The link #21 ... July 2005

The Bijural Revision Services Unit (Taxation and Comparative Law) of the Legislative Revision Services Group of the Department of Justice of Canada is pleased to keep you posted on the most recent harmonization news.

Seminar on the Harmonization of Federal Tax Legislation and Canadian Bijuralism: October 5, 2005.

The Department of Justice and the Association de planification fiscale et financière (A.P.F.F.) are preparing a seminar on the harmonization of federal tax legislation and Canadian bijuralism.  This seminar will be held in Quebec City on October 5, during the first day of the A.P.F.F.'s annual Conference.  

The presentations will focus on recent developments in the area of the harmonization of federal tax legislation as well as the results of research projects. The topics that will be discussed include an analysis of the concept of property in civil law and in common law (Prof. Aline Grenon), the status of employee or self-employed worker in federal law (Hon. Judge Archambault, T.C.C.) problems related to trusts and powers of appointment in a bijural environment (Me Sandra Hassan), the limitation of tax debts (Me Josée Vigeant), the collection of tax debts from a partnership (Prof. Charlaine Bouchard), indefeasible vesting (Me Véronique Denys) and questions related to bijuralism in the context of international commercial transactions (Me André Ouellette).

We hope to see you at the Seminar. If you wish to attend the seminar, please contact the A.P.F.F. (514-866-2733) for further information.

Revised Legislative Proposals

The Minister of Finance, Ralph Goodale, released on July 18, 2005, Revised Legislative Proposals to amend the Income Tax Act. The proposals relate to the taxation of income of non-resident trusts and foreign investment entities as well as a number of other technical amendments. Among the proposals are amendments related to bijuralism.

Part 3 of these proposals deals exclusively with amendments related to bijuralism. These proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act concern the concepts of "joint and several liability" / "solidary liability", "tangible property" / "corporeal property", "intangible property" / "incorporeal property", "personal property" / "movable property", "real property" / "immovable property" and "interest" / "right". The proposed amendments are not intended to change the current application of the amended provisions; they purport to reflect the concepts and terminology of the common law and the civil law in both official languages.

The other parts of the legislative proposals also include harmonized provisions where the proposed amendments refer to any of the concepts listed above. We will keep you informed of the legislative progress of these proposals.

Canadian Legislative Bijuralism Website

In the previous publication of The Link, we presented the Canadian Legislative Bijuralism website. This site is now available at the following address: www.bijurilex.gc.ca. Its purpose is to provide information about the implications and challenges of bijuralism in the federal legislation of Canada. It is an exhaustive source for documents and other resources on the subject of legislative bijuralism. It was also intended as a place to share and promote knowledge of this subject.

This site contains, first, the research studies undertaken with respect to Canadian bijuralism, and secondly, the main achievements in legislative bijuralism. Please note that this site also includes a bibliography and a search engine.

The Canadian Legislative Bijuralism website was created by a group of lawyers working within the Legislative Services Branch of the Department of Justice Canada in collaboration with colleagues from Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism of the Department of Justice Canada.

We invite you to add our site in your bookmarks.