L’écologisation de la responsabilité civile en droit québécois : rôle et possibilités pour le juge - Faculté de droit Aix en Provence
Aix en Provence, France - 22-23 June 2026
Abstract
Environmental harms have exposed both the possibilities and the limits of Quebec civil liability law. Although the no-fault regime governing abnormal neighbourhood disturbancesoffers a generous basis for recovery, its effectiveness is often undermined by the difficulties of proving scientific causation, particularly in cases involving health impacts. At the same time, the right to live in a healthful environment and to biodiversity protection, recognized in article 46.1 of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, remains largelyunderutilized in shaping standards of civil responsibility. Class actions hold significant promise for advancing environmental claims and protecting collective interests, but they are subject to the same evidentiary obstacles that characterize environmental litigation more generally. These tensions highlight the central role of courts in adapting private law to contemporary environmental challenges. Presented with Gaële Gidrol-Mistral.
La Responsabilité et le changement social
Sion, Switzerland - 24-26 February 2026
Abstract
Perceived shortcomings in the responsiveness of states—particularly through regulatory law—to health and environmental crises have prompted a growing number of citizens in North America to turn to the courts. Civil liability litigation, especially through class actions, is increasingly mobilized as a strategic tool to drive social change by influencing public policy and regulating industrial and institutional conduct. This presentation examines both the transformative potential and the inherent limitations of such litigation as a mechanism for social reform. Focusing on Quebec law, it analyzes key procedural and evidentiary challenges, as well as substantive aspects of civil liability, including the conception of fault and the availability of punitive damages. It also considers broader institutional constraints of the judicial forum and explores the indirect effects of civil liability actions on the protection of public health and the environment.
Écologisation des codes civils: Droit privé québécois
Paris, France - 20 november 2025
Abstract
Quebec civil law offers a flexible framework for integrating environmental concerns into private law, despite the absence of explicit recognition of nature or ecological harm. Innovative property mechanisms and doctrines—such as trusts, patrimonies of appropriation, and conservation servitudes—enable collective and sustainable uses of property, while civil liability and the Charter’s right to a healthy environment provide indirect avenues for environmental protection.
Together, these features highlight both the potential and the limits of the “ecologization” of private law as a tool for environmental governance in Quebec.
Right to Clean Air and Causation Issues, from Scientific Uncertainties to Legal Reasoning. A View from Abroad
Torino, Italy - 18 September, 2025
Abstract
Civil liability class actions have emerged in Quebec as key tools for addressing large-scale air pollution and advancing environmental and public health protection. While a flexible and claimant-friendly approach at the authorization stage facilitates access to justice, plaintiffs encounter significant difficulties at trial, particularly in establishingcausation amid scientific uncertainty, multifactorial harms, and complex evidentiary requirements. These challenges highlight the structural limits of litigation as a driver of social change and underscore the need to reflect on the complementary roles of courts and regulatory frameworks.
Liability litigation as a tool for social change and improved health governance
Hamburg, Germany - 16 July 2024
Abstract
Civil liability class actions are increasingly used in Canada as tools to address failures in public health and environmental governance, reflecting a broader trend toward the judicialization of collective interests. They are associated with key social objectives—such as access to justice, deterrence, and behavioral change—and can empower citizens to challenge powerful corporate and governmental actors.
However, their capacity to drive social change remains constrained by significant procedural and evidentiary barriers. Courts often display caution in interfering with policy decisions, while complex issues such as causation, scientific uncertainty, and resource limitations hinder claims.
These tensions reveal a gap between the normative vision of class actions as instruments of social transformation and their practical limitations within the judicial system.
Class actions as a tool for change in the field of health protection - Canadian Bar Association Health Summit
Québec City, Canada - 23 May 2026
Abstract
Civil liability class actions are increasingly mobilized in Canada as tools to address shortcomings in health and environmental governance, with potential to foster social change through access to justice, deterrence, and behavioural modification. A growing body of litigation—spanning healthcare safety, health innovation, public health, and environmental harm—reflects the expanding scope of these claims.
Judicial discourse reveals an awareness of their social role, particularly in addressing vulnerability, power imbalances, and collective harms, and in using liability to signal and deter wrongdoing. However, this transformative potential is tempered by limited and inconsistent judicial engagement with broader social objectives, as well as institutional, procedural, and evidentiary constraints.
These dynamics underscore the gap between the aspirational social function of class actions and their practical impact on health governance and systemic change.
La gestion des risques médico-légaux liés à l'IA - Canadian Medical Association
Montreal, Canada - 28 November 2025
Abstract
The integration of artificial intelligence in healthcare decision-making introduces new medico-legal risks that challenge existing regulatory frameworks and redefine professional obligations. In the absence of specific legal rules, traditional principles of medical liability provide a foundation for managing these emerging risks.
Effective risk management requires that physicians understand the limitations and risks of AI systems, integrate them appropriately into clinical practice, maintainindependent judgment, and comply with technical and professional standards. It also involves adapting the use of AI to individual patients and ensuring proper oversight of system performance and reliability.
Finally, transparency toward patients—particularly through disclosure of AI use and associated risks—plays a key role in maintaining trust, highlighting both the ethical and legal dimensions of AI adoption in healthcare.
L'Action collective comme outil de changement en matière de santé - Barreau du Québec
Montreal, Canada - 15 November 2024
Abstract
Civil liability class actions in Canada are increasingly used to address perceived failures in public health and environmental governance, reflecting a broader trend toward the judicialization of collective interests. They are associated with social objectives such as access to justice, behavioral modification, and the protection of vulnerable groups, while also serving as tools to address power imbalances and collective harms.
Judicial discourse highlights their potential role in promoting social change and regulating conduct, particularly by assigning responsibility and “sending a message.” However, this potential is constrained by significant institutional, procedural, and evidentiary barriers, including judicial deference to policy decisions and challenges related to causation and complex evidence.
These tensions underscore the gap between the recognized social mission of class actions and their practical limits, while pointing to their indirect effects through public awareness and settlement dynamics.