Associate Judges Added to Tax Court Rules

Summary#

This is a proposed set of rule changes called Rules Amending Certain Rules Made Under the Tax Court of Canada Act. It would give the new office of associate judge in the Tax Court of Canada the same powers as regular judges across the Court’s different rule books. The notice was published March 18, 2023 and the public can comment for 60 days.

What it does#

• Adds the same two provisions to several Tax Court rule sets: an associate judge
  • "has all the powers of a judge" under that set of rules, and
  • "may sit and act at any time and at any place in Canada" and, when doing so, "constitutes the Court".
• Places these additions into:
  • the Tax Court of Canada Rules (General Procedure) and the Tax Court of Canada Rules (Informal Procedure),
  • the rules that deal specifically with the Canada Pension Plan, the Employment Insurance Act, the Excise Tax Act (informal procedure), the Customs Act (informal procedure), and the Excise Act, 2001 (informal procedure).
• Follows the creation of the associate judge position in the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1 (royal assent June 23, 2022) and the direction in the Tax Court of Canada Act that associate judges’ powers be set out in the Court’s rules.

Who's affected#

• People and businesses involved in tax, customs or related appeals before the Tax Court of Canada.
• Lawyers and representatives who appear in those cases.
• The Court’s judges and staff, because associate judges would take on judicial tasks.
• It’s not clear the changes affect any group outside Tax Court business (the notice says no expected extra costs and no impact on small businesses).

Why it matters#

• It formally lets associate judges carry out the same courtroom duties as full judges. That could give the Court more flexibility to hear cases and manage workloads.
• Associate judges can act anywhere in Canada, which may help with scheduling and access to hearings.
• The government says there are no incremental costs expected from these rule changes.
• This is a proposed change. It is not final until the rule committee’s proposal is approved and the rules are registered.