OPEN CALLS FOR COMMENT

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The federal government has proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act (“ITA”) under sections 68 and 69 of Bill C-47, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 28, 2023.

The Law Society of Ontario is concerned about this proposal and has sent in a submission to the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance. They are also  hoping to secure an appearance before the Committee.

The  Federation of Law Societies of Canada has also sent a submission.

FOLA would like to hear from Law Association members in respect of anticipated impacts of these proposed changes -  specifically, regarding the practical effects these changes will have on sole practitioners and lawyers working in small firms.   Please send your comments to katie at katie.robinette@fola.ca by June 5th.  

There is a government of Canada backgrounder available here. It sets out the information that will be required to be filed in respect of the new notifiable transactions (copied below) and a CRA information form in respect of the current reportable (avoidance) transaction regime. 

NOTIFIABLE TRANSACTIONS

It is expected that every information return required to be filed in respect of a notifiable transaction must: 

• describe the expected, claimed or purported tax treatment and all potential benefits expected to result from the transaction;
• describe any contractual protection with respect to the transaction;
• describe any contingent fees with respect to the transaction;
• identify and describe the transaction in sufficient detail for the Minister to be able to understand the tax structure of the transaction;
• identify the provisions – relied upon for the tax treatment – of any one or more of
  • the Act,
  • the Regulations,
  • the Income Tax  Application Rules,
  • a tax treaty, or
  • any other enactment that is relevant in computing tax or any other amount payable or refundable to a person under the Act or in determining any amount that is relevant for the purposes of that computation;
• identify, to the best knowledge of the person who is filing the return, every person required under subsection 237.4(4) of the Act to file an information return in respect of the transaction; and
• provide such other information as is required by the information return.

LAO is consulting on proposed amendments to the fees that private bar lawyers are paid for doing legal aid work. LAO is proposing to: 

• increase the hourly rates for roster lawyers and the amount paid for block fees.

• increase the number of hours allocated under the hourly tariff.

• allow per diem duty counsel to bill according to their tier rate. 

LAO is interested in any other ideas regarding changes to the tariff, particularly those that could help address backlog issues in the courts. 

LAO is seeking feedback on the following: 

• Rules amending the Legal Aid Services Rules (Fees and disbursements).

The consultation is open from June 9 to July 9, and you may participate by providing a written submission either directly through the LAO website or by emailing Katie at katie.robinette@fola.ca and/or Terry Brandon (FOLA’s Legal Aid Chair) at terrylbrandon@acriminaldefence.ca by June 30th and we will consider your comments in our formal submission to Legal Aid. 

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) is seeking feedback on a proposal to establish a permanent framework for target benefit plans in regulations made under the Pensions Benefits Act.  This framework will impact how the value of pension benefits is calculated for the purposes of family law matters for all Multi-Employer Pension Plans (MEPPs) that can reduce accrued benefits. A consultation paper was posted on the Regulatory Registry on March 15, 2023 and will remain open for comments until June 30, 2023.

MOF intends to post the proposed regulations, including on family law matters, in stages.

As context for this proposal, in 2007, MOF introduced temporary regulations to exempt eligible MEPPs that could reduce accrued benefits from solvency funding requirements. The regulations and exemption were intended to be temporary until a permanent and comprehensive framework could be developed for these MEPPs to ensure that they were well-funded and well-governed. Amendments to the Pension Benefits Act were subsequently made in 2010, 2017 and 2019 to establish a permanent framework for these MEPPs that would provide target benefits. These amendments have not yet been proclaimed as regulations are required to implement the changes.

With respect to impacts on family law matters, the proposed regulations would adopt the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ new standard of practice for calculating the commuted value of target benefits. This standard provides for the commuted value of target benefits to be calculated using going concern assumptions to account for how the variability in expected investment returns and other plan experience may affect benefits.

 The proposed regulations would require the use of this standard to calculate the commuted value of pension benefits provided by all MEPPs that can reduce accrued benefits, including for the purposes of family law matters. This approach would only be used for members with a termination date or family law valuation date on or after the effective date of the proposed regulations. 

FOLA will be preparing a Submission.  If you would like to send comments to us for consideration in our Submission, please send those to Katie at katie.robinette@fola.ca by June 15th.

Interested parties should review the Consultation Paper.

If you would like to comment directly to the government, you can do so by emailing pension.feedback@ontario.ca.  Their deadline is June 30, 2023.  

The five-year legislative review of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA) has been officially launched.  The CYFSA is the primary legislation governing child, youth and family services that are provided through the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. This includes services such as child welfare, adoption, youth justice and out-of-home care services, as well as services for First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and youth. 

The legislation requires that a formal review and a public report be completed every five years. The CYFSA was proclaimed in 2018, and the 2023 review will be the first review of the legislation. 

  FOLA will be preparing a formal Submission. If you would like to contribute your input for consideration, please send your comments to Katie at katie.robinette@fola.ca by June 30th. 

If you would like to share your feedback independently, please submit a written submission to CYFSA@ontario.caor fill out the survey found online here by Friday July 14, 2023.

The Law Society of Ontario is seeking feedback from the professions and the public on the future of the Certified Specialist Program. 

LEARN MORE HERE

FOLA is preparing a formal Submission. If you would like to send your input for consideration in our Submission, please send those to Katie at katie.robinette@fola.ca by September 20th. 

If you would like to prepare your own submission, you can do so directly until October 1, 2023. Learn more here. 

The Partial Settlement Subcommittee is a newly-formed subcommittee of the Civil Rules Committee to consider whether or not a new Rule is needed to address the disclosure of partial settlements.

The subcommittee will consider whether these common law rules should be set out in a Rule to ensure that the disclosure obligations are clear to all litigants and if so, to consider what terms should and should not be included.

FOLA met with the Subcommittee on May 23rd.  Stay tuned for updates.

See full letter to FOLA