Mar. 22, 2024 – The Supreme Court of Canada recently delivered a landmark decision on the privacy rights of Internet users. In R v Bykovets , police investigating an alleged online fraud requested and obtained a suspect’s Internet Protocol (IP) address from a third-party payment processor without a warrant. ...
Investigations and White Collar Defence
Nov. 01, 2023 – In a first for Canadian securities laws, on October 20, 2023 Ontario’s Capital Markets Tribunal (Tribunal) released substantive guidance on the meaning of the “necessary course of business” (NCOB) exception to the prohibition against selective disclosure of material non-public information (MNPI)...
Aug. 03, 2023 – In the Bouchard 1 case rendered in July 2023, many years after the Supreme Court of Canada rendered the Jarvis decision, 2 the Court of Québec concluded that the fundamental rights of medical specialists (i) against self-incrimination, (ii) to silence, (iii) to privacy, (iv) to security...
May 23, 2023 – The Superior Court of Québec recently published its reasons 1 approving Canada’s second remediation agreement under the Criminal Code , Canada’s version of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). In his reasons, Justice Marc David expanded on the principles applicable to Canada’s remediation...
Canadian Foreign Investment Law in 2023: National Security Is (Still) Paramount
Feb. 03, 2023 – In this annual review of Canadian foreign investment law, we discuss developments over the past year, including proposed amendments to the Investment Canada Act (ICA) and new government policies on the treatment of specific categories of investments. We also consider how these trends will...
Canadian Competition Law Trends for 2023: Significant Amendments and More Change Ahead
Feb. 03, 2023 – Significant amendments to Canada’s Competition Act (Act) dominated discussion about Canadian competition law policy and enforcement in 2022. Given the full implementation of the first round of amendments and the formal commencement of public consultation on further amendments, potential...
The International Investigations Review: Canada
Dec. 12, 2022 – In the 12th edition of The International Investigations Review , Davies partners Léon Moubayed and Corey Omer highlight the major issues with and critical characteristics of criminal and regulatory investigations that corporate counsel face in Canada's legal system.
First Remediation Agreement under the Canadian Criminal Code: Key Takeaways
June 14, 2022 – The Superior Court of Québec recently published its reasons 1 approving Canada’s first remediation agreement under the Criminal Code , which is Canada’s version of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). In his reasons, the Honourable Justice Eric Downs provided an extensive overview of the...
Filling the Gap: Scope of Canadian Anti-Money Laundering Laws Expanded
June 07, 2022 – The Canadian federal government has fulfilled its promise to expand Canada’s anti-money laundering (AML) regime to cover crowdfunding platforms and certain payment service providers (PSPs) that previously operated outside the scope of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist...
Davies Summit: International Investigations and White Collar Defence
May 30, 2022 – Close to 200 attendees from across Canada, the United States and Europe packed the ballroom at Le Windsor in downtown Montréal on May 26 for the second edition of the Davies Summit: International Investigations and White Collar Defence , with keynote speaker former U.S. Attorney General Loretta...
May 12, 2022 – Léon H. Moubayed was recognized as the 2022 White-Collar Crime / Enforcement Litigator of the Year at the Benchmark Litigation Canada Awards. His recent successes include the following: Defending Bouclair Inc., where he persuaded the court to stay all criminal charges after establishing...
Following the Money: Emergencies Act Invoked to Expand Anti-Money Laundering Rules
Feb. 17, 2022 – The Canadian federal government announced this week that it was invoking the never-before-used Emergencies Act 1 in response to ongoing blockades and occupations arising out of the self-titled “Freedom Convoy” protests. As part of the emergency declaration, the government announced additional...
July 13, 2021 – In the recent decision in R v Laffont , 1 the Court of Québec (CQ) quashed a number of search warrants on the basis that they had been improperly authorized under the general Criminal Code 2 regime instead of under the specific regime introduced by the Journalistic Sources Protection Act 3 ...
May 18, 2021 – The Court of Appeal of Québec (CAQ) handed down its decision in Bédard c. Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales on 4 March 2021 ( Bédard ). 1 The judgment contains an interesting consideration of section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter), which provides...
OECD Report: The Role of Corporations in Fighting White Collar Crime Enablers
Apr. 12, 2021 – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a report in February 2021 titled “Ending the Shell Game: Cracking Down on the Professionals Who Enable Tax and White Collar Crimes” (Report), which highlights the role that “professional enablers” play in the commission of...
