Articles 2020

The Tax Court of Canada confirms its willingness to apply the general anti-avoidance rule to surplus stripping transactions which circumvent the application of section 84.1. Benjamin Mann reviews the recent decision in 1245989 Alberta Ltd. v. The Queen.

Proposed amendments to the Excise Tax Act may have a number of implications for investment funds and their managers. Jamie Wilks and Jonathan Bright describe and explain the proposals, while discussing some potentially significant consequences for hedge funds, mutual funds, and similar investment vehicles.

On September 8, 2017, the Department of Finance re-released proposed changes to billed-based accounting for professionals for taxation years beginning after March 21, 2017. The article reviews the proposed amendments and transitional rules.

The Tax Court of Canada recently released a decision in MacDonald v. The Queen, that together with the Court’s decision in George Weston Limited v. The Queen establishes the limits to the spectrum of hedging arrangements. Alexandra Neacsu Monkhouse reviews the decision in MacDonald and discusses how it continues and clarifies the prior jurisprudence on derivatives.

When do you gown? A practical question not taught in law school, the following will provide a how to guide on the do’s and don’ts of dressing for court. The general rule is that if you are appearing before a Master you are not required to gown, whereas if you are appearing before a judge you are required to gown.

This article summarizes a recent Divisional Court decision, Challans v Timms-Fryer, which considered the minimum obligations a tribunal has to an unrepresented party.

In the latest volume of the Canadian Bar Review, which examines the legacy of the former Supreme Court Justice Louis LeBel, Paul Daly explores the limits of language in administrative law, and LeBel’s role in clarifying our understanding of judicial review. CBA National sat down with the senior lecturer in public law at the University of Cambridge to ask him about why descriptive language in law can be more of burden than help.

“Position pays $100 a week – transportation fees negotiable.” – Advertisement on Law Society’s Articling Registry circa 2015 I studied law abroad and when I returned home I began the National Committee on Accreditation’s accreditation process, intending to develop a practice where I would make meaningful change in my clients’ lives. First, however, I had to contend with the two pressing hurdles of being a “foreign trained” candidate, and the constant murmurs of an articling crisis.

On March 30, 2017 the Federal Court of Appeal placed a significant restriction on the CRA’s audit powers, ruling that the CRA could not compel the disclosure of tax accrual working papers that identified a taxpayer’s uncertain tax filing positions. Stephanie Dewey and Mark Tonkovich review the decision in BP Canada Energy Company (2017 FCA 61).

In Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v. University of Calgary, the majority held that the standard of correctness is to be applied when judicially reviewing the Commissioner’s ability to request copies of documents for the purpose of review claims of solicitor-client privilege.