Canadian Lawyer

UPFRONT 8 www.canadianlawyermag.com OTTAWA UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS Anti-money- laundering amendments target casinos, developers The Government of Canada has released a draft proposal for changes to the earlier amendments to regulations made under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. The act requires financial institutions and other covered entities to identify and keep records of their clients who are involved in certain financial transactions such as buying a money order or a life insurance policy or depositing funds. Specific rules were set for casinos and the real estate industry, sectors found to be particularly vulnerable to money laundering. Panel releases report on broadcast industry In February, the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel released its long-awaited report for policymakers and regulators to consider as they begin to reform the decades-old legislative framework governing the communications industry. The panel focused on four broad themes: addressing the barriers to access to advanced telecommunications networks; encouraging the creation, production and discoverability of content by Canadians; protecting digital consumer rights; and revamping the communications industry's institutional framework. "Canada's communications future: Time to act" contains 97 recommendations, including gradually removing advertising from CBC/ Radio-Canada's various platforms. Privacy Commissioner may overhaul Xik`ÔZ`Xc intelligence laws The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has said the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act is no match for artificial intelligence — and now it needs help to reform the law. A consultation ending March 13 proposed changes to bolster privacy protection regarding AI, including defining it separately from general data processing. A global engineering group has proposed "autonomous and intelligent systems," while Europe's GDPR uses "automatic decision-making and profiling." The consultation will also look at individual rights, particularly to object to decisions that are solely automated. Medical assistance in dying legislation amendments tabled The federal government announced proposed changes on Feb. 25 to the Criminal Code's provisions on medical assistance in dying that will expand access for Canadians. Two significant changes proposed in An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying) are that the reasonable foreseeability of natural death criterion has been repealed and eligibility for individuals suffering solely from mental illness has been excluded. It would also introduce "a two-track approach" to procedural safeguards based on whether a person's natural death is reasonably foreseeable. Innu claim against mining companies can proceed Quebec courts have the right to determine actions brought by two Innu First Nations over mining activity on their traditional territory, including in Labrador, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Feb. 21 in a 5/4 decision. The decision is expected to apply to other First Nations' control over their traditional lands across Canada. A majority of the SCC found the Quebec courts had jurisdiction to hear the matter, despite the action — which involved a recognition of unique Aboriginal rights as entrenched unders. 35 of the Constitution — spanning two jurisdictions. Nevsun lawsuit can proceed: SCC Canadian mining company operating in Eritrea may be sued for alleged abuses that occurred there A CANADIAN MINING company that is a majority owner in a mine in Eritrea may be sued for alleged abuses that occurred in that country, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Feb. 28. The court's ruling holds that corporations can be held liable in civil law for breaches of international law and that the act of state doctrine is not a bar to the claim. The decision stands to have implications for Canadian companies with operations abroad, notably in the resources, technology and armaments sectors. "It's important because there are a num- ber of corporate accountability lawsuits that are proceeding in Canadian courts right now," says Cory Wanless of Waddell Phillips PC in Toronto, who was lead counsel for the intervener International Human Rights Program of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law before the Supreme Court. In Nevsun Resources Ltd. v. Araya, the majority of the court found that the norms of customary interna- tional law raised by the Eritrean workers, who allege breaches of it in this case, form part of Canadian law. As a

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