Debt & disease: As opportunism overcame COVID-19 concerns, companies raised record debt financings in 2020
January 29, 2021 | By Julius Melnitzer FP Dealmakers: With most of the pre-funding and stockpiling done in 2020, executives see a quieter year ahead Resiliency was the name of the game as opportunism overcame fear in Canada’s corporate debt capital markets in 2020. Even as COVID-19 ravaged the globe, many companies, motivated no doubt […]
After the pandemic, business risk rises: RiskMap 21
January 26, 2021 | By Julius Melnitzer Businesses’ full throttle on financial recovery and growth at pandemic’s end could mask heightened compliance and risk issues, according to a leading forecaster of global business risks. “Legal teams and compliance officers must ensure the critical issues they oversee retain prominence, when so much focus at senior levels […]
Shareholders’ agreements: best weapon to fight corporate oppression
January 4, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer If there’s doubt in anyone’s mind about the superior protection shareholders’ agreements provide for aggrieved investors, the Ontario Superior Court’s decision in Murray v. Pier 21 makes the case in spades. “We frequently get pushback from clients who say that they have perfect relationships with the other shareholders, […]
Does the Competition Bureau have Canada’s grocers in its sights?
November 30, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer Canada’s Competition Bureau may be seeking new authority to curb major grocers’ inordinate bargaining power with their suppliers. In a speech to the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG) last Wednesday, Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell referenced the current debate over the need for a code of conduct […]
What to expect from Canada’s new privacy legislation
November 15, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer The feds are tabling new privacy legislation on Monday. The proposed statutes are the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA) and the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act (PIDPTA). Although there’s no concrete information available about the proposed laws’ contents, privacy expert David Young of David Young Law […]
Supreme Court decision aggravates termination clause problems for employers
Julius Melnitzer | November 2, 2020 A recent decision from the Supreme Court of Canada suggests the test for employers seeking to limit recovery for unlawful termination damages related to long-term incentive plans may be insurmountable in practice. Read more.
CRA asks SCC if Loblaws can avoid tax on Barbados earnings
October 30, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to consider whether Loblaw must pay Canadian tax on the profits of a Barbados-based subsidiary. The appeal could have landmark consequences for both the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) and the foreign accrual property income (FAPI) regime. “This could be a major […]
The Sharing Economy: a book worth sharing
October 28, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer Nowhere, perhaps, are legal issues emerging more rapidly than in the context of sharing platforms like Airbnb, UBER, LYFT and TURO. What makes this even more interesting for lawyers is that it’s not just the legal issues that are emerging: the industries buying into this model are emerging […]
Canada’s enforcement void: of tax cheats and money launderers
October 18, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer Tax cheats and money launderers, it seems, are all the rage in Canadian and international news again. But chances are we’ll hear little about how governments have forced them to disgorge their ill-gotten gains. That’s because the cheats and their advisors have mastered the art of corporate disguise, […]
Commercial reality alive and well in transfer pricing world
The Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) has snafued the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) attempt to upend transfer pricing arrangements between Cameco Corporation and its Swiss subsidiary – in what amounted to a no-holds barred attack on the commercial realities facing multinational companies. In the CRA’s view of the world, respect for contracts and the separate […]