Stay informed on the latest business and legal insights and events.
Updates
2007 Federal Budget: Retirement Plans
March 26, 2007
On March 19, 2007,
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tabled his second federal budget which contained
some unexpected proposals aimed at helping seniors achieve semi-retirement
while, at the same time, beginning to address potential workforce shortages and
aging population issues faced by Canadian
employers.
ASC Annual Continuous Disclosure Review Program
March 20, 2007
Last month, the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) released the
report on its 16th annual continuous disclosure (CD) review program, which
involved examination by ASC staff of CD documents filed by Alberta reporting
issuers (RIs). A stated objective of the program is to improve the completeness,
quality and timeliness of disclosure.
Reaction to the 2007 Federal Budget - Tax Concerns
March 20, 2007
On March 19, 2007, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty released the 2007 federal budget. The budget's focus was predominantly on being friendly to the environment and Canadian families. Nonetheless, the budget contained many proposed changes of interest to the business community. Some will have far reaching consequences. This article summarizes of some of the more significant tax highlights of the budget.
Intellectual Property: Is Your Business Name Adequately Protected?
March 19, 2007
There are three types of name registrations – trade names,
corporate names and trademarks – each of which has a
different level of protection. If protecting your name is important
to you, you should carefully consider which registration is best
suited to your needs.
Alberta Government Tables Lobbyist Legislation
March 15, 2007
The Alberta
government began the latest session of the legislature by introducing its new
lobbyists legislation, the Lobbyists Act. The Act, which had its first reading
on March 7, 2007, will create a publicly-available registry of lobbyists and
will require the filing of returns detailing the identity and activities of
lobbyists. The Act also prohibits consultant lobbyists and organization
lobbyists from providing paid advice to the government or a prescribed
provincial entity.
Continued Debate Over Income Trusts
March 07, 2007
In November 2006, we reported on the Minister of Finance's announcement to tax Specified Investment Flow-Through (SIFT) income trusts and limited partnerships While controversy and public debate has continued over these proposals, the Department of Finance has released draft legislation on December 21, 2006 to largely reflect the proposals first announced on October 31, 2006.
Since Machtinger
February 28, 2007
Written for the Ontario Bar Association Continuing Legal Education
program as part of the 6th Annual Current Issues in Employment Law:
Developments in Supreme Court Doctrine.
Report on the ISS-2007 Canadian Proxy Voting Guidelines
February 15, 2007
In anticipation of
the upcoming annual meeting season, this article addresses some of the
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommendations with respect to general
voting guidelines concerning items frequently put before securityholders at
annual meetings.
Henley v. R.: Welcome Guidance on Non-Section 7 Stock Options
February 01, 2007
Anu Nijhawan and Andrew Bateman, "Henley v. R.: Welcome Guidance on
Non-Section 7 Stock Options" (2007) XVIII(6) Taxation of
Executive Compensation and Retirement 785. Reprinted with the
permission of Federated Press.
Recent Developments in Environmental Law - January 2007
January 28, 2007
This article introduces recent developments in environmental law at the federal level, provincially in Alberta and Ontario, and in the health and safety sector.
Case Comment: Abonyi v. Oxford (County)
January 15, 2007
"Case Comment: Abonyi v. Oxford
(County)," appeared in Volume 16, No.2, of
Environews, the Ontario Bar Association's Environmental
Law Section newsletter.
Stock Options Backdating: Part 2
January 15, 2007
Although widely associated with the US, the stock options
backdating issue is filtering
into Canada. Boards and management should both be reviewing the
area, to ensure their companies are not at risk. Published in the
January 2007 issue of Lexpert magazine as part of Barry
Reiter's regular column.
Case Comment: Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals Ltd.
January 01, 2007
"Case Comment: Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals Ltd.," appeared in
the January 2007 edition of Briefly Speaking, the Ontario
Bar Association's newsletter.
Reforms To Ontario Human Rights Commission A Concern For Employers
December 14, 2006
The Act to Amend the Human Rights Code (the Act) passed its
third reading on December 5, 2006. As a result of the Act,
there will be significant changes to the way human rights
complaints in Ontario are processed. Most significantly, there
will no longer be an investigation by the commission prior to
the hearing and complainants will have direct access to the
Tribunal, so it will take less time for a complaint to get heard
by the Tribunal.
Bennett Jones