Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

Canadian physicians pay a substantial amount of income taxes. This is because of Canada’s graduated tax system, which means that the more money you earn, the higher the percentage of your income you will pay in taxes. This tax fatigue has increased in the aggregate because of the Trudeau government’s 2017 tax reform for Canadian Controlled Private Corporations (CCPCs), including medical corporations. Many physicians who were income splitting through their medical corporation can no longer save taxes using this income-splitting strategy because of the change in tax legislation.

The federal government's ongoing review about the good, bad and possibly ugly parts of its response to COVID-19 will feed into plans for an improved response to a potential second wave of the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday.

Quebec Superior Court has granted the federal government a five-month extension to revise its legislation on medical assistance in dying, giving Ottawa until just before Christmas to conform with a provincial court ruling. In a written decision released Monday, Justice Frederic Bachand wrote that Ottawa will have until Dec. 18, 2020, to make the necessary changes—allowing a delay requested by federal lawyers last week.

More than 180 workers in the sector tested positive over the weekend

The Superior Court had ruled that doctors cannot charge patients for a range of services because many are related to insured services

The federal Conservatives are calling for an investigation into the Liberal government's decision to have an international charity administer a $900-million program designed to help students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The request is contained in a letter sent to Auditor General Karen Hogan on Sunday in which the Tories argue that "outsourcing'' the Canada Student Service Grant to WE Charity undermines Parliament's ability to monitor the aid program.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his government's fiscal record on Thursday as it launched several new programs promising billions of dollars in new support for students. The moves came one day after Canada saw its credit rating degraded by one major agency, over the massive increase in government spending meant to help Canadians through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two heads of major American pharmacy associations have issued a rebuttal against a Wall Street Journal editorial which suggested doctors should be allowed to dispense medication, at cost, to patients.