Will the US trade wars affect Canada?
Lawyers are advising their clients to look at new markets on both the supply and demand ends Jul 4, 2018 EVEN AS THE US and China ramped up their trade war rhetoric, international trade lawyer Darrel Pearson found himself busier than he’s ever been in his 36 years of practice. “We anticipate that the workload will continue to […]
Finally, a judgment against CRA for negligence in audit of business
Court finds tax collector took certain positions for strategic reasons rather than good faith legal reasons. There will be an appeal September 6, 2018 A Quebec Superior Court judgment awarding two Montreal businessmen nearly $5 million in damages against the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) means taxpayers may have an easier time holding the tax collector […]
B.C. court decision highlights significance of termination notices
September 12, 2018 British Columbia’s Court of Appeal has upheld an award of five months’ notice for an employee with only 12 months of service who was terminated without cause. “The case is an important reminder to employers that notice obligations on termination can be significant even for short-term employees,” says David McInnes, an employment […]
New boots-on-the-ground trade association to boost ties between Canada, EU
The Canada EU Trade Investment Association is a cross-sector industry group out to promote dealmaking September 12, 2018 Canadian companies need to be much more active in Brussels in order to take full advantage of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. “CETA, for the first time, includes a standalone chapter on regulatory cooperation […]
Meeting the AI Challenge
Firms are learning to adapt and prosper in the age of Artificial Intelligence Oct 10, 2018 As it turns out, the ongoing debate about the extent to which emerging legal technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), will make lawyers redundant or at least reduce the profession to a small colony of high-level strategists, misses the point. […]
Many Companies, Many Governments
Sep 21, 2018 With about 75% of all mining companies in the world headquartered in Canada and some 56% of the publicly traded ones listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Canadian laws capture more mining entities than legislation in any other country. That sounds simple enough, but it’s more complex — and at times more […]
GDPR Impact
EU’s privacy rules have broad reach, even for Canadian companies with no European business Aug 8, 2018 The European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which creates a comprehensive regulatory regime for handling the personal information of EU citizens, came into force on May 25, 2018. It has extensive extraterritorial reach. “Any company, wherever it is in the […]
Into the Breach
‘Awareness is up but preparedness is flat’ as companies try to keep up with data privacy concerns Nov 13, 2018 If Alberta’s experience is any indication, it’s unlikely that Canada’s new data breach notification regulations, which affect the federal private sector and came into force on November 1, will languish in obscurity. In 2010, Alberta […]
Canadian firms at risk for US taxes
Until thresholds are clarified, Canadian companies shipping to US may be subject to local regimes Oct 2, 2018 CANADIAN COMPANIES selling into the United States — even those with no physical presence in a particular state — may now be required to collect and remit local sales taxes. “There are some 10,000 different state and local sales tax regimes in […]
The Evolution of P3s
Sep 28, 2018 If there’s any doubt that public-private partnerships (P3s) are beacons of innovation, the emergence of Montréal’s $6.3-billion Réseau express métropolitain (REM) should silence the skeptics. The REM is a new, integrated, fully automated transportation network linking Montréal, the South Shore, the West Island, the North Shore and the airport. When completed, the […]