Guillaume is known for his determination and creative approach to developing solutions for clients’ issues.
Guillaume has represented clients at all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and before tribunals. He acts on complex matters that often involve administrative, constitutional or regulatory ramifications. He is also involved in multiple class actions dealing with human rights and Crown liability.
Guillaume is president of the Constitutional and Human Rights Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association Québec Branch.
The Honourable Morris J. Fish - Third Independent Review of the National Defence Act
Acted as counsel to the Honourable Morris J. Fish, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and Jurist in Residence at Davies, in the preparation and drafting of his report to the Minister of National Defence on specified provisions of the National Defence Act and their operation. The 400-page report delivered on June 1, 2021 includes 107 wide-ranging recommendations, a majority of which address the military justice system, including the independence of its actors, the handling of sexual misconduct allegations, military policing and police oversight. The remainder of the recommendations relate to military grievances and to the independent review process. Upon tabling of the report in Parliament, the Department of National Defence described the review as "the most comprehensive independent review and far-reaching examination of the military justice system since the reviews led by the former Chief Justice of Canada, Brian Dickson, in the late 1990s".
Gorski Group Ltd.
Acting for Gorski Group Ltd. in its claim against Absolunet Inc. resulting from the parties' contract for the creation of a new e-commerce website.
Les avocats et notaires de l'état québécois (LANEQ)
Successfully acted for Les avocats et notaires de l'État québécois (LANEQ), the professional union representing the vast majority of the lawyers and notaries employed by the Government of Québec in its public service or by other mandataries of the State (Agence du revenu du Québec, Régie de l'énergie, Autorité des marchés financiers and Autorité des marchés publics), in its negotiations with the Government of Québec, including for the reform of its members' collective bargaining plan. The Government of Québec and LANEQ concluded an agreement establishing a joint committee to determine whether the lawyers and notaries of the Québec civil service have a distinctive character. If so, the Government has undertaken to reform their collective bargaining regime. The agreement was qualified as “historic” by both parties.
Montréal Defence Lawyers Association
Represented the Montréal Defence Lawyers Association (AADM) before the Supreme Court of Canada in Attorney General of Quebec, et al. v. 9147-0732 Québec Inc., where the Court had to determine for the first time if the constitutional protection against "cruel and unusual treatment or punishment" applies to corporations and other legal persons.
René Allard, on behalf of retired management personnel of the Government of Québec and their spouses
Acting for class representative René Allard in a class action proceeding regarding constitutional damages against the government of Québec on behalf of retired members of Québec's public and parapublic sectors' management personnel, as well as their spouses, whose retirement pension indexing was unilaterally suspended and retrospectively modified by a statute adopted by the Québec National Assembly. The class action was authorized by the Québec Court of Appeal.
Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires
Acting for the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires in its constitutional challenge of section 22.6 of the Health Insurance Act.
Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires
Acting for the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires in a motion for leave to intervene produced in favour of an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Formula E Operations Ltd.
Successfully acted for Formula E Operations Ltd. (FEO) in connection with its claims arising from the City of Montréal's decision to cancel the Montréal ePrix. This includes asserting FEO's claims against the City of Montréal and in the bankruptcy proceedings of Montréal C'est Électrique, a non-profit corporation set up by the City for the purposes of acting as promoter of the Montréal ePrix.
Michelin Group
Acted for the Michelin Group in its acquisition of Camso Inc., one of the global leaders in the design, manufacturing and distribution of off-road tires, wheels, tracks and conveyer belts, for a purchase price of US$1.7 billion. Camso has facilities in more than 25 jurisdictions world-wide.
Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires
Acting for the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires in a motion for declaratory judgment against the Attorney General of Québec and the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec concerning the interpretation of a recent statute adopted by the Québec legislature regarding certain obligations imposed upon all pharmacists in Québec.
Daisye Marcil
Acted for the plaintiffs in a class action involving all Québec parents who were required to pay fees for the purchase of school books or other didactic material even though these fees should have been assumed by the school boards.
Brault & Martineau Inc., Corbeil Électrique Inc. and Sears Canada Inc.
Acting for Brault & Martineau Inc., Corbeil Électrique Inc. and Sears Canada Inc. in defence of various class actions instituted on behalf of consumers alleging that the sale of additional warranties breaches the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act.
Bulletin
Canada Imposes Forced and Child Labour Reporting Obligations
May 05, 2023 - The House of Commons has adopted Bill S-211, whose short title is Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (the Bill). The Bill, which was adopted on May 3, 2023, will become law as soon as it receives royal assent and will enter into force on January 1, 2024. ...
Speaking Engagement
Canadian Bar Association, 2021 Constitutional Law Case Law Review 2021, “Case Law Review”; Webinar
Apr. 12, 2022
Article
"Régime contractuel de l’État", coauthor
Apr. 01, 2022 - Droit administratif (JurisClasseur Québec)
Speaking Engagement
Guest Lecturer, Advanced Criminal Law course, McGill University Faculty of Law, "Sexual Misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces"; Montréal
Mar. 21, 2022
Speaking Engagement
Conference of Defence Associations (CDA Institute), Making National Security Safe Online Series, “Modernizing Military Justice”; Webinar
Oct. 12, 2021
Bulletin
The Right Not to Be Subjected to Cruel and Unusual Treatment or Punishment: The Case of Minimum Fines
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...
Speaking Engagement
Co-Chair and Speaker, Canadian Bar Association, 2020 Constitutional Law Case Law Review, “Les revues jurisprudentielles”; Webinar
Mar. 30, 2021
Bulletin
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...
Bulletin
Can the State Be Held Liable for Neighbourhood Disturbances?
June 17, 2020 - In Maltais c Procureure générale du Québec, 2020 QCCA 715, the Québec Court of Appeal rendered an important decision regarding Crown liability. Its decision clarifies whether the regime of no-fault liability for neighbourhood disturbances applies to the government. It also contains...
Bulletin
New Beacons of Administrative Law: Top Court Reviews the Approach to Judicial Review of Administrative Decisions
Jan. 14, 2020 - The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recently rendered its much-awaited decisions in Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v Vavilov and companion appeals. Upon granting leave to appeal, the SCC had announced that these appeals would “provide an opportunity to consider the nature...
Bulletin
Québec Superior Court Enforces Right to Collective Bargaining of State Employees
Oct. 08, 2019 - The Québec Superior Court (QSC) recently struck down as unconstitutional back-to-work legislation (Bill 1271) aimed at the Québec government’s advocates and notaries. The decision, released on September 18, 2019, builds on the recent case law of the Supreme Court of Canada which...
Bulletin
Québec Court of Appeal Says Current Civil Jurisdiction of the Court of Québec Is Unconstitutional
Sept. 17, 2019 - A seven-member panel of the Québec Court of Appeal (QCA) recently rendered an important decision regarding the civil and administrative jurisdiction of the Court of Québec (CQ), a provincial court. The decision follows a reference submitted to the QCA by the Québec government in the wake of a...
Article
“Les honoraires en demande en matière d’actions collectives : comment éviter de jouer à l’apprenti-sorcier en vue de moduler le comportement des avocats”, co-author
May 03, 2019 - Recent Developments in Québec, Canada and the United States, Vol. 455 (National Conference on Class Actions)
Read this article (in French).
