The Québec Court of Appeal has ruled that cooperation with a police investigation by voluntarily disclosing privileged documents will not automatically waive privilege with respect to third parties (Centre universitaire de santé McGill c. Lemay).[i] The decision compliments a wider legislative trend towards encouraging cooperation with criminal investigations (including, for example, Immunity and Leniency Programs … Continue Reading
It used to take 75 days to get a general construction permit in Canada, now it can take close to 249.[1] In 2020 Canada ranked 34th out of 35 OECD countries for its permitting approval periods. By comparison, the average approval time in the US was reportedly 81 days.[2] Canada’s permitting periods are incompatible with … Continue Reading
On October 3, 2022, the US Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it charged Kim Kardashian for failing to disclose her interest in the promotion of a crypto asset on social media, resulting in a settlement of USD 1.26 million. In its brief decision, the SEC explained that Ms. Kardashian failed to disclose the approximately … Continue Reading
Canada’s Special Economics Measure Act (SEMA) provides the Government of Canada the authority to impose sanctions on foreign jurisdictions and persons. Since February 24, 2022, Canada has frequently amended the SEMA (Russia) Regulations (SOR/2014-58) (and other regulations enacted under SEMA), to list a significant number of individuals and entities as “designated persons”, thereby imposing a … Continue Reading
Que l’on pense aux Panama Papers, à WikiLeaks ou au Watergate, les lanceurs d’alerte jouent un rôle essentiel dans la divulgation de la corruption et des abus de confiance du public. Voilà pourquoi de si nombreux pays se sont dotés de lois pour protéger les lanceurs d’alerte. Sauf le Canada. Les lois canadiennes en la … Continue Reading
From the Panama Papers, to WikiLeaks, to Watergate, whistleblowers have been instrumental in exposing corruption and abuses of public trust. That is why so many countries have laws to protect whistleblowers. Except Canada. Canada’s whistleblower protection laws have received serious criticism from international watchdogs. This post looks at what protections are available, and how they … Continue Reading
Au cours de la dernière année, les législateurs et les autorités gouvernementales du Canada ont redoublé d’efforts pour lutter contre la corruption et la violation des droits de la personne au sein des chaines d’approvisionnement mondiales. De tels efforts ciblent souvent des multinationales dans le but de leur imposer des obligations de vérification diligente concernant … Continue Reading
Over the last year, legislators and government authorities in Canada have increased efforts to combat corruption and human rights abuses in global supply chains. Such efforts often targeted multinational corporations (MNCs), with the aim of imposing anti-corruption and human rights due diligence obligations on MNCs that will ensure compliance among their small and medium-sized enterprise … Continue Reading
