CRA confirms that the Bill C-208 amendments applied to dispositions occurring on and after Royal Assent (June 29, 2021) and not before

Did the amendments to s. 84.1 pursuant to Bill C-208 (did not contain a coming into force provision) apply to dispositions of shares that occurred in the 2021 taxation year but prior to the day of Royal Assent (June 29, 2021)?

CRA noted the presumption in Gustavson Drilling [1977] 1 S.C.R. 271 that “statutes are not to be construed as having retrospective operation unless such a construction is expressly or by necessary implication required by the language,” and found that there was no such “necessary implication” in the Bill, so that the amendments “apply only to dispositions that occur on or after … June 29, 2021.”

Neal Armstrong. Summaries of 15 December 2021 External T.I. 2021-0907881E5 under s. 84.1(2)(e) and Statutory Interpretation –Retroactivity/Retrospectivity.