L'Avant-projet de Loi sous l'angle de la responsabilité des fabricants et des vendeurs spécialisés

L'évolution du droit civil en matière de responsabilité des fabricants et des vendeurs spécialisés a été considérable au Québec depuis 15 ans. Les tribunaux et le législateur ont non seulement augmenté de beaucoup les obligations faites aux fabricants (responsabilité pour les vices cachés et devoir d'information), mais ils ont également uniformisé et clarifié les régimes juridiques applicables. L'Avant-projet rompt complètement avec cette évolution. Il y est en effet proposé de dédoubler et de distinguer les fondements de la responsabilité opposables à ces deux types de défendeurs, et ce, pour des dommages identiques causés par les mêmes produits. D'autre part, les propositions faites placeraient à bien des égards les fabricants dans une position juridique plus favorable que celle des vendeurs de leurs propres produits pour certains types de dommages et nous jugeons cette proposition inacceptable. Il faut remarquer enfin que les consommateurs québécois assumeraient seuls, si l’Avant-projet était accepté à cet égard, le risque des innovations technologiques, marquant en cela un net recul par rapport à la situation actuelle qui est largement influencée par la décision de la Cour suprême dans l'arrêt Kravitz. C'est pour ces raisons que la présente étude recommande la révision complète de cette partie cruciale de l’Avant-projet concernant la responsabilité des fabricants et vendeurs spécialisés de produits défectueux.Over the past fifteen years, the evolution of civil law in the area of specialized manufacturers' and salespersons' liability has been quite considerable. The courts and the legislature have done much more than just increase the obligations of manufacturers (liability for hidden defects and the duty to inform), they have also standardized and clarified applicable law. The preliminary Draft is a total break with this evolution. Indeed, it is proposed to double and distinguish the grounds for liability that may be invoked against these two types of defendants — both for identical damages caused by the same products. Moreover, these proposals would in many ways put the manufacturer in a more secure legal position than a salesperson's selling their products for certain kinds of damages and we consider this proposal to be inacceptable. It is also noteworthy that — were this preliminary Draft to be accepted — it is the Québec consumer who alone would assume the risk of technological innovations, thus marking a step backwards from the present situation which has been greatly influence by the Supreme Court's Kravitz decision. Hence it is on the basis of these reasons that a complete revision of this crucial part of the preliminary Draft on the liability of manufacturers and salespersons with regard to defective products, is recommended

L'abus des fonctions dans la relation préposé-commettant en droit civil québécois.

The following article deals with the problem of « misuse of office » in the principal-agent relationship under Quebec civil law. Despite the abundance of case law, solutions to the problem are not well defined especially in cases involving personality defects of the agent. The law concerning « misuse of office » is generally to be found in article 1054(7) of the Quebec Civil Code concerning the liability of principals. This controverted article not only deals with the liability of masters for servants, but also with the problem of torts committed by agents (art. 1731 C.C.). It also has an effect on workmen's compensation laws. The main issue in « misuse of office » is the determination of what constitutes a carrying out of duties within the scope of employment. The principal can only be held liable for the tort of an agent if three conditions are met : the tort feasor must have been his agent ; he must have committed a wrongful act ; and this act must have been committed in the scope of his employment. After a general view of the fundamental principles involved, the paper defines « misuse of office » as « all torts committed by an agent in the exercice of his duties, even when not authorized to carry out the duties in the manner which he did, but where the activity is designed to benefit his principal ». The only case where the principal escapes liability is where the agent committed a tort which did not involve his work. The agent in that case no longer acts for the benefit of his principal, but is pursuing his personal interest. The principal is then no longer held liable. Determination of the notion of « benefit » therefore becomes essential. Far from being a simple question of monetary profit, it is extended to mean any activity which can serve the principal's enterprise, whether in the improvement of public relations, or of relations with staff or suppliers. The pecuniary gain becomes but one element amongst many others. It is not even necessary for the benefit to ever materialize. The simple fact that the intention was to benefit the principal is sufficient. The review of the case law leads the author to conclude that the modification of the ways in which the duties are carried out has little effect on the liability of the principal. For instance, the agent can change the time, the place and the manner of performance and still engage the liability of the principal. Quebec courts have gone even further. They have held that an agent can go beyond the usual scope of his duties or take up some that he was not authorized to do, without affecting the liability of the principal. In fact, Quebec courts have developed a broad interpretation of the notion of duty. They consider that the agent is called upon to perform tasks more or less accessory to his main duties and thus extend the principal's liability to all of them. As already stated, the notion of «benefit to the principal» is a determining factor. It is not necessary that the agent's work for the principal be exclusive. The agent that derives a personal benefit and simultaneously intends to benefit the principal, will still be considered to have performed an act in the course of his duties. The paper examines a series of problems involving the personality of the agent. Certain tortious acts can be committed in relations with third parties or co-workers, and are the direct result of a personality defect of the agent. Such is the case of a restaurant worker who physically attacks a client as the result of a dispute or of the agent stealing from a client. The paper points out the great difficulty that Quebec courts have experienced in the legal qualification of this situation. After an in-depth study of the Quebec case law, the paper concludes that the trend is to maintain the liability of the principal in these cases. One criterion appears to be well defined : the principal bears the responsibility, when hiring someone, to assure his clients or the persons with whom he does business, that he will respect their property as well as their moral and physical integrity. The necessary tie between the duties of the agent and the relationship with persons coming in contact with him, will engage the liability of the principal. Every time the agent comes in contact with a person in the carrying out of business, the principal will be held responsible for the damage resulting from personality defects of the agent. In all other cases, the relation will be considered personal to the agent and the principal will be relieved of any liability

