Our expertise

DHC has a team of professionals specialized in labour and employment law that are recognized for their expertise and the development of original and dynamic intervention methods in all aspects of labour relations.

LITIGATION


DHC has a litigation team consisting of many experienced litigators working at all levels of court (from the Court of Quebec to the Supreme Court of Canada), including quasi-judicial or administrative tribunals.

DHC has developed a particular expertise in administrative law as well as extraordinary remedies such as injunctions, mandamus and judicial review.

The DHC team is also active in alternative dispute resolutions, such as mediation, arbitration, settlement conferences and conciliation. Since a negotiated solution is always preferred over court proceedings, our lawyers are able to guide and advise you adequately through the various types of out-of-court settlement procedures, resorting to litigation only as a last means of remedy.


A multidisciplinary team


Our litigation team is accustomed to and well versed in collegiality and multidisciplinary litigation involving experts and consultants from a wide range of areas in litigious matters of any size and scope.

OUR AREAS OF INTERVENTION

LIABILITY


  • Bodily and material damages
  • Civil and contractual liability
  • Professional liability
  • Defamation and reputational damage
CONSTRUCTION


  • Hidden and latent defects
  • Legal hypothec
  • Claim for additional work
  • Remedies against the surety
REAL ESTATE


  • Hypothecary remedies
  • Passing of title
  • Servitude
  • Landlord/tenant disputes
  • Security
COMMERCIAL


  • Shareholder disputes
  • Dissolution and liquidation of a business
  • Oppression remedies (minority shareholders)
  • Franchisor/franchisee relations
  • Non-solicitation and non-competition
EXTRAORDINARY REMEDIES


  • Injunction
  • Mandamus
  • Judicial review
  • Annulment remedies
  • Application for declaratory judgment (note: this is not an extraordinary remedy, but it is inserted here for convenience)
ECONOMIC REGULATION


  • Representation before the Régie des marchés agricoles et alimentaires
  • Representation before the Régie de l’énergie
  • Representation before l’Office national de l’énergie
QUASI-JUDICIAL TRIBUNALS


  • Tribunal administratif du Québec
  • Commission des droits de la personne
  • Commission d’accès à l’information
  • Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux
PROFESSIONAL LAW


  • Representation before professional disciplinary committees
  • Illegal practice
  • Illegal advertising

LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW


We assist private companies and public bodies to maintain their optimal workforce efficiency while respecting their social responsibilities.

Above all, our interventions are carried out with a view of fostering the training and autonomy of various stakeholders in labour relations, through a team centric framework involving fruitful exchanges.

We advocate healthy and stimulating working relationships, stemming from the mutual respect of various stakeholders. Our expertise in conflict prevention and resolution combined with our innovative and practical ideas, foster beneficial solutions at lower costs to both parties and greatly reduce the inconveniences that inevitably arise from conflict situations.


DHC has a team of professionals specialized in labour and employment law that are recognized for their expertise and the development of original and dynamic intervention methods in all aspects of labour relations.

OUR AREAS OF INTERVENTION

THE NON-UNIONIZED FRAMEWORK


  • Manage situations and communications regarding various occurrences arising out of labour relations
  • Implement effective and competitive employment policies adapted to each business
  • Train managers to ensure the implementation and monitoring of employment policies
  • Make optimum use of agency or sub-contracting personnel
  • Establish contingency plans in case of union raiding
  • Adequately train managers in case of union raiding
  • Intervene before the Tribunal administratif du travail during all phases of union organizing campaigns
  • Draft employment contracts for different employees according to their hierarchical level and tasks
BEFORE THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS

Represent our clients before administrative tribunals such as the Tribunal administratif du travail (formerly, the Commission des relations du travail and the Commission des lésions professionnelles) or the Commission des droits de la personne, as well as before the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (formerly, the Commission des normes du travail and the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité au travail).

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY


  • Manage financing and classification files
  • Implement occupational health and safety policies
  • Organize and monitor the activities of the health and safety committee
  • Create a demerit point system related to occupational health and safety
  • Refer injured employees to appropriate medical specialists
  • Develop and implement accident investigation and assessment processes
  • Develop and monitor a temporary assignment program
  • Establish and administer prevention mutual groups
  • Assess employers’ OHS profiles
  • Assess occupational injuries, claims management processes, and challenge mechanisms
  • Conduct preventive assessments of policies, processes and management practices already in place to ensure and defend the diligent nature of the employer's actions
  • Represent the business before penal courts upon offences
PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT


  • Develop an effective personnel selection and evaluation policy
  • Draft the company’s regulations
  • Ensure follow-up with regards to discipline
  • Counsel on matters of employment termination
  • Counsel on matters of collective dismissal and prepare the necessary documents
  • Implement policies to prevent different forms of harassment and discrimination in the workplace
  • Inform employees and train managers to prevent or address workplace harassment, as applicable
  • Carry out workplace investigations in the event of psychological harassment
DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY


  • Establish drug and alcohol policies custom-tailored for the business
  • Implement rehabilitation programs
ADMINISTRATION OF COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS


  • Negotiate collective agreements
  • Proceed with grievance arbitration
  • Develop and negotiate the essential services lists
  • Represent the business in disputes arising from the implementation of essential services
PAY EQUITY


  • Establish and maintain a pay equity policy
CINEMATOGRAPHIC, TELEVISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS PRODUCTION


  • Intervene in the context of a request for a declaration of employee/artist status
  • Negotiate collective agreements or individual or unique agreements under this specialized field
  • Provide strategic counsel to maximize the production’s organizational structure and maximize tax benefits
  • Develop optimal contractual structures
FOREIGN WORKFORCE


  • Work with businesses to meet their labour requirements
  • Prepare immigration applications for foreign workers as required
IN-HOUSE TRAINING


  • Targeted and personalized training in all matters relating to labour relations, employment law and occupational health and safety
  • Targeted and personalized training in all matters relating to the management and optimization of human capital

MUNICIPAL LAW


Our lawyers and associates have in-depth knowledge of all aspects of municipal law, public law and administrative law, including related fields such as environmental law or labour law.