The First Specified Transactions to Be Disclosed to Revenu Québec Announced
Mar. 24, 2021 – The Québec government announced in its March 21, 2019 budget a series of measures aimed at protecting the integrity and equity of Québec’s tax system. These measures include the mandatory disclosure of certain transactions 1 ‒ those that are significantly similar to so-called determined...
Nov. 19, 2020 – In a recent decision, 1 the Court of Québec permanently stayed the prosecution of tax fraud charges made against a corporation and two related individuals after finding "serious, multiple and systemic" 2 violations of constitutional rights. The Court held that the violations revealed "a..."
Corporations Cannot Suffer Cruel and Unusual Treatment or Punishment
Nov. 06, 2020 – The Supreme Court of Canada (Supreme Court) yesterday handed down its highly awaited decision in Quebec (Attorney General) v 9147-0732 Québec inc. 1 For the first time, the Court decided that corporations cannot claim the protection of section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ...
Jordan Ceilings: Particular Application to White Collar Crime
Oct. 08, 2020 – In a case successfully argued by Davies, the Court of Québec concluded that the prosecution infringed the right of the accused to be tried within a reasonable time and, as a result, ordered (published in French) a stay of proceedings and charges. This is an important decision in that it deals...
Léon Moubayed Talks to Canadian Lawyer InHouse About the Growing Threat of White-Collar Crime
Sept. 18, 2020 – In an article published this week in Canadian Lawyer InHouse , Davies partner Léon Moubayed gives his expert take on the growing prevalence of white collar crime amid the COVID-19 pandemic and on the steps that in-house counsel can take to protect their businesses. Léon points out that,...
May 27, 2020 – Preventing corruption is a day-to-day challenge that requires society as a whole to become aware of the necessity to foster a real cultural shift. Although legislation and internal policies remain essential, they are not sufficient to prevent corruption. They must be supplemented by a genuine...
Jordan Ceilings: Verdict Deliberation Time Not Included
Apr. 20, 2020 – In the landmark case of Jordan rendered in July 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) established ceilings beyond which delay from the charge to the actual or anticipated end of trial is presumed to be unreasonable and infringes section 11 (b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ,...
A Penalty Under GAAR Will Cause Ineligibility for Public Contracts in Québec
Mar. 23, 2020 – The Act mainly to establish the Centre d'acquisitions gouvernementales and Infrastructures technologiques Québec (Act) was assented to on February 21, 2020, by the National Assembly of Québec. The Act incorporates new provisions in the government procurement rules to combat abusive tax avoidance...
Search and Seizure: Authorities Can’t Keep What They Seize Indefinitely
Feb. 04, 2020 – In a recent decision, 1 the Superior Court of Québec held that an authority cannot keep copies of electronic documents seized during a search and seizure after officially notifying the person that it will not bring penal or administrative proceedings against the person. In this decision, the...
Investigation and Disclosure: The Court Stresses the Importance of Protecting Whistleblowers
Jan. 22, 2020 – In a decision handed down on December 9, 2019, 1 the Superior Court of Québec stressed the importance of keeping the identity of whistleblowers and their statements confidential in the context of investigations into wrongdoing within a public body. Confidentiality can be lifted only when there...
New Era, New Disclosure Obligations
Dec. 17, 2019 – In a case argued by Davies, the Court of Québec rendered a judgment on December 10 setting out, for the first time, the conditions that must be met for the electronic disclosure of evidence by the Crown to be “reasonably accessible”, respectful of the accused’s fundamental rights and consistent...
Léon Moubayed Speaks About Remediation Agreements With La Presse
Nov. 29, 2019 – In an article published recently in French, Léon Moubayed provides an overview of global trends in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms with regard to corporate crime and shares his insights on the remediation agreement regime recently introduced in Canadian law. In November, Davies...
Top Court Expands Scope of Potential Liability in Price-Fixing Class Actions
Sept. 24, 2019 – The Supreme Court of Canada has released its long-awaited decision in two companion appeals that have significant implications for class actions alleging conduct that contravenes the criminal provisions found in Part VI of the Competition Act (Act). In its decision in Pioneer Corporation v...
Tax Fraud Charges: Jordan Stay of Proceedings Ordered Due to Unreasonable Delay
Sept. 04, 2019 – In a recent decision, the Court of Québec (Court) held that section 11b of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms , which guarantees that any person charged with an offence has the right to be tried within a reasonable time, had been infringed. 1 It ordered a stay of proceedings in favour...
Facing the Music: The Pitfalls of Obstruction Under Canada’s Competition Act
July 17, 2019 – Conventional wisdom (at least since Watergate) tells us that “it’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up. ” In other words, it’s possible to violate the law by trying to conceal an alleged crime – even if it turns out that the allegation of criminal conduct is never substantiated. In the same way, a...
