Onex Corporation

Acting for Onex Corporation on an application for judicial review of the amended Income Tax Act before the Federal Court of Canada.

NDT Global Corporate

Acted as Canadian tax counsel to Ireland-headquartered NDT Global, a leading supplier of ultrasonic pipeline inspection and data analysis, on its sale to Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec/Novacap-backed Eddyfi Technologies, a Québec-based innovative private test & measurement technology group focused on non-destructive testing (NDT).

Minority Stockholder

Acted for a minority stockholder of a private company in a buyout of the majority stockholder of that company by way of a cross-border acquisition of all the assets of that company through both equity and debt financing from a private equity firm and an institutional lender.

J.G. Guy Simard et al.

Acted for Colonel J.G. Guy Simard (retired) and other taxpayers who participated in the "Synergy Program", a program designed to provide funding for start-up businesses, in their dispute before the Tax Court of Canada with the Canada Revenue Agency over the deductibility of related losses. The appeals served as de facto representative cases for approximately 4000 other taxpayers who contested potentially over two hundred million dollars in tax deductions.

Interview, The Globe and Mail, “The CRA is getting more audit muscle. Here’s why tax experts are concerned”

May 23, 2024 - Read the article. (Subscribers only)

Accountants Study Group, “Potpourri of Recent Tax Measures”; Montréal, QC

Nov. 07, 2023

Legal Dilemma

Oct. 23, 2023 - CBA National, The Canadian Bar Association
Read the article.

An Avoidable Threat to the Protection of Solicitor-Client Privilege, co-author

Sept. 01, 2023 - Perspectives on Tax Law & Policy, vol. 4, no 3 (FCF)
Download this article.

Government of Canada Releases Package of Proposed Domestic and International Tax Legislation

Aug. 16, 2023 - The Department of Finance (Finance) released draft tax legislation for public consultation on August 4, 2023, with a stated focus on promoting tax fairness and a clean economy. The most significant item released is the draft of a major new statute, the Global Minimum Tax Act, spanning...

The CRA’s New Power to Compel Oral Interviews

Jan. 17, 2023 - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) can now require taxpayers or any other person to answer “all proper questions” and provide all reasonable assistance for any purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of the Income Tax Act (ITA), including by submitting to oral questioning at a...

Réflexions sur les amendements proposés à l’article 231.1 L.I.R.

Oct. 19, 2022 - Stratège, Vol. 27, No. 3 (APFF)
Download this article (in French).

Recent Developments Relating to Registry Rectifications in Québec, co-author

Apr. 27, 2022 - Stratège Magazine (APFF) Spring 2022, Vol. 27, No. 1
Download this article (in French).

Association de planification fiscale et financière, 2022 Tax Administration Seminar, “ Compiling and Exchanging Information – Recent Developments ”; Webcast

Mar. 17, 2022

Taxpayers Must Pay Interest on Non-Existent Tax Debts

Oct. 26, 2021 - In The Bank of Nova Scotia v The Queen, the Tax Court of Canada (TCC) considered how to calculate arrears interest on an audit adjustment that is offset by a loss carryback. The Court endorsed the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA’s) practice of charging arrears interest on the adjustment...

Association de planification fiscale et financière, Annual Conference 2021, “Ce que vous devriez savoir avant de changer de fiduciaire ou de bénéficiaire de votre fiducie”; Webcast

Oct. 08, 2021

Notarial +, “Revenu Québec’s Mandatory Disclosure Obligations”, July 5 and 9, 2021; Webinar

July 09, 2021

Interest and Penalty Computation For GST: Net Or Gross Liability?, co-author

May 01, 2021 - Canadian Tax Focus (CTF) Vol. 11, No. 2
Download this article.

The First Specified Transactions to Be Disclosed to Revenu Québec Announced

Mar. 24, 2021 - The Québec government announced in its March 21, 2019 budget a series of measures aimed at protecting the integrity and equity of Québec’s tax system. These measures include the mandatory disclosure of certain transactions¹ ‒ those that are significantly similar to so-called determined...

Revenu Québec and Association de planification fiscale et financière, Tax Administration Conference, “Échanges internationaux d’information – à l’intersection des lois fiscales et des traités”; Webcast

Mar. 18, 2021

Villa Ste-Rose: FCA Confirms Interest and Penalties Apply After GST Rebates Are Deducted

Mar. 02, 2021 - In Canada v Villa Ste-Rose Inc. (2021 FCA 35), the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) confirmed the decision of the Tax Court of Canada (TCC) that interest and penalties on the late filing and remittance of goods and services tax (GST) must take into account offsetting rebates to which the...

