The appellant, a mining services corporation, appealed reassessments disallowing its claim for the Ontario Manufacturing and Processing Profits (MPP) tax credit for the 2007 and 2008 taxation years.
The central issue was whether the appellant had "mining profits" as defined by the Corporations Tax Act, specifically whether its income was from a mineral resource "operated by it" or from "processing of ore." The court applied a textual, contextual, and purposive analysis to the terms "operated" and "processing." It found that the appellant, as a contractor providing mine infrastructure services, did not "operate" the mineral resources (which were controlled by Vale) nor did its income derive from "processing" ore, as its work was related to the production of ore rather than its transformation.
Consequently, the appellant did not qualify for the tax credit, and its appeal was dismissed.
