Tax

  • December 20, 2024

    Trudeau unveils new cabinet with strong legal background as NDP threatens confidence vote

    With his faltering government facing a non-confidence motion as early as Jan. 27, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has introduced eight new cabinet ministers whose tenure may last only weeks.

  • December 19, 2024

    Federal government reports Canada’s GHG emissions have hit a 27-year low

    Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault says a decline in Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions to a 27-year low is proof the government’s climate change plan is working and underlines the need for its proposed cap on emissions from the oil and gas industry.

  • December 17, 2024

    Ottawa extends accelerated investment incentive amid rising fiscal deficit to boost competitiveness

    The federal government has extended its Accelerated Investment Incentive (AII) and other immediate expensing measures in a bid to boost private investment growth — a move expected to cost the treasury $17.4 billion from 2024-25 to 2029-30 and unveiled as part of the 2024 Fall Economic Statement (FES). 

  • December 17, 2024

    Vavilov at five | Sara Blake

    Five years ago, on Dec. 19, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, re-set the standard of review for questions of statutory interpretation. In that case, and two others decided in the same week, the court demonstrated how the new standard of review is to be applied.

  • December 16, 2024

    Federal fiscal update after Freeland’s shock departure features tax, legal changes of note to bar

    Boosting the number of judges in Ontario’s Unified Family Court and Court of Appeal, making “bail and sentencing laws stricter,” and new civil remedies — and criminal penalties of up to $1 million for corporations — under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, were among the new measures proposed in the 2024 fall fiscal update by the minority Liberal government after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stunned Ottawa by resigning from the Cabinet a few hours earlier.

  • December 16, 2024

    Two Montreal law firms join forces

    Spiegel Sohmer and Ravinsky Ryan Lemoine have decided to merge and will operate under the new name of Spiegel Ryan as of Jan. 1, 2025.

  • December 13, 2024

    Nova Scotia education minister moves to justice file

    Nova Scotia has a new justice minister. Lawyer and former education minister Becky Druhan has been given the job of justice minister and attorney general following the Progressive Conservatives’ recent re-election as a majority government.

  • December 12, 2024

    PBO releases overview of Ottawa's national housing strategy, cites challenges with certain information

    The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) has released a report on federal government's spending this year on its national housing strategy, noting that the government is projecting how much housing it will provide but not how many people will be in need.

  • December 11, 2024

    Bank of Nova Scotia v. Canada: A matter of interest

    If you file a tax return or after an audit, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will issue a tax assessment, including in the form of a notice of assessment or reassessment. The amount of tax owing is stated on the notice. Interest applies to outstanding amounts as of the “balance due day,” defined in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. 1 (5th Supp.) (ITA).

  • December 10, 2024

    CBSA annual report notes increase in smuggling attempts and inadmissible entries

    The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has released its year in review report for 2024, highlighting that between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, it “seized more dangerous drugs and firearms, and intercepted more stolen vehicles than in 2023.”