Law Times

March 25, 2019

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LAW TIMES 16 COVERING ONTARIO'S LEGAL SCENE | MARCH 25, 2019 www.lawtimesnews.com FEDERAL BUDGET REACTION The cap on employee stock op- tions — part of the tax changes in the federal Liberal's 2019 budget — are vaguely defined and will lead to confusion and litigation, say tax lawyers. In the budget, released March 19, the government proposed placing an annual cap on stock options for employees of "long- established, mature firms" at $200,000. Those working at "startups and rapidly growing" businesses will not be subject to this change. Currently, employee stock op- tions get special tax treatment, al- lowing for an income inclusion deduction, which makes the income incurred from the option taxable at close to the capital gains rate, and this can be realized by employees at any type of company. The prob- lem lies in the definitions, say tax lawyers. What a startup, a rapidly growing Canadian business and a ma- ture business are may be hard to translate into legislative language, says TaxChambers LLP counsel and University of Ottawa law pro- fessor Vern Krishna. "I can assure you that the legislation enacting that provision will be long, complex and uncertain, and uncertainty and complexity lead to litigation," Krishna says. "The underlining policy proposal is understandable and one is sympathetic to the objectives, but the implementation of it will be complicated," he says. To interpret how these rules will apply, there will likely be a stan- dard capital threshold, age of company and number of employees determined by the government, says Katy Pitch, a partner at Wil- deboer Dellelce LLP. "It'll create a lot of work for tax lawyers, so I'm not upset about that," she says. LAW PROFESSOR WINS PRIZE Audrey Macklin, a professor at the University of Toronto, has won the Ludwik and Estelle Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize, said the school in an announcement of its alumni associa- tion's 2019 Awards of Excellence. The university said Macklin's work on behalf of then-Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr was one reason she won the prize. TORYS REHIRES U.S. TECH LAWYER Lawyer Kristine Di Bacco, who spent more than 10 years working with California technology companies at Fenwick & West LLP in the U.S., rejoined Torys LLP as a partner, the firm announced on March 7. Di Bacco will run a new practice within Torys — Emerging Tech- nology Companies and Venture Capital — out of Toronto, according to the announcement. LAW TIMES POLL Law Times asked readers if they agree with widening the scope of family law matters that paralegals can address. Re- spondents were split. About 57 per cent of respon- dents said they agreed with widening the scope for para- legals in family law, saying the expanded scope could be one of the Law Society of Ontario's most important accomplishments. Another 43 per cent of respondents disagreed and said widening the scope is not a good way to proceed. LT The Inside Story BY VIOL A JAMES LION ON THE LAM JAILED CAPE TOWN — A young lion captured after being on the run for almost a month spent the night in a South African police cell before being moved back to its national park home, reports Reuters. The juvenile male apparently escaped from the Karoo National Park through a hole in a perimeter fence. He was eventually tracked and darted on March 13 before being moved by helicopter to the Sutherland police station where he ended up alone in a holding cell. "I am sure this is the first time in the world that a lion is put in jail," said police station commander Captain Marius Malan. He said luckily the jail had no human guests that night. Curious residents of the village of Sutherland, known more for one of the southern hemisphere's largest optical telescopes, thronged outside the police station to catch a glimpse of the locked-up lion. "He is safe and healthy. We didn't give him breakfast because he had enough to eat along the road," Malan told Reuters. Malan said the lion, believed to be two years old, would be darted again before being transported back to his natural habitat at the Karoo National Park, a hilly region of grassy scrubland about halfway between Cape Town and Johannes- burg. LT CHEESE LOVES HIP HOP: JURY BURGDORF, Switzerland — Exposing cheese to round-the- clock music could give it more f lavour, and hip hop might be better than Mozart, Swiss re- searchers said on March 14, ac- cording to Reuters. Nine wheels of Emmental cheese weighing 10 kilos each were placed in separate wooden crates last September to test the impact