Tax
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July 31, 2024
AMPs for securities fraud can be debts released by bankruptcy discharge: SCC
Settling conflicting appellate case law over whether the exemption in s. 178(1)(e) of the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act enables administrative money penalties (AMPs) and disgorgement orders imposed by a provincial securities regulator to survive a bankruptcy discharge, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled 5-2 that $13.5 million in AMPs imposed by the BC Securities Commission on two undischarged bankrupts for fraudulent securities activity is a debt that can be released by a future discharge in bankruptcy. But it ruled unanimously in addition that approximately $5.6 million in related disgorgement orders would survive any discharge from bankruptcy the pair might obtain in future.
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July 30, 2024
Counsel contend Ottawa’s spate of judicial appointments might make novel constitutional appeal moot
Lawyers who won a groundbreaking Federal Court declaration that recognized a “constitutional convention that judicial vacancies on the provincial superior courts and federal courts must be filled within a reasonable time” contend Ottawa’s appeal should be dismissed as moot if the Trudeau government gets federal judicial vacancies down to the reasonable level set by Federal Court Justice Henry Brown last February.
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July 26, 2024
Upcoming federal election: What does it mean for private clients?
Our last federal election was Sept. 20, 2021, and constitutional and statutory provisions require that the next federal election must be held no more than five years after a preceding election and by the third Monday in October in the fourth calendar year after the date of the previous election, which means on or before October 20, 2025. That of course means that, while election fervour and fever continue to escalate south of the border, Canada will soon follow.
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July 25, 2024
The value of a good team of professional advisors | Kevin Kirkpatrick and Azam Rajan
We were recently on the Two Way Traffic podcast, hosted by wealth management advisor Darren Coleman. The podcast looks at a wide range of cross-border financial issues that affect many people. This time the subject was the importance of having a good team of professional advisors.
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July 25, 2024
An overview of Canada’s new Digital Services Tax Act
On June 20, 2024, Bill C-59 received royal assent, establishing Canada’s new Digital Services Tax Act (DST Act). However, it was stipulated, through Bill C-59, that the Act would only come into force on a date determined by order of the Governor in Council.
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July 24, 2024
New managing partner for Aird & Berlis
Jill P. Fraser, a senior partner in Aird & Berlis’s financial services group and a long-standing member of the executive committee, the firm’s new managing partner.
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July 23, 2024
Canadian securities regulators stepped up enforcement in 2023-24, driven in part by crypto schemes
Canadian securities regulators commenced 83 enforcement proceedings between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, with 27 cases of selling securities illegally making it the most common offence, according to the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) annual year-in-review report.
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July 22, 2024
Ottawa rolls out ‘special measures’ for people affected by 2024 wildfires in Canada
Canadians and permanent residents “directly affected” by wildfires in 2024 will be able to get free replacement federal documents — including permanent resident cards, Canadian citizenship certificates, Canadian passports and other travel documents — that are lost, damaged, destroyed or inaccessible due to wildfires, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced.
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July 17, 2024
B.C. court dismisses defamation action against charity researcher under anti-SLAPP law
The B.C. Supreme Court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought against a writer who published letters alleging that a philanthropic gift was part of a massive tax fraud scam, finding that public interest weighed in favour of protecting the writer’s expression.
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July 16, 2024
Two appointments for Aird & Berlis
Aird & Berlis has announced that Ryan Evans has joined the firm as a partner and member of the intellectual property and litigation & dispute resolution groups. And Anna Lu has joined as an associate in Aird & Berlis’s municipal and land use planning group.