by Enrico Forlini, Raphaël Lescop and Frédérique Dupuy of Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
On February 12, 2012, in a long-awaited ruling on Quebec consumer law, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified several questions that have been the subject of doctrinal and jurisprudential debate. For example, the Court clearly established that:
- Commercial advertising must be assessed from the perspective of a “credulous and inexperienced” consumer, rather than from that of a consumer with an “average level of intelligence, scepticism and curiosity”.
- That civil proceedings cannot be instituted under Section 272 of the Consumer Protection Act(“CPA”), if a person has merely seen a misleading advertisement. Rather, the person must have also entered into a consumer contract in relation to the advertisement.
- That a consumer exercising the recourse provided for under Section 272 CPA has the choice of claiming punitive damages only. This head of damages is autonomous and distinct and may be awarded by the court even in the absence of an award of compensatory damages.
This bulletin aims to expose the primary conclusions of this landmark ruling, which we believe will now be relevant in all future Quebec consumer law disputes, and which are therefore important to grasp as soon as possible.
Continue Reading »
Article by Jeffrey S. Graham, Stephen J. Redican and Jenna Grant of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
BACKGROUND
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (“OSFI”) has released a final version of revised Guideline B-6 – Liquidity Principles (“Guideline”). The Guideline has been updated to incorporate the principles set out in the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (“BCBS”), Principles for Sound Liquidity Risk Management and Supervision (2008) (BCBS “Principles”).
In early 2009, OSFI had released an advisory stating its expectations concerning the adoption by banks and other deposit taking institutions’ (“DTIs”) of the updated BCBS Principles. At that time, OSFI noted its expectation that, in addition to meeting the minimum standards of the existing Guideline, DTIs should also comply with the BCBS principles.
Continue Reading »
By Blair W. Keefe, Peter A. Aziz and Eli Monas of Torys LLP
The Canadian federal government recently published three regulations that will impose additional requirements and restrictions on the use of credit card cheques, on cheque hold periods and on the provision of new optional products or services.
Proposed amendments to the Credit Business Practices Regulations would require federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs) to obtain the express consent of borrowers before distributing credit card cheques. The Access to Funds Regulations will reduce the maximum cheque hold period for consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, the Negative Option Billing Regulations will require FRFIs to obtain consumers’ express consent before providing a new optional product or service.
The Credit Business Practices Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette on March 10, 2012, for a 30-day comment period and will come into force on the date on which they are registered. The other two regulations were published on March 14, 2012, in final form and will come into force on August 1, 2012. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) will oversee compliance with each regulation.
The details of these regulations are discussed below.
Continue Reading »
