Supreme Court of Canada holds equitable remedy of rescission is not available to remedy adverse tax consequences

Executive summary

On 17 June 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its much-anticipated decision in Attorney General of Canada, et al. v. Collins Family Trust, et al., 2022 SCC 26, confirming that the equitable remedy of rescission is not available to remedy adverse tax consequences.

Detailed discussion

Background

In 2016, the SCC significantly restricted access to rectification, an equitable remedy similar to rescission, where taxpayers sought to correct a mistake that had resulted in un…