L'Avant-projet de Loi et la protection des consommateurs

L'avant-projet de Loi sur le droit des obligations marque un virage législatif très important en ce qui concerne le traitement des problèmes juridiques des consommateurs québécois. Il y est proposé en effet d'intégrer la plupart des aspects civils de l'actuelle Loi sur la protection du consommateur au Code civil. Il est clair en outre qu'un bon nombre de contrats nommés seraient dorénavant formulés dans une perspective de protection des consommateurs et que certains principes généraux du titre I applicables à tous les contrats seraient marqués par un souci évident de protection de la partie contractante la plus faible. L'auteur discute dans la présente étude des mérites et des difficultés de l'intégration de la protection du consommateur au droit des obligations. Quoique favorable dans l'ensemble à cette intégration, il souligne la nécessité d'harmoniser les différentes parties de l'avant-projet entre elles et d'éviter d'introduire en droit commercial des techniques juridiques qui ont d'abord été élaborées dans le but de protéger les consommateurs. Il y est également discuté des problèmes relatifs à la délimitation du champ d'application du titre III qui porte sur le contrat de consommation, du caractère d'ordre public des dispositions générales concernant ce type de contrat, du problème de la sanction des règles de fonds et deforme et, enfin, de certaines règles de droit de la preuve applicables à ce droit particulier.The Draft Bill marks a new trend in the field of Quebec consumer law and protection. Indeed, the Draft Bill proposes the integration into the Civil Code of most civil aspects of the current Consumer Protection Act. In addition, it is also clear that many nominate contracts will henceforth be drawn up with a view to consumer protection and that certain general principles applying to all contracts will bear the mark of an obvious concern for protecting the weaker of the contracting parties. The author also discusses the merits and difficulties involved in integrating consumer protection into the law of obligations. Despite a favourable attitude towards this projected integration, he emphasizes the necessity for harmonizing the various parts of the Draft Bill in order to avoid the introduction of legal techniques originally developed for consumer protection into the Civil Law. Finally, the author dwells upon problems relating to the defining of the scope of Title III which encompasses the consumer contract, general provisions on public order with regard to this kind of contract, the problem posed by the sanctionning of rules on substance and form, and lastly, certain rules of law pertaining to evidence applicable to this area of the law

Bilan partiel de 25 ans de protection du consommateur au Québec

Le présent article porte sur les constatations que l'on peut faire à partir du dépouillement de 940 décisions judiciaires qui ont tranché des litiges portant sur l'interprétation de la Loi sur la protection du consommateur. Les quelques données analysées montrent bien que la réception de cette loi par les tribunaux québécois a été dans l'ensemble très favorable et qu'il y a tout lieu de croire que cette loi a véritablement modifié dans les faits le sort juridiques réservé aux contractants les plus faibles que sont les consommateurs.This paper deals with observations that can be made from the examination of 940 legal decisions that settled disputes arising from the interpretation of the Consumer Protection Act. The small number of data analyzed clearly shows that in all, courts have received this legislation quite favourably and there is every reason to believe that this Act has truly changed the legal outcome reserved for consumers who happen to be the weaker party in a contractual relationship

Le voyage engagé pour une lecture politique du roman de la route actuel québécois

