municipalities)

2009 - “Reacting perfectly legally to tough economic times”, provincial conference of the Corporation des approvisionneurs du Québec (Quebec’s professional purchasing managers’ body)

2008 - "Professional Services and Weighting Grids",  Rendez-vous Sam, Fédération québécoise des municipalités (municipal purchasing service event organized by the Québec federation of municipalities)

2008 - "Purchasing Day / The ABC's of Tender Compliance".

2004 - "New Labour Standards: Protection from Psychological Harassment and the Scope of Section 45 of the Labour Code", a presentation prepared for the 2003 GRHMQ Seminar.

2002 - "Adjudicating Municipal Contracts and Contractual Relations Between Municipalities and Promoters: Two Burning Issues", presentation at the annual Association des directeurs municipaux du Québec conference.

2001 - "Urban Planning Bylaw Amendment Procedure", presentation at the annual Association des directeurs municipaux du Québec conference

2000 - "The Impact of Municipal Reform on Development Plans and Regional County Municipalities", presentation at the 17th annual convention of Association des aménagistes régionaux du Québec

Publications
Recently announced restrictions on the awarding of municipal contracts.

2009 - Retour sur l'affaire Double N Earthmovers ltd (Revisiting the Double N Earthmovers Ltd case), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 4, No.6

2009 - Décision cruciale dans l'exécution d'un contrat: une résolution du conseil était-elle requise? (Making crucial decisions during the performance of a contract – is a board resolution required?), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 4, No. 5

2009 - Le droit d'un fournisseur à la confidentialité de sa soumission (The supplier’s right to the confidentiality of its bid), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 4, No. 4

2009 - Condition «obligatoire» ou «essentielle»: laquelle entraîne le rejet d'une soumission? (“Mandatory” and “Essential” conditions: which will result in rejection of a bid?), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 4, No. 3

2009 - Obligation de renseignement et risques environnementaux (The duty to inform and environmental risks), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 4, No. 1

2008 - L'évaluation de la structure de prix : une condition implicite à l'appel d'offres (Evaluating Price Structure : A Key Step in Tendering), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 3, No. 5

2008 - Garantie de soumission : Attention à l'excès de formalisme (Bid Guarantees: Avoid Excess Formalism), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 3, No. 4

2008 - Les obligations entre soumissionnaires. L’acceptation d’une soumission n’emporte pas leur exonération (Obligations Between Tenderers. Accepting a Bid Doesn’t Waive Them), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 3, No. 3

2008 - L’affaire des voitures de métro Alstom. Contrat avec un fournisseur ‘unique’: une exception à la portée des municipalités (The Alstom Metro Cars Affair. A Contract with a ‘Single’ Supplier: An Exception Municipalities Can Take Advantage Of), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 3, No. 2  

2008 - Équipements de loisirs: Plusieurs options, de mêmes obligations (Recreational Equipment: Many Options, The Same Obligations), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 3, No. 1

2007 - L’approvisionnement municipal à l’ère du développement durable (Municipal Purchasing in the Age of Sustainable Development), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 2, No. 5

2007 - Dans quelles circonstances une soumission est-elle « reçue en retard » et doit-elle être rejetée? (When Is a Bid “Late” and Must It Be Rejected?), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 2, No. 4

2007 - Des incitatifs à la réhabilitation des terrains contaminés (Incentives to Rehabilitate Contaminated Land), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 2, No. 2

2007 - Parcs, terrains de jeux et équipements de loisirs : La responsabilité des fabricants et vendeurs, des municipalités et des utilisateurs (Parks, Playgrounds, and Recreational Equipment: The Liability of Manufacturers, Vendors, Municipalities, and Users), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 2, No. 1

2006 - Les cas d’exception aux règles d’appel d’offres et leur application en haute technologie (Exceptions to Bidding Rules and Applying Them to High Technology), published in Marché municipal, Vol. 1, No. 3

2003 - Analyse des critères de pondération d’une soumission : droit à l’erreur? (Analyzing the Criteria for Weighing Bids: Are You Entitled to Make a Mistake?), published in Droit de cité, Éditions Yvon Blais, Vol. 10, No. 4

2003 - Les clauses importantes à inclure aux devis municipaux (Important Clauses to Include in Municipal Estimates), published in Droit de cité, Éditions Yvon Blais, Vol. 10, No. 3 

2001 - Les avis de motions successifs: ne comptez plus sur l’effet de gel (Successive Notices of Motion: Don’t Count on a Locking-In Effect Any Longer), published in Droit de cité, Éditions Yvon Blais, Vol. 8, No. 2

2001 - Le nouveau régime d’exemption de taxes foncières ou d’affaires découlant d’une reconnaissance de la Commission municipale du Québec (The New Property and Business Tax Relief Program Following Recognition of the Quebec Municipal Commission), published in Droit de cité, Éditions Yvon Blais, Vol. 8, No. 2 
 
1999-2003 - Coauthor of the municipal law news review Droit de cité, published by Éditions Yvon Blais