July 09, 2019 – The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed the appeal of 1068754 Alberta Ltd. (Alberta Ltd.) against a judgment rendered by the Court of Appeal of Québec, which in turn had upheld the decision rendered by the Superior Court. The appeal originated from Alberta Ltd.’s contestation of a formal demand...
Is Business Becoming Immune to the Canadian Competition Bureau’s Immunity Program?
June 27, 2019 – Antitrust commentators are questioning the continuing significance of immunity and leniency programs that have been at the forefront of anti-cartel enforcement internationally since the U.S. Department of Justice introduced the first leniency program in the early 1990s. Amid evidence of declining...
Autorité des marchés publics Has New Powers to Oversee Public Contracts
May 24, 2019 – The provisions respecting the processing of complaints, communication of information and disclosure of wrongdoing to the Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) came into force on May 25, 2019. An interested person or partnership wishing to file a complaint with the AMP or provide information to the...
Search Warrants: Misleading the Court Compromises the Integrity of the Process
May 02, 2019 – The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in Agence du revenu du Québec v 9229-0188 Québec inc. has dismissed an application for leave to appeal filed by Revenu Québec (RQ), acting as part of the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit of Québec. In doing so, the SCC leaves intact the action brought by Davies on...
Search Warrants: Investigators’ Good Faith Cannot Always Be Presumed
Apr. 25, 2019 – In Demers c R , 2019 QCCA 518, the Court of Appeal of Québec acquitted the appellant, who had previously been convicted by the Court of Québec on the basis of evidence obtained as a result of an illegal search and seizure. The Court of Appeal held that, when the affidavit filed to support an...
OECD Report Highlights Use of Non-Trial Resolutions to Combat Foreign Bribery Cases
Apr. 11, 2019 – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently released a report titled “ Resolving Foreign Bribery Cases with Non-Trial Resolutions ” at its annual Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum in Paris. According to the report, non-trial resolution mechanisms have...
Mar. 27, 2019 – Two individuals were recently sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment after being convicted of agreeing to bribe a foreign public official, under the Canadian Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (Act). 1 These are the second and third convictions under the Act following a trial. In all...
Court of Appeal Expands the Range of Fundamental Rights of Legal Persons
Mar. 18, 2019 – In a judgment rendered on March 4, 2019 in 9147-0732 Québec Inc. c. Directeur des poursuites criminelles , 2019 QCCA 373, the Court of Appeal of Québec ruled for the first time on whether legal persons can avail themselves of the right not to be subjected to any cruel and unusual treatment or...
Private Federal Corporations Must Track Controlling Shareholders Beginning in June 2019
Feb. 22, 2019 – Bill C-86 introduces significant changes to the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) that will come into effect on June 13, 2019. Corporations governed by the CBCA (excluding corporations that are reporting issuers or are listed on a “designated stock exchange” as defined in the Income Tax...
The Autorité des marchés publics Assumes Its Responsibilities
Jan. 25, 2019 – The majority of the activities of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) under the Act respecting contracting by public bodies were transferred to the Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) on January 25, 2019. The AMP was created in response to the first recommendation of the Charbonneau...
Canada Proposes Regime for Deferred Prosecution Agreements
Apr. 11, 2018 – The Canadian government recently tabled legislation to implement a regime for deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) for corporations accused of certain types of federal offences for which conviction would disqualify the corporation from federal government contracts. This proposal follows...
Anti-Corruption Legislation in Canada
Jan. 25, 2018 – This publication summarizes Canada’s foreign and domestic anti-corruption legislation in relation to dealings with public officials. It is relevant for both Canadian-based entities operating abroad and foreign and domestic businesses operating in Canada. Download our perspective .
Addressing Corporate Wrongdoing
Dec. 20, 2017 – In an article published by the Canadian Bar Association, John Bodrug commented on the CBA’s feedback on the federal government’s consultation on addressing corporate wrongdoing, including proposed revisions to the Integrity Regime and the possible introduction of deferred prosecution...
Canadian Competition Bureau Releases Revised Immunity Program for Consultation
Nov. 07, 2017 – The Competition Bureau released a revised version of its Immunity Program (Revised Immunity Program) for public consultation on October 26, 2017. The Immunity Program is intended to provide incentives to businesses and individuals to report conduct that constitutes an offence under the ...
Canada Repeals Facilitation Payments Exception in Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act
Oct. 30, 2017 – The Canadian government announced on October 30, 2017, that it is repealing the exception for “facilitation payments” to the offence of bribery under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA). The CFPOA is Canada’s principal legislation combatting bribery of foreign public officials...
