The B2B connectivity tests do not require that the two legs of a B2B arrangement be put in place contemporaneously

The back-to-back loan rules attempt inter alia to catch situations where a particular non-resident indirectly funds a debt of a Canadian borrower by granting certain security interests or property rights to an intermediary (instead of lending to the intermediary). The concept of “specified right” which is used to this end now appears to target security interests and property rights that the intermediary can monetize and use to fund the particular debt to the taxpayer. However, if the Canadian subsidiary and foreign parent and sisters enter into a multiparty credit agreement where all parties guarantee the facility, pledge their assets and borrow, except that the subsidiaries do not guarantee the foreign parent's borrowings for foreign tax reasons, the requirements for the exception to the definition of "specified right" may not be satisfied.

The revised B2B rules catch a loan to the immediate funder by a partnership.

The B2B rules contain connectivity tests to link the particular loan made to the Canadian taxpayer by an intermediary to a loan or equity funding by (or royalty arrangement with) an intermediary.

[T]he connectivity tests do not require that the two legs of a back-to-back arrangement be put in place at or around the same time. Therefore, each time a Canadian entity receives funding of any sort, it will have to trace the historical origin of that funding, even if one leg of the back-to-back arrangement was put in place a long time ago and the funds in the intermediary have been reinvested a number of times.

Neal Armstrong. Summaries of Jason Boland and Christopher Montes, "A Detailed Review of the Back-to-Back Loan Rules," 2016 CTF Annual Conference draft paper under s. 18(5) – specified right, s. 18(6)(c)(i), s. 212(3.8) – relevant funder and specified share, s. 212(3.21), s. 212(3.6)(a), s. 212(3.91) and s. 15(2.18).