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Provincial tax demand sent to out-of-province bank branch not rendered ultra vires by federal banking legislation.
The appellant trustee challenged a formal demand for information and documents issued by the Quebec tax authority (ARQ) to an out-of-province bank branch as beyond the ARQ's territorial jurisdiction.
The ARQ had sent the demand to a Calgary branch of the National Bank of Canada pursuant to s. 462(2) of the Bank Act, which requires notifications pertaining to bank customers to be sent to the branch of account.
The Court unanimously dismissed the appeal, holding that s. 462(2) — not s. 462(1) — applied to the demand, that the Bank Act does not treat a branch as a distinct entity from the bank for purposes of such a demand, and that complying with s. 462(2)'s procedural requirements did not render the ARQ's actions extraterritorial or ultra vires, since enforcement could only be effected in Quebec against a bank operating within the province.