Indéniablement"fille de son temps", force médiatrice entre l'imaginaire et le social, la littérature ne peut être dissociée des grandes idéologies - ou courants de pensée -, qui caractérisent son époque. Le roman de la route, qui se manifeste au Québec principalement depuis la décennie 1960, possède la capacité de présenter un état du monde complexe pour une raison évidente : reposant sur le thème de la rencontre , il met de l'avant une pluralité de voix qui s'entrechoquent fournissant, ainsi, une prise de parole sur une société donnée. Véritable catalyseur de consciences plurielles et ennemi de la pensée univoque, le roman de la route apparaît comme le genre pouvant le mieux (trans)figurer les discours culturels, sociaux et politiques de son époque. L'actuelle fascination pour l'Autre et l'ailleurs permet en outre de croire que le roman de la route, que d'autres nomment le récit de voyage fictif, tend à devenir une pratique courante dans l'univers littéraire. La question que pose ce mémoire est donc celle-ci : à la suite d'une présence marquée de la place de l'intime et des préoccupations plus personnelles dans la littérature depuis principalement vingt-cinq ans, et dont la plus fidèle représentante est sans doute l'autofiction, est-il juste de pressentir un certain retour du politique dans le genre romanesque? Et si oui, peut-on considérer le roman de la route comme un discours littéraire permettant la représentation du politique? Trois études permettent de mesurer le poids politique du roman de la route à travers l'analyse de thèmes bien ancrés dans le discours social actuel, soient l'environnement, les questions du commerce - et plus largement la mondialisation -, ainsi que la migration. Le joueur de flûte de Louis Hamelin (2001), La logeuse d'Éric Dupont (2006) et La conjuration des bâtards de Francine Noël (1999) servent de support à cette analyse qui vise avant tout à une réflexion sur l'espace et le discours politique que permet le roman de la route

Ecological Aspects of a Wood Turtle, Glyptemys insculpta, Population at the Northern Limit of its Range in Québec

As part of a conservation research initiative, a population of Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) at the northern limit of its range was studied to ascertain characteristics of its demographics, morphometrics, density, mortality, feeding, and mating activities. Turtles were captured and marked during the activity period in 1996 and 1997. In addition, 20 individuals were radio-tracked weekly. A total of 188 turtles was captured and the size of the population in the study area was estimated at 238 turtles. The estimated population density based on this calculation is 0.44 turtles/ha. This is less than other studies indicating that population densities are greater in southern populations. Turtles from this population were large (carapace length of males=214.5 ± 4.21 mm, females=201.1 ± 10.88 mm) which supports the hypothesis that turtle size is negatively correlated with number of frost free days. The sex ratio was not significantly different from 1:1. Juvenile turtles accounted for 31.4% of the population. Observations of feeding habits support the claim that Wood Turtles are opportunistic omnivores. Of the 35 mating or courtship events observed, 77 % occurred in the fall and half of them between 11:00 and 13:00. Although limb and tail injuries and parasites were observed on many turtles, no dead turtles were observed. This last result, combined with the high rate of recruitment and even sex ratio suggests that this population is stable, making it an ideal population with which to make comparisons with other studies in areas where the species could be in decline

The future role of rectal and vaginal microbicides to prevent HIV infection in heterosexual populations: implications for product development and prevention.

Objectives. To compare the potential impact of rectal (RMB), vaginal (VMB) and bi-compartment (RVMB) (applied vaginally and protective during vaginal and anal intercourse) microbicides to prevent HIV in various heterosexual populations. To understand when a RMB is as useful than a VMB for women practicing anal intercourse (AI). Methods. Mathematical model was used to assess the population-level impact (cumulative fraction of new HIV infections prevented (CFP)) of the three different microbicides in various intervention scenarios and prevalence settings. We derived the break-even RMB efficacy required to reduce a female’s cumulative risk of HIV infection by the same amount than a VMB. Results. Under optimistic coverage (fast roll-out, 100% uptake), a 50% efficacious VMB used in 75% of sex acts in population without AI may prevent -33% (27, 42%) new total (men and women combined) HIV infections over 25 years. The 25-year CFP reduces to -25% (20, 32%) and 17% (13, 23%) if uptake decreases to 75% and 50%, respectively. Similar loss of impact (by 25% - 50%) is observed if the same VMB is introduced in populations with 5% - 10% AI and for RRRAI=4-20. A RMB is as useful as a VMB (ie, break-even) in populations with 5% AI if RRRAI=20 and in populations with 15% - 20% AI if RRRAI=4, independently of adherence as long as it is the same with both products. The 10-year CFP with a RVMB is twofold larger than for a VMB or RMB when AI=10% and RRRAI=10. Conclusions. Even low AI frequency can compromise the impact of VMB interventions. RMB and RVMB will be important prevention tools for heterosexual populations

Understanding Intelligently Artificial Intelligence : a citizens' open formation

International audienceOur whole society is and will be deeply impacted by digital science and this takes a new qualitative and quantitative turn with what is named artificial intelligence (AI). We must allow everyone to master, thus understand how all this works. This means computational thinking discovery and machine learning initiation. Directly inspired by the Finnish initiative to train 1% of its population on these subjects and after our success in providing a hybrid formation on computational thinking for teachers and citizens not familiar with computer science where more 45000 persons have been reached, yielding a satisfaction level higher than 90%, we have built and now operate a citizen training in AI in the broad sense, intended to a large public beyond the school domain, with the goal of giving rise to an ubiquitary citizen university in digital science and cultur