Challenges to property assessments for annual municipal taxes cannot be based on a challenge to the mill rate itself. That rate is set by the various local municipal councils based on budget projections for the respective local municipalities for the coming year. However, two arguments that may arise  are when assessments have been based on […]

American inventor and signer of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin has been widely credited with coining the phrase “…in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” Although that may be so, at least property owners in a municipality may appeal their assessments each year and possibly catch a lucky break on the […]

Once a foreign national has achieved Permanent Residency (PR) status in Canada for at least five years, to retain this status is not particularly onerous. A person simply has to be within Canada 730 days within the 5-year period after attaining PR status; these days do not have to be consecutive so can be cumulative. […]

One of the most common visa applications Canadian immigration officials in embassies and consulates abroad face is on behalf of foreign spouses seeking Permanent Residency status within the family class category. Canadian citizens and residents holding Permanent Resident status are eligible to sponsor a foreign spouse. However, the application cannot be primarily for the purpose […]

When top-seeded professional tennis player Novak Djokovic was denied entry into Australia so he could defend his Australian Open title, many tennis fans around the world cried “foul.” Djokovic’s supporters wondered what the issue was. Australia’s Department of Immigration had granted a visa. The problem though was Djokovic had not been vaccinated against COVID-19. Like […]

There is not the drama of Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. However, a case in Calgary’s Court of Queen’s Bench is instructive for private landowners who may wish to build something on their own initiative on Crown land. A case in Calgary’s Court of Queen’s Bench has pitted a renowned local ranching family against the […]

Prospective home buyers should know that if they walk away from a contract to purchase, they could be liable to the seller for the difference between what was in the contract and a lower price that the house subsequently sold for. A Calgary couple faced that situation in a case reported in Giustini v Workman, […]

Personal relationships and sophisticated business knowledge are factors that a court will consider when looking into the backstory of a legal dispute in the corporate world. Farm Credit Canada v. Chan (2021, ABCA 168) is a recent decision from the Alberta Court of Appeal that provides an example.In this case, the two sole directors and […]