Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2

Part 1 implements certain income tax measures proposed in the March 22, 2017 budget by (a) removing the classification of the costs of drilling a discovery well as “Canadian exploration expenses”; (b) eliminating the ability for small oil and gas companies to reclassify up to $1 million of “Canadian development expenses” as “Canadian exploration expenses”; (c) revising the anti-avoidance rules for registered education savings plans and registered disability savings plans; (d) eliminating the use of billed-basis accounting by designated professionals; (e) providing enhanced tax treatment for eligible geothermal energy equipment; (f) extending the base erosion rules to foreign branches of Canadian insurers; (g) clarifying who has factual control of a corporation for income tax purposes; (h) introducing an election that would allow taxpayers to mark to market their eligible derivatives; (i) introducing a specific anti-avoidance rule that targets straddle transactions; (j) allowing tax-deferred mergers of switch corporations into multiple mutual fund trusts and allowing tax-deferred mergers of segregated funds; and (k) enhancing the protection of ecologically sensitive land donated to conservation charities and broadening the types of donations permitted. It also implements other income tax measures by (a) closing loopholes surrounding the capital gains exemption on the sale of a principal residence; (b) providing additional authority for certain tax purposes to nurse practitioners; (c) ensuring that qualifying farmers and fishers selling to agricultural and fisheries cooperatives are eligible for the small business deduction; (d) extending the types of reverse takeover transactions to which the corporate acquisition of control rules apply; (e) improving the consistency of rules applicable for expenditures in respect of scientific research and experimental development; (f) ensuring that the taxable income of federal credit unions is allocated among provinces and territories using the same allocation formula as applicable to the taxable income of banks; (g) ensuring the appropriate application of Canada’s international tax rules; and (h) improving the accuracy and consistency of the income tax legislation and regulations. Part 2 implements certain goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) measures confirmed in the March 22, 2017 budget by (a) introducing clarifications and technical improvements to the GST/HST rules applicable to certain pension plans and financial institutions; (b) revising the GST/HST rules applicable to pension plans so that they apply to pension plans that use master trusts or master corporations; (c) revising and modernizing the GST/HST drop shipment rules to enhance the effectiveness of these rules and introduce technical improvements; (d) clarifying the application of the GST/HST to supplies of municipal transit services to accommodate the modern ways in which those services are provided and paid for; and (e) introducing housekeeping amendments to improve the accuracy and consistency of the GST/HST legislation. It also implements a GST/HST measure announced on September 8, 2017 by revising the timing requirements for GST/HST rebate applications by public service bodies. Part 3 amends the Excise Act to ensure that beer made from concentrate on the premises where it is consumed is taxed in a manner that is consistent with other beer products. Part 4 amends the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act to allow the Minister of Finance on behalf of the Government of Canada, with the approval of the Governor in Council, to enter into coordinated cannabis taxation agreements with provincial governments. It also amends that Act to make related amendments. Part 5 enacts and amends several Acts in order to implement various measures. Division 1 of Part 5 amends the Bretton Woods and Related Agreements Act to update and clarify certain powers of the Minister of Finance in relation to the Bretton Woods institutions. Division 2 of Part 5 enacts the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Agreement Act which provides the required authority for Canada to become a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Division 3 of Part 5 provides for the transfer from the Minister of Finance to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the responsibility for three international development financing agreements entered into between Her Majesty in Right of Canada and the International Finance Corporation. Division 4 of Part 5 amends the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act to clarify the treatment of, and protections for, eligible financial contracts in a bank resolution process. It also makes consequential amendments to the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act. Division 5 of Part 5 amends the Bank of Canada Act to specify that the Bank of Canada may make loans or advances to members of the Canadian Payments Association that are secured by real property or immovables situated in Canada and to allow such loans and advances to be secured by way of an assignment or transfer of a right, title or interest in real property or immovables situated in Canada. It also amends the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act to specify that the Bank of Canada and the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation are exempt from stays even where obligations are secured by real property or immovables. Division 6 of Part 5 amends the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act in order to expand and enhance the oversight powers of the Bank of Canada by further strengthening the Bank’s ability to identify and respond to risks to financial market infrastructures in a proactive and timely manner. Division 7 of Part 5 amends the Northern Pipeline Act to permit the Northern Pipeline Agency to annually recover from any company with a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued under that Act an amount equal to the costs incurred by that Agency with respect to that company. Division 8 of Part 5 amends the Canada Labour Code in order to, among other things, (a) provide employees with a right to request flexible work arrangements from their employers; (b) provide employees with a family responsibility leave for a maximum of three days, a leave for victims of family violence for a maximum of ten days and a leave for traditional Aboriginal practices for a maximum of five days; and (c) modify certain provisions related to work schedules, overtime, annual vacation, general holidays and bereavement leave, in order to provide greater flexibility in work arrangements. Division 9 of Part 5 amends the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1 to repeal the paragraph 167(1.2)(b) of the Canada Labour Code that it enacts, and to amend the related regulation-making provisions accordingly. Division 10 of Part 5 approves and implements the Canadian Free Trade Agreement entered into by the Government of Canada and the governments of each province and territory to reduce or eliminate barriers to the free movement of persons, goods, services and investments. It also makes related amendments to the Energy Efficiency Act in order to facilitate, with respect to energy-using products or classes of energy-using products, the harmonization of requirements set out in regulations with those of a jurisdiction. Finally, it makes consequential amendments to the Financial Administration Act, the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act and the Procurement Ombudsman Regulations and it repeals the Timber Marking Act and the Agreement on Internal Trade Implementation Act. Division 11 of Part 5 amends the Judges Act (a) to allow for the payment of annuities, in certain circumstances, to judges and their survivors and children, other than by way of grant of the Governor in Council; (b) to authorize the payment of salaries to the new Associate Chief Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta; and (c) to change the title of “senior judge” to “chief justice” for the superior trial courts of the territories. It also makes consequential amendments to other Acts. Division 12 of Part 5 amends the Business Development Bank of Canada Act to increase the maximum amount of the paid-in capital of the Business Development Bank of Canada. Division 13 of Part 5 amends the Financial Administration Act to authorize, in an increased number of cases, the entering into of contracts or other arrangements that provide for a payment if there is a sufficient balance to discharge any debt that will be due under them during the fiscal year in which they are entered into.