Deadlines Under Federal Legislation Temporarily Extended Due to COVID-19

Sept. 24, 2020 - Introduction Parliament passed on July 27, 2020, the Time Limits and Other Periods Act (COVID-19) (Time Limits Act), which we summarized in a previous bulletin. Briefly, the Time Limits Act automatically suspends statutory time limits for federal civil proceedings for six months and...

Canadian Government’s Proposed Extension of Time Limits Due to COVID-19

May 27, 2020 - As part of the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Finance recently published a draft legislative proposal, the Time Limits and Other Periods Act (COVID-19) (Proposal), that, if implemented, would provide for an automatic six-month suspension of time...

Super Priority or Super Powers? FCA Rules That CRA Can Collect Unremitted GST on Proceeds of Third-Party Secured Interest

May 20, 2020 - In The Toronto-Dominion Bank v Queen (2020 FCA 80), the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) confirmed a Federal Court (FC) decision and ruled that a secured creditor had a statutory obligation to pay the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for a tax debt of an arm’s-length borrower because the secured...

A Penalty Under GAAR Will Cause Ineligibility for Public Contracts in Québec

Mar. 23, 2020 - The Act mainly to establish the Centre d'acquisitions gouvernementales and Infrastructures technologiques Québec (Act) was assented to on February 21, 2020, by the National Assembly of Québec. The Act incorporates new provisions in the government procurement rules to combat abusive tax...

Invesco Case: Rebate for GST Paid in Error or Notice of Objection?, co-author

Nov. 14, 2019 - The Lawyer’s Daily
Download this article.

Invesco Case: Funding Services Not Subject to GST/HST, co-author

Nov. 08, 2019 - The Lawyer’s Daily
Download this article.

Federal Court of Appeal Says Funding Services Not Subject to GST/HST

Oct. 04, 2019 - In SLFI Group v Canada (2019 FCA 217), the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) overturned a Tax Court of Canada (TCC) decision and ruled that a group of Canadian mutual funds (Funds) was not required to self-assess GST/HST on funding services provided by a U.S. entity, because these services...

Tax Fraud Charges: Jordan Stay of Proceedings Ordered Due to Unreasonable Delay

Sept. 04, 2019 - In a recent decision, the Court of Québec (Court) held that section 11b of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees that any person charged with an offence has the right to be tried within a reasonable time, had been infringed.¹ It ordered a stay of...

CRA’s Audit Powers Have Limits: Challenging Excessive Requests for Information

June 25, 2019 - In three recent decisions, the courts have curtailed the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA’s) broad interpretation of its audit powers and, in so doing, have armed taxpayers with the legal means to push back against excessive or unreasonable requests for information (RFIs) by the CRA. First, in...

The CRA Cannot Compel Oral Interviews During an Audit

Apr. 10, 2019 - In Minister of National Revenue v Cameco Corporation, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) dismissed the Minister of National Revenue’s appeal and held that the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA’s) audit powers under the Income Tax Act (ITA) do not extend to compelling taxpayers to be...

Federal Court’s Decision in Atlas Tube Canada ULC: Beware, Tax Due Diligence Reports May Not Be Privileged

Nov. 27, 2018 - In Canada (National Revenue) v Atlas Tube Canada ULC, the Federal Court (FC) held that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), in the course of an ongoing audit, was entitled to a draft tax due diligence report (Report) prepared by the accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY). The Report was...

Callidus Capital Corporation v HMQ: Last Word Goes to the Secured Creditor

Nov. 14, 2018 - The Supreme Court of Canada (the SCC) has overturned the decision rendered by a majority of the Federal Court of Appeal (the FCA) in Callidus Capital Corporation v Her Majesty the Queen. The case originated out of a motion filed in the Federal Court (the FC) by Callidus Capital...

FC's Surprise Rejection of CRA Data Request

Nov. 01, 2018 - Canadian Tax Focus, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Canadian Tax Foundation)
Reproduced here by permission of the Canadian Tax Foundation.
Read more about FC's Surprise Rejection of CRA Data Request.