Introduction On July 20, 2022, the United States (“US”) and Canada requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under Article 31.4 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”). The US and Canada’s request for consultations arises from Mexico’s new energy policies, which the US and Canada allege favours Mexican state-owned enterprises, Federal Electricity Commission (“CFE”) and Petróleos …
Snowbirds Purchasing United States Real Estate
Given our winter climate, many Canadians choose to be “Snowbirds” and buy a property to spend the winter in warmer climates in the United States (“US”). Once that decision is made as to where and what, the structure of the purchase must be considered, so as not to run afoul of or be adversely impacted …
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Consumer Privacy Protection – What It Means for Cross-Border Businesses
As a cross border firm, we are legally “bilingual”. Meaning, we translate and interpret the requirements of U.S., Canadian, EU and other international privacy requirements into a comprehensible format for our clients. For example, from the Canadian perspective, we focus on “personal information”, from the EU perspective, the focus is on “personal data”, and both …
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The “Newest” “New NAFTA”: Initial Considerations as the USMCA Comes Into Force
The United States, Canada and Mexico signed a “Protocol of Amendments” to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA” or “new NAFTA”) on December 10, 2019 that clears the way for passage in the Democrat-led U.S. House of Representatives by the end of the 2019 legislative year, and the U.S. Senate and Parliament of Canada by mid-January/early-February …
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Afta’ NAFTA isn’t in D.C. and Ottawa
As Canada and the United States wrap up more than two years of work on the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), one pressing question remains for the cross-border business community—what can we expect after NAFTA? The answer rests not in Washington, D.C. nor Ottawa, but in state and provincial capitals throughout North America. Before turning to …
Are Canadian Franchises Ready to Expand Internationally?
Historically, Canadian franchisors have not ventured into foreign markets in great numbers. When they have, it has mostly been to the massive, franchise savvy, U.S. market, with very mixed results. However, times have changed. Today, we see more international expansion from Canadian franchisors, and more are expected in the future. What is causing this change? …
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The Top Trends in Cross-Border M&A: What to Watch For
In the first half of 2018, according to a report by PWC Canada, mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) activity in Canada hit $93 billion. This is largely attributable to increased activity in the cannabis, technology, real estate and energy sectors. This trend is likely to continue for the rest of the year despite the current climate …
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U.S. Ban for Canadian Cannabis Workers?
On October 17, 2018, Canada became the second country behind Uruguay to legalize adult recreational cannabis use, while the U.S. federal law on the topic remains stuck in a political rut. This development should increase the number of Canadian nationals facing potential bars to admission to the U.S. In most cases, the rumored “permanent bars” …
What Canadian and American Employers Need to Know about Recent Amendments to Ontario’s Updated Labour Relations Act
Following our post published last week about Ontario’s updated Employment Standards Act, we wanted to provide an update on the major changes now in effect for the Labour Relations Act (LRA) as a result of The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 which came into effect at the beginning of this year. Canadian employers and …