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CCCA_V2No3_Col-News-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No2_Col-News-V1.qxd 9/18/08 5:38 PM Page 51 Nouvelles de l’ACCJE Annual Meeting Report Cutting-edge CLEs and high-profile guest speakers distinguished the CCCA’s 20th annual meeting in Québec City. s the city of Québec celebrated its 400th anniver- Asary, the provincial capital hosted the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association as it marked a different but no less special event: its 20th annual meeting. Helping to recognize the association’s milestone were a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, a major political journalist, and hundreds of in-house counsel from across the country. Conference co-chairs Robert Lebeau, vice-president and associate general counsel of Sun Life Financial Inc., and Brigitte Catellier, vice-president legal affairs and secre- tary of Astral Media Inc., welcomed delegates to la belle province, while outgoing CCCA President Bruce Noble, city solicitor of Fredericton, introduced the panelists for the Opening Plenary, “Building the Foundation for Success in Québec: Unique Challenges for Chief Legal Officers.” Guy Lavergne, associate general counsel of Future Electronics Inc., spoke about the impact of globalization on the Québec marketplace, noting that he hadn’t seen a deal between two purely Québec companies in years. Accord- ingly, provincial laws must adapt to new global realities. François Cholette, vice-president legal affairs and corporate secretary for Desjardins Financial Security, added that in some areas of the law, such as privacy and related social issues, Québec is ahead of other jurisdictions, while in other respects, such as risk management, it’s farther behind. Irène Kozina, general counsel of Canada Health Infoway Inc., pointed out the unique features of employment law in Québec: more generous employee protection, tribunals that can order dismissed employees to be reinstated, psy- chological harassment as a workplace health issue, and longer parental leaves. Jean-Martin Masse, CAO and gen- eral counsel of Artificial Mind & Movement, added that companies must be aware of the strength and important cultural impact of consumer protection laws, as well as reg- ulations protecting the French language. Numerous breakout CLE sessions offered dynamic pre- sentations, including a whole series of seminars on doing business in Québec: managing and surviving class action litigation, creating an effective CSR program, navigating commercial litigation in Québec, and the duty to accom- modate in employment law. A two-part public-sector offer- SCC Justice Ian Binnie speaking at the closing luncheon. ing focused on public-private partnerships and going green AUTOMNE 2008 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association 51