Volume 20, Number 4, 1979

EN:

Following the conclusion of the recent multilateral trade negotiations under the auspices of G.A.T.T. (Tokyo Round), a number of agreements have been concluded in the field of non-tariff measures that may well give, in the future, a new impetus to the exercise of the federal power over "trade and commerce". Indeed, there appears to be a growing tendency, both at the international level and in our constitutional law, to recognize that international economic relations start and end with internal economic considerations. The importance of this development has not escaped the attention of the provinces which, in recent years, have attempted in various ways to promote their interest at the international level, while claiming, at the same time, a greater input in the formulation of the national economic policy. The object of this paper is to take a global look at this development. In conclusion, it suggests that both the federal government and the provinces should accept that international trade regulation, as a subject of national concern, is inseparable from the regulation of the internal economy, and as such should be considered as a question of mutual interest.

FR:

Dans le contexte du débat suscité au Québec par le projet de Loi sur la santé et la sécurité du travail (P.L. no 17 de 1979), il est intéressant de prendre connaissance des expériences législatives étrangères dans ce domaine. Ce texte fait le point sur l'expérience britannique depuis l'entrée en vigueur, en 1975, d'une nouvelle législation de portée générale.

L'auteur évoque d'abord l'état du droit antérieur et les considérations qui ont guidé le législateur de Westminster dans cette réforme. Il met ensuite en relief cinq aspects principaux de la nouvelle législation. Pour chacun, il indique le sens et la portée du texte nouveau, ainsi que les suites qui lui ont été données dans la pratique.

Ces cinq aspects sont le remplacement progressif de la réglementation antérieure, d'origine étatique, par des « codes de pratique » élaborés à l'initiative des organisations patronales et ouvrières ou en consultation avec elles ; renonciation des responsabilités respectives de l'employeur, du fabricant d'équipement de production et de l'employé quant à l'hygiène et à la sécurité sur les lieux de travail ; les formes d'intervention de l'autorité administrative visant à prévenir les situations d'insalubrité ou d'insécurité ou à y mettre fin; une structure administrative dualiste, comportant une commission chargée des fonctions de recherche, d'information, de consultation et d élaboration des normes, et un office chargé de l'inspection; et l'implantation dans les entreprises de délégués à la sécurité, désignés par les syndicats, et de comités de sécurité.

L'auteur insiste particulièrement sur les pouvoirs des inspecteurs de l'office, et notamment sur le régime des ordonnances rendues par les inspecteurs de l'office pour contraindre l'employeur à corriger une situation dangereuse dans son entreprise ou à interrompre les activités d'exploitation jugées dangereuses, et sur les recours ouverts contre ces ordonnances.

Il conclut, à la lumière des événements survenus depuis l'entrée en vigueur de la loi, que si les mesures d'inspection semblent efficaces — ni plus ni moins d'ailleurs que celles qui pouvaient être prises avant 1975 —, les aspects plus novateurs de la loi, notamment l'introduction des « codes de pratique » et celle des comités et délégués responsables de la sécurité dans les entreprises, n'ont pas encore produit les résultats escomptés.

EN:

The overwhelming control of the different North American securities commissions over the capital market compels businessmen and corporate lawyers to a permanent search for new means to avoid the registration and prospectus requirements of the acts.

The authors try in this article to analyse the private placement exemption which seems to be most frequently relied upon. They discuss its development since the United States Supreme Court's decision in Ralston Purina. They explain the pros and cons of the subjective « need to know » and the capability of investors to « fend for themselves » tests as well as their byproducts. The recent and certainly more objective standards adopted by the S.E.C. and Ontario are also discussed. Finally, the resale of the restricted securities acquired in a private placement transaction is studied.

In this context, the Quebec law is hardly adequate and needs substantial clarifications.

EN:

The proliferation of governmental controls and services has created new aspects of governmental liability. The courts have had recently to decide cases where the claimant alleged that he had been affected by the failure of a public body to act in fulfillment of its responsabilities.

Our purpose is, firstly, to indicate the nature and extent of the action for damages resulting from the violation of a statutory duty in English law. We will, then, discuss some recent applications of these principles in Anglo-Canadian and Quebec law.

EN:

This paper attempts to elucidate the motives and purposes that gave rise to the constitutional compromise embodied in the BNA Act, 1867. In order to assess the ideological, political, economic and military considerations that shaped the outcome of the crucial Quebec conference of 1864, the author surveys earlier schemes for a federal union of British North America, examines the then current concept of federalism in the light of the American and Swiss precedents, discusses the political, economic and strategic factors supporting the idea of a Canadian federation, and finally gives an account of the manner in which the Quebec and London conferences achieved a practical balance between the diverging views of their participants.