of music on f lavour and aroma. The cheese was exposed 24 hours a day to A Tribe Called Quest's hip hop track "We Got it From Here," Mozart's 'Magic Flute' opera or Led Zeppelin's rock classic "Stairway to Heav- en." One wheel was played the throbbing techno of Vril's "UV" and another Yello's dark ambient piece "Monolith." Soundwaves at low, medium and high frequen- cies were played for three oth- ers while one wheel was left in peace. "The most obvious differ- ences were observed in strength of f lavour, smell and taste," Bern University of Arts researchers said in reporting the findings of a culinary jury, which did blind tasting. "The hip hop sample topped the list of all cheese exposed to music in terms of fruitiness . . . [It] was the strongest of these in terms of smell and taste." Benjamin Luzuy, a Swiss TV chief and jury member, told Re- uters TV: "The differences were very clear, in term of texture, taste, the appearance, there was really something very different." The experiment used mini transmitters to conduct the en- ergy of the music into the cheese. "All the energy is directly resonating inside of the cheese," Michael Harenberg of Bern Uni- versity of Arts told Reuters. FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS OLYMPIA, Wash. — A 32- kilogram bronze bell that was located above the main entrance to McLane Elementary School in west Olympia was stolen ear- lier this month, according to the Thurston County Sheriff 's Of- fice. The News Tribune reports that the bell was taken early on the morning of March 9. Video surveillance shows the suspect pulling up to the school in a truck about 4:20 a.m., then using a ladder to remove the bell, said Lt. Tim Rudloff. Although the bell was stolen March 9, it wasn't reported until March 14 because school staff had to review several days' worth of video images. However, the video doesn't provide a clear image of the sus- pect or vehicle, Rudloff said. The bell has an estimated value of US$2,000. SERIAL STOWAWAY SENTENCED CHICAGO — A woman who's been dubbed a serial stowaway was sentenced March 19 to 18 months of probation after plead- ing guilty to sneaking past Chi- cago airport security last year, boarding a plane and f lying to London without a ticket, reports The Associated Press. As part of her plea deal, Marilyn Hartman, 67, can't go to Chicago's O'Hare or Mid- way airports without a ticket. She entered the plea to a crimi- nal trespassing charge, but she had originally faced counts of felony theft, burglary and other charges. "I do apologize for the air- port and . . . causing problems for them," Hartman told Cook County Judge Peggy Chiampas. The plea is the latest chapter in a story that's played out over the past decade in Chicago, Ha- waii, San Francisco, Florida and elsewhere. Hartman has been nabbed in and near airports dozens of times and made it on to planes about a half-dozen times. Authorities have said she boarded the f light to London by walking past two British Airlines ticket agents who were check- ing other passengers. Hartman darted into a small room off to the side and walked quickly past customs and a Border Pa- trol agent who was looking at passports of people entering the ramp. Hartman was arrested af- ter her London trip and free on bond in January 2018 when she was again discovered wandering at O'Hare. This time, a judge ordered her held without bond and she was later found unfit for trial. Hart- man spent time at a state mental institution and was later moved to a mental health centre in Chi- cago. The judge praised Hartman for receiving a glowing progress report from the centre's staff. The facility has agreed to help Hartman find permanent housing. LT Vern Krishna says a proposal contained in the federal budget 'will be long, complex and uncertain, and uncertainty and complexity lead to litigation.' Bizarre Briefs CHOOSE A PARTNER WITH A TRACK RECORD Our record shows that while we are a front runner, we choose to be part of a team, partnering with legal professionals in a winning combination. We do not support programs that reduce or eliminate your role in real estate transactions. Instead, we focus on providing you with industry- leading title insurance coverage backed by underwriting expertise and financial strength. To learn more, call (888) 667-5151 or visit stewart.ca. © 2019 Stewart. All rights reserved. See policies for full terms and conditions. Untitled-7 1 2019-03-19 2:26 PM CREDIT: SPREADTHESIGN AND MEMO ANGELES/SHUTTERSTOCK 57 % YES, I AGREE 43 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE

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