Michel Jolin

The appellant, a status Indian, earned interest income on term deposits at a caisse populaire located on a reserve.

The Minister of National Revenue assessed the income as taxable, and the lower courts upheld the assessment on the basis that the caisse generated its revenues in the 'commercial mainstream' off the reserve.

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, applying the connecting factors approach from Williams.

The Court held that the location of the debtor, the place of payment, the residence of the payee, and the source of the invested capital all pointed to the reserve.

The fact that the financial institution generated its revenues in the commercial mainstream was legally irrelevant to the location of the appellant's interest income.

The income was therefore exempt from taxation under section 87 of the Indian Act.

The appellant, representing minority shareholders of Asbestos Corp., sought an order from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) under s. 127 of the Securities Act to remove the trading exemptions of the Quebec Government and its Crown corporation after they acquired control of Asbestos Corp. without making a follow-up offer to minority shareholders.

The OSC declined to exercise its public interest jurisdiction, finding insufficient transactional connection to Ontario and no intention to avoid Ontario law.

The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the OSC's decision, ruling that the standard of review is reasonableness and that the OSC properly exercised its preventive, non-remedial discretion based on relevant factors.