Date: 20051025
Docket: A-262-04
Citation: 2005 FCA 344
CORAM : DÉCARY J.A.
LÉTOURNEAU J.A.
NOËL J.A.
BETWEEN:
CLÉMENT SÉVIGNY
Appellant
and
MINISTER OF NATIONAL REVENUE
Respondent
Hearing held at Québec, Quebec, on October 20, 2005.
Judgment delivered at Ottawa, Ontario, on October 25, 2005.
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT BY: DÉCARY J.A.
CONCURRED IN BY: LÉTOURNEAU J.A.
NOËL J.A.
Date: 20051025
Docket: A-262-04
Citation: 2005 FCA 344
CORAM: DÉCARY J.A.
LÉTOURNEAU J.A.
NOËL J.A.
BETWEEN:
CLÉMENT SÉVIGNY
Appellant
and
MINISTER OF NATIONAL REVENUE
Respondent
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
DÉCARY J.
[1] This is an appeal from the decision of a deputy judge of the Tax Court of Canada (2004 TCC 250) concerning the insurability of the appellant's employment within the meaning of paragraphs 5(2)(i) and 5(3)(b) of the Employment Insurance Act.
[2] The judge found that the appellant, who is the spouse of the owner of the convenience store where he worked, would not have entered into a similar contract if his relationship with his employer had been at arm's length.
[3] Basically, the appellant objects to the judge's having preferred the version given by the appellant and his spouse at their initial meeting with an investigating officer over the revised version that they subsequently gave and later repeated in Court.
[4] The judge explained at length the reasons why he chose the initial version over the second, and it is not for this Court to substitute its choice for the informed choice of the judge. I should add that the initial version was given on two separate occasions, two days apart, first by the appellant and then by the employer, in the presence of their accountant, who was not called upon to testify. That version was duly signed, and the responses given by each were remarkably similar, leading to the inescapable conclusion that a person in an arm's length relationship with an employer would never have received benefits the same as, or similar to, those received by the appellant.
[5] The appeal should be dismissed with costs.
"Robert Décary"
J.A.
I concur
Gilles Létourneau J.A.
I concur
Marc Noël J.A.
Certified true translation
Michael Palles
FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL
SOLICITORS OF RECORD
DOCKET: A-262-04
STYLE OF CAUSE: CLÉMENT SÉVIGNY v. MINISTER OF NATIONAL REVENUE
PLACE OF HEARING: Québec, Quebec
DATE OF HEARING: October 20, 2005
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT BY: DÉCARY J.A.
DATED: October 25, 2005
APPEARANCES:
Frédéric Saint-Jean FOR THE APPELLANT
Nathalie Goulard FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Frédéric Goulard
Sainte-Foy, Quebec FOR THE APPELLANT
John H. Sims, Q.C.
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario FOR THE RESPONDENT
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