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CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE NOVEMBER 2017
A
sk in-house counsel and other
business leaders what keeps
them up at night and they
will more than likely say that
the growing regulatory and
compliance burden has become the number
one thing that consumes their thoughts,
especially as they relate to cross-border
business and the ability to protect their
organizations from harm.
As one in-house counsel remarked
recently, "Change is often good, but politics
continues to get in the way of a stable
business climate."
As businesses try to grow and innovate,
it seems government finds more ways to
complicate life and raise issues around
risk mitigation. With the increased use of
technology and in light of data breaches
such as that experienced by Equifax,
organizations have become acutely aware of
the corresponding threats that come from
cyberattacks that can seriously threaten
reputation, not only for the company
directly involved but their business partner
clients as well.
Increasingly, too, business is under
pressure from greater government say on
employee rights with at least three provinces
in Ontario taking increased measures to
boost minimum wage and worker benefits.
Then there is the July 1, 2018 deadline to
legalize marijuana use in Canada.
Some lingering regulatory matters such
as Canada's Anti-Spam Law remain a
constant concern for businesses.
In the following pages, we take a look
at four areas of regulatory compliance that
remain a top concern for in-house counsel
and the business units they serve.
1. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION SUSPENDED
BUT CASL STILL VEXING COMPANIES
In June, those in charge of ensuring compli-
ance around Canada's Anti-Spam law drew
a collective deep breath and exhaled hard on
June 7 as the federal government issued an
order-in-council delaying the coming into
force date of CASL's proposed private right
of action until completion of a parliamen
-
tary review.
The suspension was issued "in order to
promote legal certainty for numerous stake-
holders claiming to experience difficulties
in interpreting several provisions of the Act
while being exposed to litigation risk."
The looming PRA had created a sense of
landscape