Our lawyers know how to anticipate the evolution of the roles and responsibilities of public bodies and how to propose targeted solutions to address them, while always tending to the needs and expectations of our clients.

For over thirty years, DHC has played a significant role in advising and representing public bodies


For over thirty years, DHC has played a significant role in advising and representing public bodies, whether it be municipalities or paramunicipal bodies. DHC represents several municipalities throughout Quebec and distinguishes itself by its expertise and its probity.

OUR AREAS OF INTERVENTION

LAND USE PLANNING


  • Drafting of urban planning regulations
  • Remedies for regulatory compliance (zoning, construction, subdivision and nuisance)
  • Sustainable urban development
  • Non-conforming use and acquired rights
  • Protection of green spaces and parks
  • Environment and nuisance
  • Protection of agricultural land
MUNICIPAL LIABILITY


  • Civil and contractual liability
  • Police liability
  • Fire liability
  • Defamation
  • Municipal infrastructure liability (flooding, aqueduct and sewer)
  • Class actions
MUNICIPAL TAXATION


  • Property assessment
  • Taxation and collection
  • Payment in lieu of taxes (PILT)
  • Duties on transfers of immovables
  • Local improvement tax
  • Collection of taxes and sale for unpaid taxes
  • Subsidy and revitalization programs
MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION


  • Municipal procedure
  • Inter-municipal board
  • Inter-municipal contracts and agreements
  • Public-private partnership
  • Public transport
  • Police organization and ethics
  • Municipal housing bureau
  • Paramunicipal and not-for-profit organizations
MUNICIPAL COURT


  • Criminal prosecution<
  • Penal prosecution (highway safety)<
  • Regulatory offence<
  • Collection, taxation and tariff structure<
  • Clean-up order (nuisance and sanitation)<
ETHICS


  • Disqualification remedy
  • Conflict of interest
  • Accredited ethics counsellor
  • Lobbyism
MUNICIPAL CONTRACTS


  • Drafting of plans and public tenders
  • Contract awarding
  • Contract management policy
  • Negotiation and drafting of contracts
  • Disqualification and damages remedies
ACCESS TO INFORMATON


  • Access to public documents
  • Protection of personal information
  • Review before the Commission d'accès à l'information
  • Municipal archive
EXPROPRIATION


  • Indemnity assessment
  • Imposition of reserves
  • Contestation of right to expropriate
  • Disguised expropriation
EMERGENCY MEASURES


  • Declaration of state of emergency
  • Management of crisis and disaster
  • Exercise of special powers
  • Management of claims and communications
ELECTORAL AND REFERENDUM PROCEDURES


  • Legal support to the electoral officer (municipal)
  • Contestation of election
  • Compliance with laws and rules under electoral law
  • Misconduct, ineligibility and embezzlement
  • Referendum procedure
TRAINING


  • Training for l'Union des municipalités du Québec
  • Training for the Fédération québécoise des municipalités
  • Training etc. (Custom-tailored training - Role of elected officials and ethics)

ENVIRONMENT


It is undeniable that issues of environmental protection are increasingly of interest to municipalities because they affect the quality of their citizens’ living environments. In this area of law, the stakes are high and often delicate; the issues at play challenge questions of urban planning and the environment.

In addition, access to energy resources, whether it be hydro, wind, photovoltaic, gas or petroleum, put municipalities at the heart of debates that animate Quebec society.

Over the years, our firm has developed the required thinking and skills to accompany municipalities that wish to act proactively in protecting and improving the quality of living environments within their territory or to promote the development of sustainable economic projects that bring tangible benefits to the community.

Whether it be for the protection of lakes and rivers in the context of blue-green algae control, or the protection of natural environments (wetlands and woodlands), or for developing models of sustainable development relating to the reality of your municipality or in the litigation context, the DHC team of lawyers can assist you in achieving your environmental objectives.


DHC offers Quebec municipalities a wide range of specialized services in matters of the environment and energy..

OUR AREAS OF INTERVENTION

LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT
CONSERVATION OF NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS
PROTECTION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES, WILDLIFE AND FLORISTIC HABITATS
PROTECTION OF RIVERS, SHORELINES AND FLOOD PLAINS
TAXATION OF GREEN SPACES
MANAGEMENT OF WATER AND CATCH BASINS
MANAGEMENT AND RECLAMATION OF RESIDUAL, RECYCLABLE AND ORGANIC MATERIAL
MANAGEMENT AND USE OF PESTICIDES
MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT OF CONTAMINATED LOTS
AIR AND WATER SANITATION
RESPONSIBLE EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES (MINING, FORESTRY AND GAS TREATMENT ACTIVITIES)
EXPLOITATION OF SANDPITS, QUARRIES AND MINES
ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONTAMINATION LIABILITY
EMERGENCY PLANS AND INTERVENTIONS
APPLICATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT QUALITY ACT AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS
CONCERTATION TABLES, CITIZEN PARTICIPATION AND PUBLIC HEARINGS ON ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS
LEED CERTIFICATION PROGRAM, ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES, AND GEOTHERMIA
REPRESENTATION BEFORE THE RÉGIE DE L’ÉNERGIE AND L’OFFICE NATIONAL DE L’ÉNERGIE