Introduction
Possessing all the powers of a Superior Court, the Tax Court of Canada is the first level of appeal for taxpayers. The Court was created in 1983 pursuant to the Tax Court of Canada Act with a view to dispensing justice in tax matters. Known previously as the Tax Review Board (1958-83) and the Tax Appeal Board (1946-58).
The board consists of up to 12 judges and 5 deputy judges who must be former judges or barristers of not less than 10 years standing at a provincial bar. At any time, either the chief judge or associate chief judge must have been a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec or a member of the bar of that province.
Mission Statement
The objective of the Tax Court of Canada is translated through its mission statement which states that:
| "We at the Tax Court of Canada are committed to providing the public with an accessible and efficient appeal process and working together to maintain a fair and independent Court". |
Organization
The Registry of the Tax Court of Canada provides services to the Judges of the Court which includes appeals processing, scheduling of hearings throughout Canada as well as expert guidance and advice to litigants, agents and the public regarding the practice and procedures of the Court. Corporate services are also provided at the Court in areas such as finance, human resources, administration, informatics, security, library, as well as editing and revising.
Location
The Court's headquarters are located in Ottawa. The Court maintains regional offices in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. For Income Tax appeals, the Court may now sit in roughly 40 locations. For Employment Insurance Appeals, the Court may sit in 80 locations across Canada.
The Honourable Gabrielle St-Hilaire, Chief Justice of the Tax Court of Canada
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The Honourable
Gabrielle St-Hilaire |
The Honourable Gabrielle St-Hilaire was appointed to the Tax Court of Canada in 2018.
Prior to her appointment to the Bench, Chief Justice St-Hilaire was a professor in the French Common Law Program at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law and was its Vice-Dean from 2005 to 2007. She taught tax law and corporate law there for more than 26 years and received awards for her excellence in teaching. From 2001 to 2003, she took a leave of absence from the university to work as legal counsel with the Tax Litigation Section of the Department of Justice Canada. For over a decade, she was also a part-time member of the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board and the Health Services Appeal and Review Board, two Ontario-based administrative tribunals.
Concerned by access to justice issues, Chief Justice St-Hilaire co-supervised students assisting self-represented taxpayers in appeals brought before the Tax Court of Canada, under the auspices of a Pro Bono Students Canada project. She also volunteered and supervised students completing tax and benefit returns for low-income taxpayers through the federal government’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program. Additionally, Chief Justice St-Hilaire served as Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, a trustee of the Research and Education Charitable Trust of the National Association of Women and the Law, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of French Speaking Jurists of Ontario.
Chief Justice St-Hilaire received a Bachelor of Education in 1980 and a Bachelor of Arts in 1986, both from the University of Manitoba. Between 1980 and 1987, she taught mathematics and chemistry in Manitoba high schools. In 1987, she left Winnipeg to study at the University of Ottawa, where she earned a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Business Administration. After completing her law studies, she clerked for judges of the Tax Court of Canada. She was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1994.
SOURCE: Tax Court of Canada.
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