Hi there,

The number of the week is 3.0 — as in, 3.0 insolvencies per 1,000 Quebec businesses, against 1.1 for Canada as a whole and just 0.7 in Ontario. Before you panic, the twist is in brief #2: it’s not that Quebec businesses are worse off, it’s that we’re more likely to actually file the paperwork. Add a province half-shut for the construction holidays, a fresh reason to run a privacy checkup while things are quiet, and China just cutting off 14 European defence giants, and that’s your five minutes, coffee in hand.

Quebec

1. Half of Quebec just clocked out — here’s what that means for your contracts

The construction holidays run from July 19 to August 1 this year, and under Loi R-20, roughly 200,000 unionized construction workers across residential, commercial, industrial, and civil engineering are off, paid, whether you like it or not. If you’re mid-project, contract deadlines automatically extend to absorb the lost days — but “automatically” doesn’t mean “without a fight” if your agreement isn’t clear about it, and you’re still on the hook to secure and protect any active site before the shutdown.

Do this week: if you have a construction contract wrapping up around now, confirm in writing that the holiday shutdown is reflected in your revised timeline, and check your site security obligations before everyone’s truly gone until August 1.

2. Quebec businesses fail more often — but maybe not for the reason you think

A new government report puts a number on something everyone’s suspected for years: Quebec’s business insolvency rate has run roughly two to four times higher than the rest of Canada for the past 26 years running, no exceptions. In 2023, that meant 3.0 insolvencies per 1,000 enterprises here, versus 1.1 nationally and 0.7 in Ontario. Accommodation and food service is the riskiest sector (5.7 per 1,000), followed by manufacturing (4.4), with retail (2.2) and wholesale (0.9) trailing behind. The report’s conclusion, though, isn’t “Quebec entrepreneurs are worse at business” — it’s that Quebec business owners and creditors are simply more likely to use formal insolvency procedures instead of just quietly closing up shop, which is what tends to happen elsewhere.

Do this week: if your sector is accommodation, food service, or manufacturing, treat that stat as an early-warning nudge, not a horoscope. Talk to us before a cash crunch becomes a filing — restructuring options are far wider when you start early.

3. The CAI wants you to spring-clean your data. Do it while everyone’s on vacation.

Quebec’s privacy regulator, the CAI, published a seven-step framework for preventing confidentiality incidents: know your legal obligations, inventory the personal information you hold, assess the risks, pick the right measures, deploy them, measure whether they work, and keep reviewing. In practice, that means updated policies, staff training, access controls, encryption, strong passwords, firewalls, and logging — and documenting all of it, because the CAI expects you to be able to prove your due diligence, not just claim it.

Do this week: with half your team likely on construction-holiday-adjacent summer schedules anyway, this is a quiet week to actually run through the CAI’s seven steps instead of letting the binder gather dust until an incident forces the issue.

Rest of Canada

4. Ottawa just locked the door on a shortcut business owners loved

As of July 14, registering a new business number or program account (GST/HST, payroll, and the like) through the CRA’s Business Registration Online now requires signing into a CRA account first — no more anonymous access. It’s a security move, but it means anyone helping a client register (bookkeepers, incorporators, you) needs that client’s CRA sign-in credentials in hand before starting.

5. Quick hit: get a yes or no on your R&D tax credit before you spend a cent

The CRA has rolled out an optional SR&ED Pre-Claim Approval process: submit your research project details through My Business Account and get a determination on eligibility within eight weeks — before you sink resources into work you assumed would qualify for Scientific Research and Experimental Development credits. If you’re in tech, manufacturing, or anything R&D-heavy, this removes a real guessing game.

International

6. Beijing just cut off 14 European defence giants — and it didn’t take long

On July 24, China’s Ministry of Commerce placed 14 European companies — including Germany’s Rheinmetall, Czech truckmaker Tatra, and Dutch shipbuilder IHC Merwede — on an export-control list, cutting them off from Chinese dual-use goods and restricting rare earth exports to “special circumstances” only. The trigger: the EU’s 21st sanctions package, adopted just one day earlier, hitting roughly a dozen Chinese and Hong Kong firms accused of supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex. Nearly every blacklisted company sits in defence or defence-adjacent technology — exactly the sector most dependent on the rare earths China just restricted.

Why it matters to you: this isn’t just a European story. If your supply chain touches defence, aerospace, or advanced manufacturing anywhere near Chinese-sourced materials, a 24-hour retaliation cycle like this one is worth building into your contingency planning now, not after your supplier gets added to a list.

Business for sale? (Or shopping for one?)

Whether it’s a clean insolvency picture (see item 2!) or a supply chain that can survive a geopolitical curveball (see item 6), these are exactly the things a buyer’s lawyer digs into first. Write to us in full confidence at contact@banksavocats.com, whether you’re preparing to sell, curious what your business is worth, or hunting for your next acquisition.

About the author Jade Banks is a lawyer and the founder of Banks Avocats. She advises entrepreneurs and executives in Quebec and across Canada on business law: incorporations, buying and selling businesses, commercial contracts, and compliance (Law 25, the Charter of the French Language). Her approach: plain language, practical advice, and real attention to your business goals. She and her team write this newsletter every Wednesday.

This newsletter is general information only and is not legal advice. Every situation is unique — speak with a lawyer before acting. © 2026 Banks Avocats — banksavocats.com