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Residual Value Charge on Crown timber is a valid proprietary charge, not an unlawful tax.
The respondent purchased timber from the Crown and harvested it pursuant to a licence under the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994.
The price included a Residual Value Charge (RVC).
The respondent successfully applied for a declaration that the RVC was an unlawful tax.
The Crown appealed.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that the application judge erred in applying the test for distinguishing regulatory charges from taxes.
The RVC is a proprietary charge and a legitimate component of the price of timber set by the Crown as owner of the resource, not a tax.
Leave to appeal class certification granted to determine if representative plaintiffs had conflicts with other franchisees.
The defendant franchisor moved for leave to appeal an order certifying a class proceeding brought by franchisees regarding the withholding of rebates.
The defendant argued that the proposed representative plaintiffs had a conflict of interest with other class members who had different economic arrangements with the franchisor and feared disruption of their businesses.
The court granted leave to appeal, finding that the issue of whether the representative plaintiffs could fairly and adequately represent the class without conflict was open to serious debate and of general importance to the development of class action law.
