Articles 2020

A short primer on the Local Planning Appeal Support Centre.

The author discusses two recent Tax Court of Canada cases considering the application of the general anti-avoidance rule, from which the taxpayers emerged victorious for various reasons.

While facial recognition technology is increasingly prevalent in our day-to-day lives, the authors highlight concerns regarding compliance with applicable privacy laws.

All organizations, large or small, are prone to privacy breaches, the cost of which can cripple an organization that is not prepared to handle such threats. No organization is immune, but every organization can mitigate the risks.

Considering Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, youth justice, and the rights of the child.

One of the most frequent questions a family lawyer is asked is “at what age can my child choose to live with me?” Now I don’t practice health law, but out of sheer curiosity I have been following a number of news articles on extending legally-regulated medical assistance in death (MAID) to children.

There were only three substantive civil decisions released by the Court of Appeal this week. In TD General Insurance Company v Intact Insurance Company, the Court examined two insurance policies that had overlapping coverage. In Healthy Lifestyle Medical Group Inc. v. Chand Morningside Plaza Inc., the Court set aside summary judgment on a guarantee.

In its first decision of the year, the Ontario Court of Appeal held that arbitration clauses in Uber’s contracts with its drivers were void, and that a proposed class action against Uber could proceed.

One of the more interesting tax developments of 2018 was surely the jurisprudence considering whether a taxpayer has realized a tax benefit, one of three requirements for the application of the general anti-avoidance rule. The existence of a tax benefit had only infrequently been disputed by taxpayers, until several of taxpayers disputed it in 2018.

A recent judgement of the Federal Court highlights the need for taxpayers to consider solicitor-client privilege carefully when creating documents that record uncertain tax positions, and limits the applicability of BP Canada, which held that the Minister of National Revenue was not entitled to have access to Tax Accrual Working Papers without restriction.