In April, draft legislative proposals to the Income Tax Act to address hybrid mismatch arrangements were released. The Joint Committee on Taxation of the Canadian Bar Association and Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, in a submission to Finance Canada, outlines several comments on key areas related to the draft legislative proposals.

The processing of work permits at visa offices is cause of concern and the Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association has suggestions on how to make it better. The Section, in a letter to Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, urges him to take immediate steps to improve processing time and procedures for Global Skills Strategy (GSS) and Outside Canada Work Permit Applications. Those steps are summarized below.

The Criminal Justice Section of the Canadian Bar Association generally supports Bill S-4 to clarify the language in the Criminal Code and update various provisions in response to COVID-19. But as it explains in a letter to Senator Mobina Jaffer, Chair of the Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, it needs to raise a few concerns.

The Pension and Benefits Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, in a letter to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, comments on pension investment risk management. Below is a summary of the Section’s contribution to the OSIF consultation paper.

The Competition Law and Foreign Investment Review Section of the Canadian Bar Association, in letters to the House of Commons and the Senate, warns against using Bill C-19, Budget Implementation Act, or BIA, to make non-urgent changes to the Competition Act.

The Criminal Justice Section of the Canadian Bar Association supports initiatives to combat racism, antisemitism and other forms of hatred. But as it explains in a letter to the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, it does not support using Bill C-19, the Budget Implementation Act, to outlaw Holocaust denial.

The federal government should consider expanding the definition of equity groups, and require employers to collect better data, to improve the Employment Equity Act. That is the essence of the message contained in a letter to the Task Force from the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Community Section, the Equality Subcommittee, the Labour and Employment Section and the Women Lawyers Forum of the Canadian Bar Association.

The Charities and Not-for-Profit Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association supports Senate Bill S-216, the Effective and Accountable Charities Act. That’s the essence of a letter to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland endorsing the amendments proposed to the Income Tax Act in the bill.

The Joint Committee on Taxation of the Canadian Bar Association and Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, in a letter to Finance Canada, comments on Excessive Interest and Financing Expenses Limitation, or EIFEL, proposals that were included as part of the draft legislation that was released on February 4, 2022.

International students are an important part of the solution to Canada’s labour shortages. That’s why the Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, in a letter to Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser, makes several key recommendations to improve the Post-Graduate Work Permit Program, or PGWPP.