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Civil Litigation Dicta - Pleadings - Claims. Grand River Enterprises Six Nations Ltd. v. Attorney General (Canada)
In Grand River Enterprises Six Nations Ltd. v. Attorney General (Canada) (Ont CA, 2017)
In this unique case some indigenous business persons sought by way of a tort action to recover taxes they allege they were forced illegally to pay by the federal government. The federal Crown argued that the action was a disguised tax dispute which should be resolved under the exclusive tax legislation code for such disputes. In considering this the Court of Appeal stated as follows on the little-litigated issue of when the form of an action may be disregarded in favour of a more purposive analysis, so that the the court's jurisdiction might be addressed:[46] The essence of a dispute must be based on a realistic appreciation of the practical result sought by the claimant: Domtar Inc. v. Canada, 2009 FCA 218 (CanLII), 392 N.R. 200, at para. 28, citing Canada v. Roitman, 2006 FCA 266 (CanLII), 353 N.R. 75, at para. 16, leave to appeal refused, [2006] S.C.C.A. No. 353. In order to assess its essential character, the claim must be read “holistically and practically without fastening onto matters of form”: Canada (Minister of National Revenue – M.N.R.) v. JP Morgan Asset Management (Canada) Inc., 2013 FCA 250 (CanLII), 367 D.L.R. (4th) 525, at para. 50.
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