Stephen Ruby

Partner

Stephen Ruby

Stephen Ruby

Partner

Expertise
Bar Admissions
  • Ontario, 1973

Stephen has “excellent industry and technical knowledge,” and is known to be “great at helping to resolve tax issues.”
Chambers Global

Public and private clients rely on Stephen for sophisticated advice on the tax implications of corporate and securities transactions, including corporate reorganizations and mergers and acquisitions. Multinational companies consult him for Canadian tax advice regarding their inbound and outbound investments.

Stephen is also an experienced tax litigator with an “ability to combine transactional and litigation experience”. (Chambers Canada 2017) He routinely appears at all levels of court. He consults with the Canadian government on tax policy and legislation, and is a former special adviser to the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Tax Policy, and Legislation Branch of the Department of Finance (Canada).

Stephen received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in recognition of his contributions to Canadian tax law. He is a member of the Council of the International Fiscal Association (Canadian branch).

Stephen Ruby

Partner

Stephen has “excellent industry and technical knowledge,” and is known to be “great at helping to resolve tax issues.”
Chambers Global

Public and private clients rely on Stephen for sophisticated advice on the tax implications of corporate and securities transactions, including corporate reorganizations and mergers and acquisitions. Multinational companies consult him for Canadian tax advice regarding their inbound and outbound investments.

Stephen is also an experienced tax litigator with an “ability to combine transactional and litigation experience”. (Chambers Canada 2017) He routinely appears at all levels of court. He consults with the Canadian government on tax policy and legislation, and is a former special adviser to the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Tax Policy, and Legislation Branch of the Department of Finance (Canada).

Stephen received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in recognition of his contributions to Canadian tax law. He is a member of the Council of the International Fiscal Association (Canadian branch).

BlueCat Networks, Inc.

Acted for The Hyatt Family Trust in the sale of BlueCat Networks, Inc. to Madison Dearborn Partners LLC.

Nortel Networks UK Limited

Acted as Canadian counsel to Nortel Networks UK Limited together with 18 of its subsidiaries and their Joint Administrators (the EMEA Estate), in connection with the global liquidation of the Nortel group of companies.

Bird Construction Inc.

Acted for Bird Construction Inc. in connection with its $78 million acquisition of all outstanding shares of H.J. O'Connell, Limited, a construction company with operations in Newfoundland and Labrador, Québec and Manitoba.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and CBC Monetization Trust

Acted for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and CBC Monetization Trust in its offering of $135,700,000 4.688% amortizing notes due 2027 and the purchase of assets from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Fiat S.p.A.

Acted as Canadian counsel for Fiat S.p.A. in the purchase of substantially all of Chrysler LLC's operations by a new company formed in alliance with Fiat for approximately US$2 billion in cash and the assumption of certain liabilities under a U.S. restructuring (Chapter 11) and in the related approximately US$7 billion first lien credit facility provided by the United States Department of the Treasury and the approximately $2 billion working capital facility provided by Export Development Canada.

Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust

Acted for Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust in connection with its $592-million acquisition of 6.5 million square feet of office and industrial properties from Homburg Invest Inc., representing approximately 72% of the leasable space acquired by Homburg in its purchase of Alexis Nihon REIT.

Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust

Acted for Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust in connection with its acquisition of the assets of Alexis Nihon Real Estate Investment Trust in a transaction valued at $440 million.

PetroKazakhstan Inc.

Acted for PetroKazakhstan Inc., a Canadian-listed energy company, in its US$4.18-billion acquisition by China National Petroleum Corporation by way of negotiated takeover bid.

Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.

Acted for Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. in connection with its acquisition of Progressive Moulded Products Limited.

Bell Canada

Acted for Bell Canada in its acquisition of 360networks Corp., 360networks Canada Ltd. and LondonConnect Inc. in a transaction valued at $275 million.

Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS)

Acted for OMERS in connection with its $1.2-billion acquisition of Oxford Properties and the related financing.

Article

Equitable Remedies in Tax Matters: The Elusive Search for Relief, co-author

Dec. 06, 2022 - Tax Disputes in Canada: The Path Forward (Canadian Tax Foundation)
Available for purchase.

Bulletin

Canada's Top Court Decides Against Equitable Rescission in Collins Family Trust

June 21, 2022 - “Equity has no place here,” held the Supreme Court of Canada in its 8-1 decision in Canada (Attorney General) v Collins Family Trust (Collins), 2022 SCC 26, on June 17. Reversing the decisions of the British Columbia courts below, Collins holds that the equitable remedy of rescission –...

In the News

Stephen Ruby Speaks to Bloomberg BNA About Tax Court’s Ruling on Tax Avoidance

Sept. 20, 2018 - In an article published this week in Bloomberg BNA, Davies partner Stephen Ruby speaks about the Tax Court of Canada’s latest ruling on the government’s use of general anti-avoidance (GAAR) rules. In Loblaw Financial Holdings Inc. v The Queen, the Court rejected the Canada Revenue...

Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business—Tax (Senior Statesperson)

Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business—Tax (Senior Statesperson)

International Tax Review’s Tax Controversy Leaders

International Tax Review’s World Tax: The Comprehensive Guide to the World’s Leading Tax Firms—Notable Practitioner

Lexpert Guide to US/Canada Cross-Border Lawyers in Canada—Tax

Lexpert/Thomson’s Guide to Canada’s 100 Most Creative Lawyers

Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and M&A

Lexpert Special Edition: Restructuring and Insolvency

The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory—Corporate Tax; Litigation: Corporate Tax

The Best Lawyers in Canada—Tax Law

Who’s Who Legal: Corporate Tax—Advisory; Controversy; Who’s Who Legal: Canada – Corporate Tax

Canadian Who’s Who

Expert Guides’ Best of the Best; Expert Guides—Tax

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

Bar Admissions

Ontario, 1973

Education

Osgoode Hall Law School, LLB, 1971
University of Western Ontario, BA (Honours), 1966

Board Memberships

Canadian Branch of the International Fiscal Association, member and former president
Canadian Tax Foundation, Board of Governors, former governor

Community Involvement

Canadian Bar Association and Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, Joint Committee on Taxation, former chair
Canadian Bar Association, Tax Subsection, former chair

Teaching Engagements

Stephen has taught in the LLM program and international tax at Osgoode Hall Law School.