Articles 2023

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) implications on loyalty rewards programs have been a subject of debate in Canada. Recent court rulings have shed light on how GST applies to loyalty programs, particularly those involving royalty points. The Tax Court of Canada (TCC) and Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) have made significant decisions in the cases of Toronto-Dominion Bank v. His Majesty the King and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v. Canada.

In June 2023, the Federal Court of Appeal in Bowker v. Canada provided guidance on the appropriate amount of costs that an unsuccessful party should pay in an appeal to the Tax Court of Canada. This article will review the range of costs awarded by the Tax Court since the decision in Bowker and will briefly review whether two factors in particular correlate to higher costs awards: the litigation conduct of the losing party and the amounts at issue in the appeal.

The Department of Finance Canada (“Finance”) announced the new Canadian Entrepreneur’s Incentive (“CEI”) in its 2024 Federal Budget. In August 2024, Finance announced certain changes and released draft legislation in respect of the CEI. The CEI gives certain owners of eligible businesses access to a reduced capital gains inclusion rate when they sell shares of their business. This article provides a short overview of the proposed CEI and the changes announced in August 2024.

The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Live Nation Ontario Concerts GP, Inc. v. Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, 2024 ONCA 634 (CanLII) (“Live Nation v. Aviva”) demonstrates that the concepts of risk allocation and equitable contribution are different. Assuming the risk of a certain amount of defence costs via an SIR does not turn an insured into an insurer. The concept of equitable contribution is a remedy between insurers and ought not to be applied between an insurer and an insured.

Minor amendment of consolidated practice direction concerning the Estates List in the Toronto Region

The last Ontario Estates Bench-Bar Liaison Committee meeting before the summer was held on April 15th. Topics of discussion during this meeting included applications to dispense with a bond, deadlines for notice of withdrawal of objections and request for increased costs, the process for dealing with errors in probate application, changes to the Succession Law Reform Act, Toronto Estates Office scheduling, court bookings and more.

September marked the beginning of a new term for the Ontario Bar Association. With the new term comes a new series of Brown Bag Lunch meetings for the Trusts and Estates Law Section. This month's meeting addressed requests by banks to validate Powers of Attorney and the First Time Home Savings Account. The next Brown Bag Lunches will be held on October 15 and November 19, 2024.

The final Brown Bag Lunch meeting for the 2024-2025 term was held on June 18, 2024. As usual, participants raised interesting discussion topics and generously shared their thoughts with other attendees. Some of the topics discussed this month include claims related to registered plans and disabled beneficiaries, the administration of the estate of an international student, and the transfer of the ownership of an RDSP.

On a beautiful day in May, members of the OBA’s Trusts and Estates Law Section gathered for the monthly Brown Bag Lunch, where they discussed several interesting and topical matters relating to their practices (including administration matters involving the OCL, supporting materials for motions to dispense with a bond, allocation of income from Graduated Rate Estates among others).