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UPFRONT 12 www.canadianlawyermag.com NEWS BRIEFS Quebec proposes restricting sale of edibles Q&A On July 24, the Quebec government proposed regulations determining other categories of cannabis that may be sold by the Société québécoise du cannabis and limiting the sale of edible products containing cannabis extracts, as well as topical products that may be used. The proposed regulations would impose a cap of 300-per-cent THC on inedible products, which would prevent other products, such as vaporizers, from entering the Quebec market. Should the proposed regulations be adopted, almost all forms of edible cannabis containing CBD or non-psychoactive THC would be banned in Quebec. Canadian Lawyer spoke with Brian Kujavsky, a partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP in Montreal, about what strict regulations on cannabis edibles in Quebec will mean and the reasons for them. How do Quebec's proposed regulations differentiate Quebec from other jurisdictions? It's quite a bit more restrictive than, say, Ontario. Federally, the announcement was made . . . what the edibles regime [should] look like, and anything that would be considered attractive to children is prohibited. Quebec took it a step further and named a whole bunch of things that would be prohibited: sweets, chocolate, confections, desserts or any other products that would be attractive to minors. Frankly, the private-sector producers were gearing up for the same sort of product lines [as are sold in the United States]. Canopy Growth [Canada's largest cannabis company], its main location is an old QUEBEC UPDATE Court invalidates portions of medical aid in dying laws A Quebec Superior Court judge has invalidated parts of the federal and Quebec laws on medically assisted dying laws, declaring them too restrictive and, therefore, unconstitutional. On Sept. 11, Justice Christine Baudouin found the "reasonably foreseeable natural death" requirement of the Criminal Code invalid. She also invalidated a section of the Quebec law that says individuals must "be at the end of life" to receive medical assistance in dying. The case was brought by two Quebecers who had had their requests for assisted death refused. Law forbidding home cultivation of cannabis struck down Quebec Superior Court Justice Manon Lavoie has invalidated the provisions of Quebec's cannabis law prohibiting home cultivation. On Sept. 3, Lavoie ruled that Quebec's legislation infringed upon the jurisdiction of the federal government, which has sole responsibility for legislating on criminal matters. Unless the decision is overruled on appeal, the judgment means that sections of the Quebec Cannabis Regulation Act are unconstitutional and that it will be legal to grow cannabis plants at home in Quebec. Immigration reforms aim to address labour shortages Quebec's recent immigration reform bill gives the province more control over immigration through the power to set conditions and demand undertakings from temporary and permanent immigrants, to align their settlement with gaps in the labour market and ensure their integration. The changes set conditions on permanent residents and introduce an undertaking by which the immigration minister is to be assured of their French skills and integration. The nature of these factors is still unknown, says Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, president of the Quebec Immigration Lawyers Association. Insurance distribution regime goes online The main provisions of the new Quebec Insurers Act and amendments to the Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services came into force on June 13. These provisions set out the regulatory requirements for insurers and insurance intermediaries that sell insurance online in Quebec. A draft regulation was published in 2018 and underwent several revisions in response to industry comments. Insurers and intermediaries will have until June 2020 to comply with certain of their new obligations, including disclosures about websites and the products offered thereon to the Autorité des marchés financiers. Montreal school boards implement religious neutrality law Bill 21, which will bar schoolteachers and other public servants from wearing religious symbols on the job, was implemented by Montreal school boards in September. Although the city's school boards had initially opposed the religious neutrality law, all had agreed to abide by it by late August. The law is currently being challenged in Quebec Superior Court by two civil rights groups, and organizers of a campaign have asked Quebecers to express their opposition to the ban by wearing an anti-Bill 21 button and a religious symbol of their choosing.