Debarment From Public Contracts: The First Reversal Of An AMF Decision

The Superior Court of Québec recently quashed a refusal of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) to grant the authorization necessary to obtain a public contract. This decision, in Terra Location inc. v Autorité des marchés financiers, 2015 QCCS 509, marks a first since the coming into force of the Integrity in Public Contracts Act (IPCA) in December 2012. The decision confirms that the AMF must disclose the precise allegations upon which it has concluded that a business failed to satisfy the IPCA's integrity requirements. The AMF's failure to disclose these allegations constitutes a breach of procedural fairness that vitiates the decision-making process and "must inevitably lead to the reversal of [the AMF's] decision" [our translation].