Written By Ed Kroft, Jehad Haymour, Sophie Virji and Taylor Page

The COVID-19 outbreak prompted the following notices or directions from the federal courts which deal with tax matters.

Tax Court of Canada

On March 23, 2020, the Tax Court of Canada (TCC) announced the following changes to its services:

• All TCC sittings and conference calls scheduled between March 30, 2020, through May 1, 2020, have been cancelled.
• Sittings scheduled after May 1, 2020, are expected to proceed, however, the TCC will reassess whether the judicial sittings schedule will have to be further altered on April 14, 2020.
• In computing timelines, the period beginning on March 16, 2020, and ending on May 1, 2020, will be excluded for purposes of:
  • the Tax Court of Canada Rules (General Procedure),
  • all other Rules under the Tax Court of Canada Act, and
  • any Order or Direction of the TCC made prior to March 16, 2020.
• Any applicable statutory filing deadlines outside the TCC's jurisdiction will remain in effect. Parties are encouraged to file their documents electronically using the TCC's online filing system or by fax at 613-957-9034.
• Parties who file documents electronically during this time are exempted from any requirement to file paper copies. The Registry will not process any documents filed during this time until the TCC's operations resume.
• In cases where no statutory deadlines apply, parties are asked to wait until after the TCC resumes its operations to file other documents and requests.

Federal Court

On March 17, 2020, the Federal Court (FC) announced the following changes to its services:

• All FC hearings scheduled to be heard between March 17, 2020, and April 17, 2020 (the Suspension Period), including hearings scheduled to proceed by way of telephone conference, are adjourned.
• All General Sittings falling within the Suspension Period are cancelled. Matters made returnable at a General Sittings during the Suspension Period will be placed on the roll of the first General Sittings scheduled to be held at least two weeks after the end of the Suspension Period for each relevant city.
• Urgent matters, and matters that need to proceed as scheduled for exceptional reasons, are excepted from the Suspension Period. The FC will determine what constitutes "urgent" and "exceptional" on a case-by-case basis.
• In computing timelines for Orders and Directions of the Court made prior to March 18, 2020, as well as under the Federal Courts Rules, subsection 18.1(2) of the Federal Courts Act and paragraph 72(2)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the time included under the Suspension Period will be excluded.
• Any applicable statutory filing deadlines outside the FC's jurisdiction will remain in effect. After the Suspension Period, parties will be able to request an extension of time for deadlines in the applicable statutes if they are unable to meet the filing deadlines under the present circumstances.
• Parties shall provide the Judicial Administrator of the FC with their mutual dates of non-availability to reschedule hearings that have been adjourned, no sooner than May 1, 2020, and no later than May 15, 2020.
• Parties are encouraged to file their documents electronically using the FC's online filing system, or via email to FC_Reception_CF@cas-satj.gc.ca for urgent documents.
• Parties who file documents electronically during the Suspension Period are exempted from any requirement to file paper copies.
• Personal service of documents filed electronically by a party other than the Crown in proceedings brought under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or the Citizenship Act will be effected by the Registry on the Crown, the Attorney General of Canada or any other Minister of the Crown, relieving the applicant from the requirement to effect personal service.
• Parties wishing to file paper copies of documents are asked to telephone the applicable recipient department to make arrangements with the on-site staff at the FC.

Federal Court of Appeal

On March 19, 2020, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) announced the following changes to its services:

• All FCA hearings scheduled to be heard between March 17, 2020, and April 17, 2020 (the Suspension Period), including hearings scheduled to proceed by way of telephone conference, are adjourned.
• Urgent matters are excepted from the Suspension Period. The Court will determine what constitutes "urgent" on a case-by-case basis.
• In computing timelines for any direction or court order, as well as under the Federal Courts Rules, the time included under the Suspension Period will be excluded.
• The Judicial Administrator of the FCA will contact counsel and parties involved in matters adjourned during the Suspension Period to coordinate possible new dates for hearings when circumstances permit.
• Until further notice, FCA Registry operations will continue with significantly reduced staff. Staff will be available to receive court filings at any of the FCA registry offices, but parties should expect a significantly decreased level of service.
• Parties commencing appeals and applications under sections 27 and 28 of the Federal Courts Act remain subject to the statutory filing deadlines. These parties are invited to file their appeals and applications during those deadlines.
• From March 17, 2020, through April 13, 2020, the FCA will accept electronically-filed court documents via email at information@fca-caf.gc.ca, provided those documents are transmitted in PDF format. These filings cannot exceed 25MB.
• Parties who file documents electronically during the Suspension Period are exempted from any requirement to file paper copies.
• Parties may request an extension of time for filing deadlines as provided by the Federal Courts Act or the Federal Courts Rules if they are unable to meet the deadlines in light of the present circumstances. Parties are asked to request these extensions once the Court operations return to normal.
• Where, by reason of a statutory deadline, service of a document is required to be made during the Suspension Period, proof of service may be filed after the end of the Suspension Period.

Supreme Court of Canada

On March 16, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) announced the following changes to its services:

• Hearings scheduled for March 24, 25, and 26, 2020, are tentatively rescheduled to the month of June 2020. All other currently scheduled hearings remain on the agenda until further notice.
• Parties may seek adjournments or request to appear via teleconference or videolink. Physical access to the Supreme Court of Canada building will be restricted to those persons who are necessary to the proceedings before the SCC.
• The SCC has not yet announced an upcoming suspension period. As such, the SCC has likewise not yet commented on the impact any future delays may have on the computation of timelines.
• At this time, there are no changes to the filing deadlines. Parties filing documents within the deadlines provided under the Supreme Court Act and the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada are permitted to file those documents by email at registry-greffe@scc-csc.ca. Original paper copies must be filed subsequently within a reasonable time as circumstances permit.
• The Court will continue to issue judgments on applications for leave and on appeal for the time being. Until further notice, all media briefings on judgments on appeal will only be provided by teleconference.

The Bennett Jones Tax group will continue to provide updates as further details are released. We remain available during this period to answer questions and provide advice regarding how these measures might impact your business interests, including any tax audits, disputes and litigation.