Business Compliance Support

Services may include:

• organization of corporate governance and annual compliance matters

• maintenance of business registry information

• establishing annual and ongoing compliance checklists

• organizing responsibility assignments for different compliance matters

• tracking business registry filings and administrative updates

• organizing related government filing and confirmation records

Businesses registered in Québec generally need to complete annual business registry

information updates under the applicable rules. Some businesses may also have additional

reporting obligations concerning French-language use.

We can assist businesses with:

• privacy and personal-information management processes

• Québec Law 25 implementation support

• personal-information inventories and data-flow mapping

• Privacy Officer information management

• privacy governance policies

• data-retention and destruction processes

• privacy complaint-handling processes

• a confidentiality incident register

• and Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA/EFVP) project management support

• confidentiality incident response procedures

• privacy risk reviews for information systems or digital service projects involving

personal information

• documenting internal responsibilities and compliance records

Private-sector businesses in Québec generally need privacy governance policies and

practices appropriate to their size and business activities. These should address, at a

minimum, retention and destruction rules, employee responsibilities, and privacy complaint-handling mechanisms. Relevant information must also be made available externally in clear

and simple terms.

Where businesses collect personal information through technological means, including

websites, apps, or email, an appropriate privacy policy may also be required.

Where applicable, information system or electronic service projects involving the collection,

use, transfer, storage, or destruction of personal information require a Privacy Impact

Assessment (PIA/EFVP), with the Privacy Officer involved from the beginning of the project.

In human resources and employment matters, we can assist businesses in organizing:

• CNESST-related administrative requirements

• employee onboarding and offboarding processes

• implementation of internal company policies

• workplace harassment prevention systems

• and compliance records management

• psychological and sexual harassment prevention policies

• complaint and incident-reporting procedures

• information on designated responsible personnel

• internal policy implementation and tracking records

Québec employers are required to take reasonable measures to prevent psychological

harassment and, when such conduct comes to their attention, to take steps to stop it.

Employers must also establish and make available to employees a harassment prevention

and complaint-handling policy.

Under current requirements, this policy must also cover matters such as risk identification

and control, training, ways to make complaints or reports, designated responsible persons,

protective measures, investigation or handling procedures, and confidentiality. Certain

documents relating to harassment complaints and their handling are subject to minimum

retention requirements.

In marketing and digital business activities, we can assist businesses in establishing:

• CASL commercial electronic message compliance checklists

• customer consent and unsubscribe processes

• internal review processes for advertising and marketing materials

• and operational checking mechanisms for false or misleading marketing risks under

the Competition Act

• checks of sender identification and contact information

• processes for handling unsubscribe requests

• consent and unsubscribe records management

• internal marketing compliance records and assignment of responsibilities

Under CASL, applicable commercial electronic messages generally must meet core

requirements concerning consent, sender identification information, and an unsubscribe

mechanism.

For advertising and marketing, Canada’s Competition Act prohibits representations that are

false or misleading in a material respect. An assessment considers not only the literal

wording but also the general impression conveyed by the advertisement.

For businesses operating in Québec, we can also assist in identifying requirements relating

to French-language business operations, including:

• business registration

• external communications

• and applicable francisation administrative requirements

• French-language requirements for websites and customer communications

• OQLF registration matters

• organization of francisation process documentation

• tracking internal compliance tasks and responsibilities

• organization of related filings and supporting documents

Since June 1, 2025, Québec businesses that reach 25 employees and continue to meet the

applicable period requirements must enter the OQLF francisation process. Certain French-language obligations relating to work, business, and consumer communications also apply to

businesses below that employee threshold.

We provide businesses with a reliable registered office or document-receipt solution, where

permitted by the applicable registration requirements, together with structured handling of

government and other important correspondence.

The objective is to help businesses maintain a dependable local point of contact and reduce

the risk of important documents being missed because of address changes, the absence of

local representatives, or other operational circumstances.

We can help with:

• providing a registered office address or document-receipt address, subject to

applicable registration requirements

• receiving correspondence from government authorities, corporate registries, and

other regulatory bodies

• receiving service of legal process, court documents, and other formal notices where

applicable

• recording the date and time of receipt for important documents

• scanning and forwarding government correspondence and other important

documents to designated company contacts

• providing priority notification for urgent legal documents and time-sensitive notices

• providing reminders for annual filings and other key corporate compliance obligations

• assisting with administrative updates to registered office addresses, contact

information, and other corporate registry information

• forwarding relevant documents, as authorized by the client, to designated lawyers,

accountants, directors, or other professional advisers

• and arranging for the retention, pickup, or courier forwarding of original documents

upon request

• maintaining document receipt and forwarding records

• maintaining records of designated company contacts and document-forwarding

authorizations

The availability and permitted use of a registered office, document-receipt address, address

for service, or similar arrangement depends on the entity type, jurisdiction of registration, and

applicable filing requirements.

Address Types

The address arrangements available to a business must be assessed according to its entity

type and jurisdiction of registration. For example, a federal corporation’s registered office

must be an actual street address, cannot be a P.O. box, and must be located in the province

or territory specified in its articles. The registered office is also a place where formal

documents may be served on the corporation.

In Québec, adresse du domicile, adresse du domicile élu, and fondé de pouvoir are distinct

legal and registry concepts. An adresse du domicile élu is the address of a person

designated to receive documents for the business. Certain businesses without a Québec

domicile, professional address, or establishment may also need to separately declare a

fondé de pouvoir.