Philippe Casgrain

The respondent brought an action against the appellants and during an examination on discovery, the appellants requested the production of numerous documents.

The respondent sought a confidentiality agreement to prevent the documents from being disclosed to third parties, which the appellants refused.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that there is an implied rule of confidentiality in Quebec civil procedure regarding information obtained at an examination on discovery.

The Court found that an examination on discovery is not a sitting of the court and that the implied rule of confidentiality protects privacy interests recognized in the Quebec Charter and the Civil Code of Québec.

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal from the Quebec Court of Appeal, agreeing with the dissenting reasons of Forget J.A. The judgment of the Court of Appeal was set aside and the decision of the Commission d’appel en matière de lésions professionnelles was restored.

The appellants brought motions for an extension of time for hearing and to reinscribe the appeal for hearing, after the appeal had previously been held to be abandoned.

Given the consent of counsel for the respondents, the Supreme Court of Canada granted the applications and ordered the appeal to be reinscribed without costs.