On Thursday 25 October, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision on the CRA’s application for leave to appeal its loss before the Federal Court of Canada in Iggillis Holdings Inc. and Ian Gillis v. Minister of National Revenue, 2018 FCA 51. The Supreme Court rejected the CRA’s application, meaning that it will not hear the CRA’s appeal and the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision upholding the validity of common interest privilege in Canada is now final.

This decision represents another high-level judicial reiteration of the importance of lawyer-client privilege in Canada as a fundamental element of the Canadian justice system, which is especially important in a tax context in terms of preserving one’s ability to obtain legal advice on tax matters secure in the knowledge that tax authorities cannot compel disclosure of such confidential communications for use as an audit “road map.”