Lussier – Court of Quebec finds no taxable benefit in an insurance company employee attending a conference for insurance brokers in Cancun

The taxpayer, was designated by his employer (“BMO,” an insurance company) to attend a one-week conference for insurance brokers and financial advisors whom one of BMO’s managing general agents had identified as top “performers.” During his attendance, the taxpayer put on a 20-minute presentation, but spent most of the time on events, such as snorkeling and catamaran sailing, with the attendees and responding to messages from the BMO office.

In reversing the ARQ assessment to include 62.5% of the cost of the trip in the taxpayer’s income as a taxable benefit, Pilon JCQ stated:

The recreational activities were an opportunity to create or maintain relationships with advisors and brokers. …

… [T]he ARQ's … approach is somewhat penalizing and unfair to Mr. Lussier. His employer did not give him the choice to participate in a trip, on which he went alone, and where he was expected to work and develop business, which he did, both during business hours and beyond. …

[T]he ARQ's position stems either from a misunderstanding of what constitutes the steps required for business development where there is a legitimate growth objective, or from a desire to dictate to a business what its business model should be and how to achieve it. In either case, the ARQ's position is unjustified.

Neal Armstrong. Summary of Lussier v. Agence du revenu du Québec, 2022 QCCQ 9 under s. 6(1)(a).