Tax Court of Canada Update
The tax court does not know when it will open. The earliest they will know will be sometime in June.
It will be 90 days from knowing to actually restarting court cases.
The first date that they may know when they can restart is May 24th.
Motions will be heard on a priority basis.
They will go to virtual conferences where possible.
Cases that were adjourned to C 19 will be dealt with first.
General proceedings will be heard before informal proceedings.
60% of the informal court cases are self-litigated or litigated with an agent.
The TCC is not equipped to do on line cases as they have not converted to digital. The court wants to go virtual but they are not funded for that.
Court rooms are not equipped for virtual trials.
There are health and safety issues.
They are going to have all kinds of logistical problems in restarting due to social distancing. They have to be trained in the use of the technology.
The TCC can not work remotely as all paper files have to remain at the court house.
There are tons of issues for them, judges travel issues, as they all reside in Ottawa as per the law.
Court sittings will be restricted to the largest cities. Toronto has the biggest backlog.
They will sit over the summer if court proceeds.
Tax Audit cases will be a high priority
Conference calls will be dealt with on a case by case basis, by the judges.
Expect amendments to the ETA and ITA in terms of deadlines.
Public can still attend all hearings.
Settlement conferences will not be on line.