This recreation of historical conditions surrounding the birth of Confederation sets the present constitution of Canada in the light of an essentially pragmatic answer to the difficulties and needs of its times. While this compromise called for a strong central authority, it was also based on a strongly-felt need for provincial autonomy.

FR:

Pendant presque deux cents ans aux États-Unis, le droit du libelle a relevé exclusivement de la common law d'origine anglaise dont les États-Unis ont hérité au moment de la révolution américaine. Quiconque publiait, publiait à ses risques et périls. Selon le système constitutionnel américain à cette époque, toute expression diffamatoire, écrite ou verbale, même sans l'intention de diffamer autrui, était hors de la protection accordée par la constitution à la liberté de parole et de presse. Mais tout cela a changé avec le jugement de la Cour suprême des États-Unis dans New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, décidé en 1964. En effet, ce jugement a déclaré que le droit du libelle selon la common law était, en bonne partie, incompatible avec la protection accordée à la liberté de parole et de presse par le premier amendement à la constitution des États-Unis.

Dans le présent article, l'auteur analyse les changements qui ont résulté de New York Times Co. v. Sullivan depuis que ce jugement a été rendu. Il montre comment la Cour suprême elle-même a, de temps à autre, changé son interprétation de ce jugement, explique que ce changement résulte du changement de personnel du tribunal lui-même et prédit qu'il y aura encore plus de changements dans le proche avenir.

EN:

This paper attempts to describe and assess the legal position in respect of guidelines, directives, manuals and similar instruments issued by administrative authorities.

It first reviews the statutory or other legal basis for the power to issue such instruments. Particular attention is paid to the recognition by the courts of an implicit authority to formulate instructions to subordinate officials, as part of general managing and supervisory powers.

The author then outlines the specific features of directives, as compared with regulations. Both classes of instruments usually contain rules of fairly general application. Both can be seen as useful means of structuring the exercice of discretionary decision-making powers. Directives, guidelines, manuals and the like, however, set a particular emphasis on the provision of guidance or even imperative instructions for officials in the discharge of their duties, while regulations apply just as statutes do, to the general public as well as to civil servants. Great weight —perhaps an excessive weight — was attached to this distinction in the reasons of Pigeon J. in the first Martineau case, which is discussed at some length.

The question of unpublished directives becoming in fact a body of « secret law » is then surveyed. The limited scope of the federal Statutory Instruments Act in this respect is underlined, and the author argues for selective adoption of public rule-making procedures, requirements for publication in official gazettes, and referral to parliamentary committees.

Finally, the paper surveys the present state of the law as regards judicial review of directives. While review may bear on the vires for the making of the directive, much as in the case of regulations, it more often occurs when a discretionary decision is challenged before the courts on the grounds that the decision-maker fettered its own discretion by inflexibly applying self-made guidelines where individual determination was called for, or by submitting to directives from some other authority. In cases where judicial intervention is not possible, recourse may be had to ombudsmen ; the experience of the Public Protector in Quebec in connection with directives and guidelines is described.

EN:

Would a codification of labour law — in the Continental meaning of the word, and not a mere consolidation of existing statutes — enhance the development of this field of law ? Would the resulting instrument be likely to generate more appropriate ways of dealing with labour situations, whether or not they pertain to a collective bargaining context ?

Adjective as well as substantive law would have to be involved in such an exercise. The latter aspect raises the fundamental issue of the proper relationship between the general law — civil law essentially — and labour law. What degree of autonomy is necessary to the integrity of the specialized law ? Conversely, to what extent is the general law to be relied upon to provide the necessary second-line set of legal provisions ? For instance, the two sets of legal rules entertain different views as to the termination of the employment relationship and as to the effect of a collective agreement. A well-integrated body of labour law should, in the author's opinion, govern comprehensively labour situation. The codifying process would also aim at eliminating internal discrepancies and a simpler, more accessible legal subsystem would emerge.

As to the adjective aspects of labour law, the identification of desirable forms of third-party intervention relating to both collective bargaining and labour standards legislation could lead to appropriate jurisdictional arrangements. In the case of industrial conflicts, of particular interest are the flexible powers of intervention with which the Canada and British Columbia labour boards are endowed. Consideration should also be paid to certain European models — namely the Conseil de prud'hommes — which allow both conciliation and adjudication to take place in the solving of normative law conflicts of application. A full-fledged Labour Code would indeed invite the setting up of a more authentic Labour Court.