Forty-nine Davies Lawyers Recognized in Who’s Who Legal: Canada
Oct. 24, 2017 – Law Business Research’s Who’s Who Legal: Canada 2017 names 49 Davies partners as leading lawyers, including eight Most Highly Regarded practitioners, across 18 different practice areas. Who’s Who Legal nominees are selected on the basis of comprehensive, independent surveys conducted among...
Government of Canada Consults on Tools to Address Corporate Wrongdoing
Sept. 28, 2017 – Many jurisdictions around the world have implemented frameworks to deter and address the consequences of criminal and quasi-criminal business practices by corporations. In an effort to ensure that Canada has the right tools to address corporate crimes, on September 25, 2017, the Canadian...
Ontario Court of Appeal Upholds Conviction for Conspiracy to Bribe Foreign Public Officials
July 19, 2017 – In 2014, Nazir Karigar was sentenced to three years in prison under Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA) for his role in a scheme to offer bribes to Indian officials on behalf of a Canadian technology company. Karigar was the first individual sentenced under the CFPOA....
Compliance Alert: Competition Law Issues for HR Professionals in Canada
Dec. 21, 2016 – Introduction On October 20, 2016, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (Antitrust Division) jointly issued special compliance guidelines (HR Guidelines) 1 for human resource (HR) professionals and others involved in hiring...
Nov. 29, 2016 – On November 25, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered two decisions confirming that express, clear legislative language is required to compel production of solicitor-client- or litigation-privileged documents, and reaffirming the wide protection afforded these privileges. Alberta...
July 05, 2016 – The integrity regime (then known as the integrity framework) was first adopted in November 2012, in response to the July 2012 conviction of a supplier of real estate advisory services for bid-rigging on a federal government contract. The regime has gone through several iterations since then with...
May 13, 2016 – On April 4, 2016, the Canadian federal government amended its Integrity Regime, which governs the qualification of suppliers to enter into contracts with Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) and a number of other federal departments and agencies. The amendments are intended to...
Banks Face $1-Billion Class Action over Currency Market Allegations
Jan. 01, 2016 – Davies represented Morgan Stanley Canada Limited, a leading global financial services firm, in a class action against 12 global banks based on an alleged conspiracy to artificially fix foreign currency exchange rates. The Davies team on this class action included Kent Thomson , Nick Rodrigo , ...
Dec. 07, 2015 – On December 2, 2015, one week after the final report of the Commission of Inquiry on the Awarding and Management of Public Contracts in the Construction Industry (commonly known as the “Charbonneau Commission”) was tabled, the National Assembly introduced Bill 87, titled An Act to facilitate...
Davies Recognized as a Leader in Chambers Canada 2016
Oct. 13, 2015 – Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP has been recognized as one of Canada’s top law firms by Chambers & Partners in the first edition of Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business . Davies has the highest percentage of lawyer rankings as well as the highest percentage of Band 1...
Federal Public Contracts Now Governed by New, More Flexible Integrity Provisions
July 14, 2015 – On July 3, 2015, the federal government implemented a new integrity regime (New Regime) governing suppliers’ capacity to enter into procurement contracts and real property transactions with Public Works and Government Services Canada. The New Regime will be rolled out to all federal departments...
Navigating the Choppy Waters of Foreign Anticorruption Enforcement
June 01, 2015 – The first reported case of corporate foreign corruption dates back to the 16th century, when the British East India Company bribed Mogul rulers with “rare treasures, including paintings, carvings and costly objects made of copper, brass and stone” in consideration of a tax break on exports. ...
Pétroles Global: Calculating Fines Imposed on Corporations
May 04, 2015 – When an organization – including a corporation, a company or a partnership – is found guilty of a criminal offence, section 718. 21 of the Criminal Code requires a court to take a number of factors into consideration when determining the fine, including: any profits realized as a result of...
Apr. 06, 2015 – New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel is renowned for many things. An icon of glamour and luxury, the Waldorf Astoria was the tallest building in the world when constructed in 1931. It’s played host to numerous celebrities and is the reputed birthplace of such culinary dishes as eggs benedict,...
Debarment from Public Contracts: The First Reversal of an AMF Decision
Mar. 09, 2015 – 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...
Feb. 06, 2015 – On February 4, 2015, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that relevant factual information proffered to the Crown in order to qualify for immunity or leniency under the Competition Bureau’s cartel Immunity and Leniency Programs is not protected from disclosure to accused persons by either...
