Wills, Trusts & Estates
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February 15, 2024
Tax court considers a novel issue: combination of s. 160, a waiver, and the Interpretation Act
A common issue in the practice of tax law is the derivative liability tax assessment, in this case pursuant to s. 160 of the Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp). In short, if a taxpayer with a tax debt transfers property to a third party, under certain circumstances, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) can assess that party to satisfy the debt of the transferor.
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February 14, 2024
Court rules PM, justice minister ‘failed’ litigants & courts with many tardy judicial appointments
A Federal Court judge has refused to order the Trudeau government to fill the present high level of 75 superior court vacancies within specified timeframes; instead the judge recognized a “constitutional convention” that judicial vacancies “must be filled within a reasonable time” and declared his “expectation” that Ottawa will begin to discharge its unfulfilled constitutional duty to fix the country’s “untenable and appalling crisis and critical judicial vacancy situation,” including by reducing the vacancies to the mid-40s “within a reasonable time.”
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February 13, 2024
When you can’t find a suitable power of attorney for personal care
In a past article, we’ve discussed the importance of having a power of attorney for property and a power of attorney for personal care. Without these documents in place, your loved ones will be faced with the long process of applying to court to become a guardian in the event you can no longer make any financial or health care decisions on your own.
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February 13, 2024
SCC’s output fell to 34 judgments in 2023, renewing questions, concerns within the bar
Is the Supreme Court of Canada giving enough legal guidance to Canadians, particularly in private law cases? It’s a question simmering within the legal community, one that attracts the attention of academics and litigators and that might benefit from the court shedding some light, especially because the numbers of cases the nine judges hear and decide have been trending down for more than a decade, without explanation.
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February 08, 2024
Barring intervener counsel from pleading in person at SCC ‘improves access to justice’: CJ Wagner
The Supreme Court of Canada’s controversial policy of restricting intervener counsel to virtual appearances, rather than giving them the same hybrid option as party counsel to appear in person before the judges, “offers substantial savings, especially to those farthest from Ottawa” and “as such levels the playing field and improves access to justice,” Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner told the Canadian Bar Association (CBA).
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February 08, 2024
Crossroads Law adds partner
Crossroads Law LLP announced that Matthew Katsionis has joined its partnership in Vancouver.
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February 07, 2024
Immigration minister says efforts to bring beleaguered Gazans to Canada stymied at border crossing
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says he’s “pretty pissed off” that Ottawa’s new humanitarian program to bring to safety Palestinians at risk in the war-torn Gaza Strip is being stymied at the Rafah border crossing from Gaza into Egypt by local authorities' refusal to permit exits for people Canada has approved for special temporary resident visas.
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February 06, 2024
Sanctions aim at Hamas leadership; Ottawa says first time ‘non-state actors’ targeted
The federal government says it has imposed dealings and immigration bans “effective immediately” against 11 people who “hold senior positions within Hamas or its affiliates and were integral to the planning, funding and execution of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks against Israel” last year.
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February 02, 2024
WILLS - Variation - Contestation of claims - Donees and beneficiaries - Description of
Application by Executor Lucy Liang (Executor) for declaration that Plaintiff was in unlawful possession of Property, that Executor was entitled to vacant possession of the Property and interlocutory injunction restraining Plaintiff from entering the Property. Application by Plaintiff for interlocutory injunction restraining Executor from interfering with his occupancy of the Property pending trial.
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January 30, 2024
Gov’t proposes to further delay MAID access for the mentally ill as health system still ‘not ready’
The Liberal government says it will introduce federal legislation “in a couple of days” to further delay access to medical assistance in dying (MAID) — slated under the current law to open up March 17, 2024 — to people whose sole underlying condition is a mental disorder.