In this issue - #134 April 30, 2010

Pushor Mitchell is pleased to welcome Mark Danielson to the firm as an associate lawyer. Mark was called to the British Columbia Bar in 2010 after completing his articles with the firm. He will be practicing primarily in the areas of business law and general civil litigation and is looking forward to serving our existing and new clients in these areas. Mark can be contacted at (250) 869-1284 or danielson@pushormitchell.com

Changes to the Motor Vehicle Act are expected to come into force in the fall of 2010 which will make penalties for impaired drivers in British Columbia among the toughest in the country.

For two Winnipeg teachers, the last several months have surely been an excruciating and humiliating experience.  If they were ever going to experience a “What was I thinking?” moment, this was definitely it.

The Canadian Real Estate Association approved changes to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) in March of 2010.  Previously, a seller was required to use a real estate agent throughout the entire sales process if they wished to have their property listed for sale on MLS.  The changes to the rules provide flexibility to property owners and allow them to list their property on MLS without using an agent throughout the whole process.  With the recent changes, a property can be listed on MLS by paying a flat fee to an agent and the property owner can have more control over the sale of their home.  The listing agent is required to pass along the seller’s contact information to prospective purchasers if asked.

April 9th marked the anniversary of the attack by Canadian forces on Vimy Ridge, France, in 1917.  There are good business lessons to be learned from the way Canadian military commanders approached their task.

Despite common perception, there is no automatic age where a child can make the decision as to which parent they will live with, nor should there be.  Although a child’s views may be one factor among many to be considered, it is not fair to the child to ask them to decide between their two parents.  To do so may be damaging to the psychological health and well-being of the child.

Every once in a while it is a good idea to dust off copies of your major contracts and take a look and see what they say.  What is considered a major contract varies from business to business, but some of the usual suspects include major suppliers, major customers, key employees, commercial leases and equipment leases.  Major contracts are those which present the greatest benefit and pose the greatest risk to your business.  It is a good practice to make sure they are in order, unexpired, being complied with, and that you have a contingency plan in place if there is an unexpected breach.

As discussed in previous articles, the combination of Canadian income tax consequences that arise on death in respect of foreign real property and foreign taxes that may apply in respect of that same property may result in double-taxation. Also as discussed in a previous article, one way that such double-taxation may be mitigated or eliminated is by the application of a tax treaty. Another way that such double-taxation may be mitigated or eliminated is through the foreign tax credit.

Fraudulent emails claiming to be from the CRA  have been making the rounds recently. The emails make reference to the person being owed a refund and then ask them to click on a link to access the refund form. The link then redirects the user to a phishing website where the user may be tricked into supplying sensitive information such as your SIN. The information is collected and used for malicious purposes, such as identity fraud.