On May 21, 2009, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) issued Staff Notice 52-324 – “Issues Relating to Changeover to International Financial Reporting Standards”, an update on the changeover to international financial reporting standards (IFRS) in Canada.

The new Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (the "Act"), which replaces the Canada Corporations Act (the "CCA"), is expected to come fully into force within the next year. There will then be a three-year transition period for not-for-profit corporations ("NFPs") incorporated under Part II of the CCA to apply for continuance under the Act. Accordingly, NFPs likely have until 2015 to comply with the Act. Failure to comply will result in an NFP's dissolution.

On October 9, 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered a highly anticipated decision in "RBC Dominion Securities Inc. v. Merrill Lynch Canada Inc".

In two recent cases, the Quebec Superior Court and Court of Appeal have confirmed that parties who are unhappy with the procedural decisions of arbitrators cannot seek to have the courts intervene in order to review those decisions.

The International Standards Organization ("ISO") Social Responsibility Standard 26000 (hereinafter referred to as "ISO 26000") is an attempt to standardize and codify the concept of social responsibility for organizations, including business.

Pension plans in Canada are subject to provincial minimum standards legislation, with the exception of pension plans for the employees of undertakings that are under federal jurisdiction, such as banks and airlines, which are subject to federal minimum standards legislation.

On September 27, 2010, Justice Denis Lavergne of the Court of Quebec found that a business owner was guilty of criminal negligence causing death after a backhoe he was driving fatally struck an employee.

On September 9, 2008, Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal rendered a decision in a closely watched case concerning the inadvertent lapse of patent rights.

Last month the Canadian Minister of Finance and the US Treasury Secretary announced the entry into force of the Fifth Protocol to the Canada-United States Income Tax Convention, 1980 (the "Treaty"), which updates and amends the Treaty. Although the Fifth Protocol is generally effective for taxable years that begin after 2008, as noted below, several provisions have special application rules.

In two recent decisions, the Superior Court ruled that employees who do not contest changes to their working conditions in a timely manner cannot claim that they are victims of constructive dismissal.

In a pair of unprecedented rulings issued on January 28, 2008, Justice Anne Mactavish of the Federal Court of Canada quashed certain production orders she had previously issued against Labatt Brewing Company Limited and others in the context of the Commissioner of Competition’s inquiry into the Labatt/Lakeport merger, on the basis that the disclosure made to the Court by the Commissioner in seeking the orders by way of ex parte application had been "misleading, incomplete and incorrect".

Since our last communication regarding the state of the law on drug and alcohol testing by employers in Canada, two significant decisions have been rendered, one by an arbitrator in Ontario and the other by the Quebec Court of Appeal.

Ogilvy Renault's Employment and Labour Law practice is one of Canada's largest management-side practices. We represent a significant number of private and public sector employers and provide a wide variety of advocacy services and strategic advice.

On January 23, 2008, the Ontario Securities Commission issued its decision “In the Matter of HudBay Minerals Inc.”, setting aside a prior decision of the Toronto Stock Exchange and requiring approval by the shareholders of HudBay Minerals Inc. of the company’s proposed acquisition of Lundin Mining Corporation.

New rules on certification of annual and interim filings will come into effect on December 15, 2008.

It is not uncommon for directors, officers or other agents of corporations to be named as co-defendants in suits that seek to hold liable not only a corporation, but also the intermediaries through whom it acts.

On October 30, 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada released its long-anticipated decision in Quebec (Revenue) v. Caisse populaire Desjardins de Montmagny.

On May 12, 2011, Serge Simard, Minister for Natural Resources and Wildlife, tabled Bill 14 in the Quebec National Assembly.

Product claims relating to “environmental friendliness” are increasingly encountered in retail stores and the media.

When confronted with significant litigation or a major event such as a product recall, regulatory investigation or takeover, a company may engage a public relations or communications (“PR”) firm to assist it in communicating with its stakeholders.