Articles 2025

This article takes a look at some of the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and changes being made, through the lens of a first year call grappling with issues of access to justice. What changes are being made? How can we make sure that these changes are promoting access to justice? What are the challenges involved in ensuring accommodation of disabilities at this time and in the future? Finally, how do we ensure that the changes we make now are both sustainable and accessible?

Please find below our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of January 11. There were only three substantive civil decisions released this past week.

Consideration of Canadian Appliance Source LP v. Ontario, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. What is a "hardware store"?

Jenny Mboutsiadis is a tax partner at Fasken.  Prior to joining Fasken Jenny spent 11 years at the Department of Justice. 

On November 30, 2020, the Government released its Fall Economic Statement 2020 titled: Supporting Canadians and Fighting COVID-19. The Statement includes proposals that will impose significant obligations on e-commerce businesses and businesses that import goods into Canada.

When parties decide to separate, there are a number of decisions that need to be made. Often, the parties are focused on making life-changing decisions such as making new living arrangements, settling on custody and access rights, figuring out what their new lives will look like, taking into account support payments and the division of marital assets. However, the same decisions and agreements made following a separation can affect their tax and financial well being for years to come.

On December 15, the Canada Revenue Agency (the “CRA”) released additional details regarding the availability of employee deductions for work from home expenses and the taxation of certain employer provided employee benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accountants, valuators and anyone else who provides or assists in providing information (to the CRA or to taxpayers) respecting income tax or GST/HST (“Advisors”) should be aware of their potential liability for “advisor penalties." Advisors generally know that their clients could face gross negligence penalties in appropriate cases of “reprehensible recklessness." However, it is less well known that Advisors risk similar penalties if their actions reach “culpable conduct.”

Most industries across the globe have been affected by recent world events. As lawyers, we've had to address new trends and demands in the market, including greater complexity in Canada/U.S. cross-border personal tax and estate planning.