The Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") recently dismissed leave to the Federal Court of Appeal's ("FCA") decision of Her Majesty the Queen. v. Cameco Corporation, 2020 FCA 112 [Cameco]. The FCA ruled in favour of the taxpayer, Cameco Corporation (“Cameco”), and rejected the Crown's broad interpretation of paragraphs 247(2)(b) and (d) of the Income Tax […]
The Federal Court of Appeal (the "FCA") recently released its decision on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v The Queen, 2021 FCA 10 [CIBC]. The FCA overturned the lower court's decision and allowed the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ("CIBC") to claim rebates on taxes that it accidentally paid on supplies made by Visa Canada […]
On November 12, 2020, H.M.B. Holdings Limited v. Antigua and Barbuda, 2020 ONCA 12 [HMB Holding] was granted leave by the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC"). The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council decided in 2014 that Antigua and Barbuda ("Antigua") owed H.M.B Holdings Limited's ("HMB") compensation for expropriating its Antiguan property ("Privy Council Judgement") […]
In the Supreme Court of Canada’s (“SCC”) recent decision, C.M. Callow Inc. v. Zollinger, 2020 SCC 45 [Callow SCC], the Court expanded their holding from Bhasin v. Hrynew, 2014 SCC 71 [Bhasin]. Bhasin clarified the principle of good faith in contract law and introduced the duty of honest performance — the requirement not to lie […]
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) is usually timid to grant leave to tax law cases. However, earlier this year, we saw the SCC decide MacDonald v. Canada 2020 SCC 6. (You can find our case comment on MacDonald here.) The SCC also granted leave to Canada v. Alta Energy Luxembourg S.A.R.L. 2020 FCA 43 […]
On October 23, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released its decision on Owners, Strata Plan LMS 3905 v Crystal Square Parking Corp, 2020 SCC 29 [Strata], a case that reinforced the relationship between the traditional approach to contract law and pre- and post-incorporation contracts. Facts Crystal Development is a multi-use development in Burnaby, […]
Canadian courts have struggled with whether a "waiver of tort" stands as an independent cause of action for certification under the Class Actions Act, SNL 2001, c C-18.1 [CAA] and other provinces' equivalent acts. A waiver of tort allows the plaintiff to forego damages and seek disgorgement of the defendant's profits from wrongful conduct. Therefore, […]
Since the creation of the Income Tax Act ("ITA"), there have been taxpayers trying to avoid taxes in any manner possible. Although taxpayers are free to arrange their matters in the most tax-efficient way, there is a line between "tax efficient" and "tax abusive" planning. The General Anti-Avoidance Rules (the "GAAR"), as defined in section […]