Case information

Civil procedure — Motions — Courts — Jurisdiction — Applicant bringing a motion to have itself recognized as the agent for persons appealing the rejection of their disability tax credit (DTC appellants) and for other relief — Tax Court of Canada granting an Order that three employees of the applicant act as agents for the DTC appellants, provided they follow certain conditions —Applicant appealing the Tax Court’s Order to the Federal Court of Appeal — Federal Court of Appeal dismissing the appeal for want of jurisdiction — Whether the Federal Court of Appeal erred in holding that the Tax Court Order was not a final judgment under s. 27(1.2) of the Federal Courts Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-7 (the Act).

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

The applicant is in the business of assisting Canadians with claims for disability tax credits (DTC) from the Canada Revenue Agency. Its service includes bringing appeals to the Tax Court of Canada when the CRA has denied a claim. As of July 9, 2020, the applicant had filed 1,084 appeals under the Informal Procedure relating to disability tax credit claims, 701 of which are still before the Tax Court of Canada. The applicant works on a contingency fee basis.

During various case management conferences, Tax Court of Canada judges expressed concerns that the applicant’s employees appearing on behalf of the DTC appellants were unfamiliar with the rules governing the court’s Informal Procedure, and that some DTC appellants were not fully aware of the applicant’s actions on their behalf. The applicant brought a motion for an Order recognizing it as the agent for all appeals filed in respect of disability tax credit applications on behalf of the DTC appellants and for other relief.

The Tax Court of Canada granted an Order that the applicant could appoint three employees as agents for the DTC appellants, subject to five conditions. The remainder of the applicant’s motion was dismissed. The applicant appealed the Tax Court decision to the Federal Court of Appeal, claiming it was a final judgment for the purposes of s. 27(1.2) of the Federal Courts Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-7. The respondent agreed that that court has jurisdiction. The Federal Court of Appeal held that the Tax Court Order was an interlocutory order and dismissed the appeal for want of jurisdiction.