The federal government has released draft legislative proposals to implement changes to the employee stock option tax regime announced in its 2019 budget. As promised in the budget, the proposals will impose an annual cap of $200,000 on employee stock options eligible for the stock option deduction under the Income Tax Act. They also confirm that […]
Canadian pension funds are welcoming proposed regulations from the U.S. Department of the Treasury that clarify the sweeping exemption from U.S. tax on real estate available to qualified foreign pension funds. “The previous regulatory framework reduced our demand for real estate in the U.S. and, as importantly, increased the cost and complexity of our structuring,” says […]
Mining was a bright spot, but trade tensions and prospects of higher interest rates sucked the life out of deal flow in the first half of 2019 Bay Street’s top dealmakers blamed trade headwinds and prospects of higher interest rates for disappointing issuer activity in the first half of the year, but expect the outlook […]
Our judges are more hands-off. Our system is less litigious. Our country is more welcoming to international witnesses. And seating a case here is just as convenient. Canada, and Toronto in particular, has emerged as a hub for international arbitration for many reasons — and US attorneys and in-house counsel would do well to heed […]
If it feels like the tariff and trade rules are changing every day, it’s because they are For lawyers working in international trade law – not to mention their clients – it’s a strange new world indeed. “We’ve been working forever in an atmosphere of liberal trade, and we’ve never seen anything like the current […]
Between the USMCA, the updated Patent Act and the newly written Trademarks Act, lots has changed When and if the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is ratified by all parties, US attorneys and in-house counsel seeking to prosecute or enforce their clients’ intellectual property rights in Canada will notice its impact immediately. The agreement, which is […]
A Nova Scotia arbitrator has ruled that sex addiction isn’t a disability that employers must accommodate, especially where the condition doesn’t affect the employee’s ability to perform their duties. The arbitrator, Augustus Richardson, also expressed doubt that a condition called “sex addiction” existed, noting it wasn’t generally recognized by an accredited professional body such as the American […]
Canada’s new Commissioner of Competition, Matthew Boswell, appointed just four months ago, has taken little time to make his mark as a man of his word. By initiating the first contested merger challenge since 2015, the first merger challenge ever involving software companies, the first involving a private equity company, and a rare challenge to […]
Canadians seeking extensions may experience lengthy delay The preferential status accorded Canadians in the renewal of “Blanket L” work permits in the United States appears to have ended abruptly. U.S. Blanket L petitions allow large multinationals to obtain blanket approval for temporary intracompany cross-border transfers for their employees. “For over 20 years, Canadians seeking Blanket […]
The impact of climate change on the insurance industry has made it a vocal supporter of remedial measures. “The insurance industry, which so often gets bad press, is leading the charge and deserves a shout-out,” says John Olah of Beard Winter LLP in Toronto. Earlier this month, the Insurance Bureau of Canada called on the […]