Articles 2024

At the February Brown Bag Lunch, as usual, attendees had interesting questions and shared their knowledge and experience. Discussion topics included the new probate forms and recent changes to the Succession Law Reform Act, multiple Will drafting issues, and when the first dealings exemption may be lost.

Following are summaries of the decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of April 18, 2022.

The author shares three key things we can all do to help support our colleagues in developing career-essential skills and reducing the bias by which we judge competency and capability.

Deborah Glatter outlines factors that have led to the current dearth of mid-level and senior associates available for hire in law firms and offers suggestions for firms hiring in a depleted pipeline, including expanding your pool, changing your interview approach and identifying your candidates' 'must haves'.

The article discusses the case of Chiarelli v. Ottawa.

Updates on provincial and federal pension legislation and pension-related tax legislation, regulatory policy and guidance and relevant case law.

Shalom Cumbo-Steinmetz and Alina Butt discuss key takeaways from a recent Divisional Court decision overturning certification in a data breach class action involving private health information.

The author of this article discusses the implications of taxation of non-residents’ inheritance of Canadian real estate including dealing with Taxable Canadian Property, rental income taxation and the new Underused Housing Tax.

When the government disregards its contractual or settlement obligations, taxpayers who fall short of receiving relief under private law usually pin their hopes on public law (or restitutionary) remedies. However, these are typically a last resort and only available in exceptional circumstances.

In Robillard (Estate) c. The Queen, the Estate of Mr. Robillard implemented a “post-mortem pipeline” strategy. The Minister sought to apply subsection 84(2) of the Income Tax Act. With reluctance, the Tax Court followed the Federal Court of Appeal decision in Canada v. MacDonald and found that subsection 84(2) applied. However, it strongly criticized the FCA’s broad interpretation of subsection 84(2) and indicated that it may be time for the FCA to reconsider its MacDonald decision.