Legal bulletins

The use of the internet and email as a work tool, for research and communication purposes, is now a daily reality for many Quebec employees. However, while granting employees access to the internet and the use of email is a highly attractive proposition for employers, it can entail serious drawbacks.

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In the matter of F.L. v. Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals, p.l.c. et al., 2010 QCCS 4701, the Quebec Superior Court issued an interesting decision denying a motion for authorization to institute a class action against a pharmaceutical company. The decision is important, as the Court dealt with the application of the entire set of criteria for instituting a class action, while confirming that a drug is not a thing to which the warranty against latent defects applies.

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Langlois Kronström Desjardins has won an important arbitration case dealing with the meaning of the term “bankable feasibility study” in the mining industry. The final decision of the arbitrator contains an in depth review of this concept in the context of joint venture agreements, and canvasses other complex factual and legal issues related to mining project finance and option-joint venture agreements in common use in the mining industry. As such, the award of the arbitrator in the case of Canadian Royalties v. Nearctic Nickel Mines constitutes one of the few global precedents on the subject. In this Legal Bulletin, we review the main elements of the decision, with a view to highlighting some pitfalls to be avoided in the negotiation and drafting of earn-in agreements.

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In addition to the usual taxes, in its newly adopted budget for the year 2010, the City of Montreal has included a new tax: a tax on parking lots (By-law #10-008). The City
hopes to thereby collect $20 million in additional revenue in 2010.

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In a recent and extensively reasoned decision in the matter of L'Immobilière, Société d'Évaluation Conseil Inc. v. Évaluations B.T.F. Inc., the Quebec Court of Appeal shed new light on the guidance and instruction to be given to selection committees in the context of awarding contracts pursuant to public calls for tenders.

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Each year, Quebec employers have to deal with frequent employee absences from work, for periods of varying length, often sorely trying their patience. According to a Statistics Canada report, Quebec heads the list of chronic absenteeism, with an average of 11.6 days lost per year per full-time employee due to illness, disability or familial responsibilities.

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