Two prominent NS lawyers joining McInnes Cooper as partners

Maximum penalties under the Underused Housing Tax Act (UHTA) are significant: initial penalties for a single taxation year can be as high as…

Understanding the taxation of Indigenous Peoples’ governments and structuring of their economic development initiatives is more relevant than…

Social host liability for injury to a third party – and coverage of social host liability claims – isn’t straightforward. Social host…

Disputes between shareholders of a corporation, and shareholders and their corporation, are stressful and complicated, and often attract…

On April 30, 2024, the Ontario Divisional Court decided the victim of a serious cyber security incident was required to produce to privacy…

Didn’t file your taxes on time – or made a mistake in your tax filings? All might not be lost. There is the possibility of relief from the…

Updated April 16, 2024. If you’re a trustee of a trust that might no longer serve its purpose or is sitting idle, now’s the time to…

Updated February 9, 2024. On December 15, 2023, Bill C-56, the Affordable Housing and Groceries Act, became law, giving developers of…

Can a business providing both exempt supplies and taxable supplies of goods and services claim Input Tax Credits (ITCs) under the Excise Tax Act…

Owning your own business offers many opportunities. But it also carries inherent risks, including exposure to personal liability. These three…

Most initially believed the Underused Housing Tax Act would impose reporting and tax obligations only on non-Canadian and non-permanent…

All businesses need written contracts. Determining what written contracts are essential depends on many factors, including the nature of the…

Updated July 7, 2023. Bill 24 An Act to Amend the Business Corporations Act effected significant amendments to the New Brunswick Business…

In November 2022, the Ontario Court of Appeal definitively decided an organization whose information systems are breached by a malicious third…

Updated December 2, 2024. Beginning December 31, 2022, both Canadian and non-Canadian trustees, partners of a partnership, private…

On November 10, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada examined the interaction of arbitration and bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings, deciding a…

The Supreme Court of Canada’s “Jordan” framework, introducing strict timelines for determining unreasonable delay in the context of…

Lawyers and accountants advise clients on options for organizing their personal and business affairs in a tax-efficient way. Clients enter into…

On May 22, 2010 (affectionately known as “Bitcoin Pizza Day”), a Floridian bought two Papa John's pizzas with Bitcoin. The day is famous…

On March 18, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that an Indigenous government can still satisfy the impecuniosity requirement for an…

On April 1, 2022, changes to the Newfoundland and Labrador Corporations Act proposed in Bill 24 An Act to Amend the Corporations Act will take…

Updated June 17, 2024. On May 17, 2022, the P.E.I. Non-disclosure Agreements Act took effect, significantly restricting the use of…

On January 26, 2022, the British Columbia Court of Appeal extended an injunction preventing protesters from interfering with a logging…

More and more people are using smart contracts: the global smart contracts market was valued at USD $145M in 2020; it’s projected to be valued…

Updated October 7, 2024. The name of the game is to have a plan to mitigate the risk that a data breach will happen – but be ready when it…

On November 4, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the law regarding when a judgment debtor “carries on business” for the purpose of…

On July 29, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada refined the test for determining when a plaintiff has discovered a claim for the purpose of a…

Many employers use equity compensation plans like employee stock option plans to attract, motivate, and retain talent. One reason stock options…

Close to five million Canadians who didn’t usually work from home, did so in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as public health…

The Supreme Court of Canada continues to develop and clarify the organizing principle of good faith performance in contract law. In its 2014…

Estate planning is a customized process; the goal is to create a plan that’s best for a person’s unique situation. And while all estate…

The Supreme Court of Canada, in the 2014 case of Bhasin v. Hrynew, recognized a general organizing principle of good faith performance in…

All trusts that continue to be in effect past December 31, 2020, will be subject to new reporting requirements and harsh non-compliance…

We updated this publication on July 11, 2023. Spurred by the COVID-19 Pandemic and bricks-and-mortar closures, businesses – from SMEs to…

Updated November 21, 2024. The rapid adoption of ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) principles and the growth of mandatory disclosure…

On June 26, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada released Uber Technologies Inc. v. Heller, a much-awaited decision regarding the enforceability of…

The financial technology (Fintech) industry uses technology to support and enhance financial and banking services.

McInnes Cooper partner Michael Melvin and Student-at-Law Myriam Whalen provide a detailed Legal Digest in the Spring 2020 Edition of The…

The Supreme Court of Canada recently released a much-awaited decision regarding the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). The CCAA is…

The global COVID-19 (a.k.a. Coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2) outbreak has implications for many commercial relationships, its evolving nature and…

NOTE: On July 23, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed with the Newfoundland & Labrador Court of Appeal’s decision respecting the law,…

NOTE: The new tax rules for employee stock option plans take effect on July 1, 2021. Learn more at Limited Options: New Employee Stock Option…

On December 23, 2019, the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal effectively eliminated the category of “knowledgeable fact witness” in…

Effective December 1, 2019, the New Brunswick government will finally finalize the reform of N.B.’s money judgment enforcement regime with the…

Updated July 10, 2024. If you “own” a company incorporated under either the Canada Business Corporations Act or under the corporate…

Updated January 26, 2023. Prince Edward Island corporations were formerly governed by the P.E.I. Companies Act – legislation that was…

This publication has been updated as at July 8, 2022. Changes to the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) over the past several years have…

Whether a provincial court will grant police a “production order” under the Criminal Code of Canada requiring a non-Canadian company to…

Recently, the Federal Court of Appeal confirmed that a tax debtor’s bankruptcy does not extinguish the federal Crown’s priority to proceeds…

A corporation does not always sail in calm or safe waters. Cash shortages, unattainable or unmet goals, Board disagreements over the best course…

When growing your business, you face many decisions, including choosing the business structure that is right for you. Your legal team can be…

On June 28, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed a Canadian court can issue an interlocutory injunction (an order requiring an entity or…

On June 23, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that in a contest between the choice of forum clause in Facebook’s online terms of use…

On June 2, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that where a plaintiff advances a claim for negligently caused psychological or psychiatric…

On April 13, 2017, Canada’s federal government introduced legislation that, if passed into law, will legalize recreational cannabis in Canada.…

Social media platforms, like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook and GooglePlus, arguably have more followers and are more closely…

Doing business with the public sector creates an often overlooked – but very real – risk that the confidential information a business…

Connections between Canadians and the U.S. have never been as numerous or transparent as they are now: many Canadians own U.S. property, have…

Updated August 19, 2024. All shareholders – whether in a startup, a small or large business or a family-owned business – can benefit from…

On September 9, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada decided in Musqueam Indian Band v. Musqueam Indian Band (Board of Review) that an Indian band…

The Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal recently affirmed the test for confirming a cause of action and thus resetting a limitation period…

Updated January 27, 2023. A key legal decision in starting or growing your business is choosing the business structure that’s right for…

When a business responds to a public sector Request for Proposal or Expression of Interest (both of which we’ll refer to as an RFP for these…

Subsection 55(2) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) is an anti-avoidance provision intended to prevent capital gains stripping by deeming an…

Incorporation offers legal advantages to sole proprietors of small businesses, including certain tax advantages. However, when a corporation…

On November 13, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) effected a significant development in Canadian contract law by recognizing the…

Updated August 25, 2022. Many believe that only public companies or large, established companies with many shareholders need to be concerned…

Updated February 17, 2021. Trusts offer a very useful estate planning solution for a wide variety of special estate planning situations.…

Updated June 5, 2024. A general security agreement (GSA) is the most common form of personal property security to secure commercial loans and…