The CBA has made a number of submissions so far this year that will be of interest to lawyers practising in the business and corporate area. We’ve queued them up for you:
- Voluntary disclosure program – There were a total of four submissions in August on this topic, one from the Joint Committee on Taxation of the Canadian Bar Association and Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada; one from the Competition Law Section (need link once posted); and two from the Charities Law Section, one to the Director General of the Charities Directorate and the other to the Assistant Commissioner of the Voluntary Disclosures Program.
- NAFTA – This one had input from 10 CBA Sections. It recommends recommends aligning a revised NAFTA with next-generation trade agreements and broadening the scope of cross-border trade.
- MERCOSUR - CBA comments on a potential Free Trade Agreement between Canada and MERCOSUR. It supports an agreement and highlights the importance of transparency, competition and human rights.
- Small business deduction rules – The Joint Canadian Bar Association/Canadian Professional Accountants of Canada Taxation Committee comments on how CRA will administer changes to the Small Business Deduction Rules.
- Child labour - The CBA responds to the International Labour Organization's consultation for the Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labour.
- Pensions - The CBA comments on changes to regulations aiming to improve the long-term sustainability of pension plans. The CBA supports the efforts to harmonize pension legislation across jurisdictions and suggests amendments to clarify the regulations.
- Use requirement in Trade-Marks Act - The CBA explains its concerns about proposed changes to the use requirement for trademark registration and suggests mitigating measures.
- Work permits - The CBA recommends improvements to the Business Immigration Program to support Canada's economic development.
- Information requests - The CBA supports the Competition Bureau's Draft Bulletin Regarding Information Requests From Private Parties in Proceedings for Recovery of Loss or Damages and suggests changes to strengthen the Bulletin's guidance.
- Preclearance - The CBA says that amendments to the Preclearance Act would grant highly intrusive powers to foreign officials operating on Canadian soil, diminishing the rights of Canadians and other travellers, without adequate safeguards.
- PIPEDA - The CBA comments on the Parliamentary review of PIPEDA, looking at consent, the right to be forgotten, order making powers, non-binding advance opinions, public availability and public information, and adequacy.
- Sister ships - The CBA recommends clarity and consistency in Federal Court Rules on sister ship arrest.
- Bill C-25 - The CBA comments on amendments to the Canadian Business Corporations Act and the Competition Act in Bill C-25, welcoming changes to encourage diversity in corporate leadership and suggesting other improvements.
- Insurance - The CBA views the proposed regulations as a step towards better protecting Canadians and compensating victim of maritime passenger accidents, but suggests improvements.
- CASL - The CBA recommends not bringing the Private Right of Action provisions of Canada's Anti-Spam Laws into effect until after the scheduled review of CASL.
See also CBA Influence, which is published the first Tuesday of every month, for blogs on most CBA submissions. Past blogs are also available online.