Publication
“AI and sustainability - cure or curse?”
While AI can help resolve data issues in sustainable investing, it can create problems such as information breaches and inherent bias in data.
Author:
Global | Publication | November 2016
On November 25 the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its decision in Lizotte v Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, 2016 SCC 52.
In this case, the professional order supervising claims adjusters in Quebec was investigating the conduct of a claims adjuster. In the context of its investigation, it asked an insurer for a copy of its claim file pertaining to one of its insured.
The request of the order was based on Section 337 of the Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services, which provides the order with the right to obtain “any document” that is relevant to its inquiry.
According to the order, the law did not allow it to require the disclosure of documents protected by solicitor-client privilege. However, the same protection was not afforded to documents falling under litigation privilege.
The order argued that the protection afforded by the litigation privilege had been expressly set aside by the wording of section 337 of the Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rejected the order’s arguments on the grounds that a legislative provision that simply refers to the communication of “any document” is not sufficiently explicit to set aside the litigation privilege.
In doing so, the Supreme Court confirmed the possibility for an insurer to invoke the litigation privilege with respect to communications with a claims adjuster. This question had been previously discussed at courts of appeal level, but never by the Supreme Court of Canada.
For example, in Union canadienne (L’), compagnie d’assurance c. St-Pierre, 2012 QCCA 433, the insured asked for a copy of the investigation report prepared by the claims adjuster at the request of the insurer. The Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed the demand of the insured on the grounds that the report was protected by litigation privilege.
In Lizotte v Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed the possibility for the insurer to invoke litigation privilege, not only against the insured, but also against the professional order supervising claims adjusters.
Publication
While AI can help resolve data issues in sustainable investing, it can create problems such as information breaches and inherent bias in data.
Publication
In this edition of Regulation Around the World we review recent steps that financial services regulatory authorities have taken as regards investment research.
Publication
We have had a new pension tax regime since April 6, 2024. The underlying legislation is convoluted and almost impossible for a lay person to follow, so you would be forgiven for thinking there was a lot to study. At the very granular level that is true, and your scheme administrators will have a lot of detailed changes to make to systems. However if you zoom out a bit, in many ways life hasn’t changed. We’ve done the poring over densely amended tax legislation for you. Here are the highlights: five things to know and three things to do.
Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest legal news, information and events . . .
© Norton Rose Fulbright LLP 2023