Supreme Court findings
spark more debate

PAGE 3

SOCIAL MEDIA loses
tax case THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
ANN MACAULAY
Vol. 22, No. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION December 6, 2002

The Alberta Court of Appeal has dismissed a case launched by a First Nation band against the federal government that would decide whether the proceeds of an oil refinery on reserve land are subject to excise tax.

The Blood Tribe intends to seek leave to the Supreme Court, said its counsel John Beckman, after the Court of Appeal ruled that the Crown does not have a duty to advise the southern Alberta band on whether it would be subject to taxation due to the government’s obligations in providing services to all Canadians.

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The dispute stems from a decision 14 years ago, when the band developed a plan to purchase the Parkland oil refinery in Bowden, Alta., and convert the site into reserve land.

Public service or a business?

VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002

in what is known as a public service district. It sounds like something out of a first-year Law Ethics exam: Is a law office primarily a public service, or is it mainly a commercial enterprise?

Hotel. In order to protect and preserve the natural environment, development in the community is strictly controlled under the Banff National Park Management Plan and the

Paralegals offer stability
through periods of
growth and turnover

The Blood Tribe, which occupies close to 560 square miles in southern Alberta, had received $2.3-million in compensation from the federal government in 1996 for 444 acres of reserve land that had been surrendered in the late 19th century. An “approval in principle” to turn the property into reserve land was granted in 2003 by the federal government. However, to go ahead with the transfer and the refinery project, the band sought assurance from the Crown that any production of oil would be exempt from federal excise tax under the Indian Act.

NEXT ISSUE
National Parks Act.
GEOFF ELLWAND
There is trouble in Canada’s
snow-capped mountain paradise.

Mila Byron, a partner in the
law firm of Byron & Company,
which rents the disputed office
space, is not taking sides. She is
quick to point out that the firm
has been thrust into the centre of
the fight by an accident of geog-
raphy. “We have nothing to do
with the dispute…we’re just try-
ing to keep our head down.”
“Land is becoming more
scarce,” observes Randall McKay,
Banff’s manager of planning and
development. “We are approach-
ing full build out.”
The result is an inevitable
tension between the town and

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

Parks Canada.

That assurance was not given, so in 2005 the Blood Tribe sued the federal government alleging breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment. It sought a declaration that the Excise Tax Act has no

See Tax Page 9

The tourists strolling along Banff Avenue taking in the alpine air might be surprised to learn that Parks Canada and the representatives of this quaint town are locked in a long and litigious battle. The spat has been going on with varying degrees of intensity since 2007. It has already been to the Alberta Court of Appeal twice and last month the court granted Parks Canada the right to appeal yet again. The dispute revolves around the location of a law office

STB_LW_basebar_03_12v2_STG 3/15/12 4: 24 PM Page 1

The Town of Banff is located
in Banff National Park, Canada’s
oldest and most famous moun-
tain park. The federal govern-
ment owns all the land in Banff
and everything is built on leased
land with the exception, rooted in
the park’s history, of the CP Rail
lands and the Banff Springs
“It’s been that way for a while,”
said Dave Whitfield, editor of the
weekly Rocky Mountain Outlook.
“The town sees itself primarily as a
resort and that’s its No. 1 business.
Parks Canada sees the town as part
of a bigger attraction and that’s
Banff National Park, which has to
guard against commercialization.”

VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002

See Banff Page 9

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Banff law office
caught in middle
of development fight
PAGE 23

The next issue of The
Lawyers Weekly will be
published Aug. 17, 2012

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