A-487-96
MONTRÉAL, QUEBEC, THE 16th DAY
OF JANUARY 1997
CORAM: THE
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HUGESSEN
THE
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DÉCARY
THE
HONOURABLE DEPUTY JUSTICE CHEVALIER
BETWEEN: RAYMONDE
BÉRARD,
Applicant,
AND:
MINISTER
OF NATIONAL REVENUE,
Respondent.
J
U D G M E N T
The application for
judicial review is dismissed.
James K. Hugessen
J.A.
Certified true translation
Stephen Balogh
A-487-96
CORAM: HUGESSEN
J.A. DÉCARY J.A.
CHEVALIER D.J.
BETWEEN:
RAYMONDE
BÉRARD,
Applicant,
AND:
MINISTER
OF NATIONAL REVENUE,
Respondent.
Hearing
held at Montréal
on
Thursday, January 16, 1997
Judgment
delivered at Montréal
on
Thursday, January 16, 1997
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
BY: HUGESSEN J.A.
A-487-96
CORAM: HUGESSEN
J.A.
DÉCARY J.A.
CHEVALIER
D.J.
BETWEEN:
RAYMONDE
BÉRARD,
Applicant,
AND:
MINISTER
OF NATIONAL REVENUE,
Respondent.
REASONS
FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
(Delivered
from the bench at Montréal
on
Thursday, January 16, 1997)
HUGESSEN J.A.
This is an
application for judicial review of a decision of the Tax Court of Canada that
affirmed the Minister’s determination that the applicant did not hold insurable
employment.
The only
question of law raised by counsel for the applicant relates to the
interpretation of paragraph 3(2)(c) of the Unemployment Insurance Act:
3. (2)
Excepted employment is
. . .
(c) subject to paragraph (d),
employment where the employer and employee are not dealing with each other at
arm's length and, for the purposes of this paragraph,
(i) the question of whether persons are not
dealing with each other at arm's length shall be determined in accordance with
the provisions of the Income Tax Act, and
(ii) where the employer is, within the meaning of
that Act, related to the employee, they shall be deemed to deal with each other
at arm's length if the Minister of National Revenue is satisfied that, having regard
to all the circumstances of the employment, including the remuneration paid,
the terms and conditions, the duration and the nature and importance of the
work performed, it is reasonable to conclude that they would have entered into
a substantially similar contract of employment if they had been dealing with
each other at arm's length;
. . . .
3.
(2) Les emplois exclus sont les suivants:
.
. .
c) sous réserve de l'alinéa d),
tout emploi lorsque l'employeur et l'employé ont entre eux un lien de dépendance,
pour l'application du présent alinéa:
(i) la question de savoir si des
personnes ont entre elles un lien de dépendance étant déterminée en conformité
avec la Loi de l'impôt sur le revenu,
(ii) l'employeur et l'employé,
lorsqu'ils sont des personnes liées entre elles, au sens de cette loi, étant
réputés ne pas avoir de lien de dépendance si le ministre du Revenu national
est convaincu qu'il est raisonnable de conclure, compte tenu de toutes les
circonstances, notamment la rétribution versée, les modalités d'emploi ainsi
que la durée, la nature et l'importance du travail accompli, qu'ils auraient
conclu entre eux un contrat de travail à peu près semblable s'ils n'avaient pas
eu lien de dépendance;
. . . .
According to
counsel, a teleological interpretation of this provision requires that only
those employments of which the conditions are inordinately favourable to the
employee be excepted. We disagree. Nothing in either the provision or the
context suggests such an interpretation. The clear purpose of the legislation
is to except contracts of employment between related persons that are not
similar in nature to a normal contract between persons dealing with each other
at arm’s length. It is in our view clear that this abnormality can just as
well take the form of conditions unfavourable to the employee as of favourable
conditions. In either case, the employer-employee relationship is abnormal and
can be suspected of having been influenced by factors other than economic
forces in the labour market.
The
application for judicial review will be dismissed.
James K. Hugessen
J.A.
Certified
true translation
Stephen Balogh
FEDERAL
COURT OF APPEAL
A-487-96
BETWEEN:
RAYMONDE
BÉRARD,
Applicant,
AND:
MINISTER
OF NATIONAL REVENUE,
Respondent.
REASONS
FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
FEDERAL
COURT OF APPEAL
NAMES
OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
COURT FILE NO.: A-487-96
STYLE OF CAUSE: RAYMONDE BÉRARD,
Applicant,
AND:
MINISTER
OF NATIONAL REVENUE,
Respondent.
PLACE OF HEARING: Montréal, Quebec
DATE OF HEARING: January 16, 1997
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE
HUGESSEN, THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DÉCARY AND THE HONOURABLE DEPUTY JUSTICE
CHEVALIER)
DELIVERED FROM THE
BENCH BY: The Honourable
Mr. Justice Hugessen
Dated: January 16, 1997
APPEARANCES:
Gilbert Nadon for
the applicant
Marie-Andrée
Legault for the respondent
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Campeau, Ouellet & Associés
Montréal,
Quebec for the applicant
George Thomson
Deputy Attorney
General
of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario for
the respondent
Email this Content