Browse regulations

Federal zoning regulation establishing imaginary obstacle limitation surfaces (approach and transitional surfaces) around Chilliwack Airport to prevent structures from penetrating these areas and endangering aircraft operations.

Without it, individual property owners could build obstructions that risk aircraft crashes, killing passengers and people on the ground. The regulation prevents clear harm to third parties—a legitimate government function—and is narrowly tailored to aviation safety. Replacing it with voluntary contracts would impose prohibitive transaction costs across hundreds of properties, making it practically unworkable. The modest restriction on building heights is justified by the massive, non-compensable risks it prevents.

This regulation provides tax remission for Canadian commercial air carriers on sales tax paid for aircraft, engines, and parts when used for commercial service outside Canada for specified periods, with detailed calculation formulas for the remission amounts.

This regulation creates complex administrative overhead, distorts market incentives by favoring foreign commercial operations, and represents unnecessary government intervention in aviation taxation that could be eliminated by simply reducing sales tax rates for all aviation purchases.

This Order provides sales tax remission for imported machinery where customs duties have been remitted, aligning tax treatment by reducing the duty-paid value used for sales tax calculation.

Deleting this remission would increase tax burdens on machinery imports, raising costs for Canadian businesses, reducing competitiveness, and discouraging investment. Canadians would be worse off due to higher production costs and reduced capital formation.

This Order grants remission of sales tax on imported machinery and goods when customs duties on those goods are subject to drawback under Customs Tariff Code 9075. The remission amount equals the difference between sales tax paid on the full duty-paid value and what would be payable if the duty-paid value were reduced by the drawback amount. It aligns sales tax treatment with the duty drawback system to prevent double taxation.

Deleting this regulation would create an effective tax on the duty portion of imported goods even when those duties are later refunded, imposing an avoidable cost on businesses engaged in import-export activities. It would raise production costs, reduce competitiveness, and create a tax wedge that discourages the importation of machinery for export-oriented manufacturing. The regulation achieves a necessary alignment between sales tax and duty drawback systems that would require more fundamental legislative changes to replicate.

Tax remission order for Syncrude oil sands project participants. Forgives Part I income tax arising from specific royalty provisions related to synthetic crude oil production from Alberta Leases 17 and 22. Remission terminates upon recovery of 1.1-2.1 billion barrels or December 31, 2003, whichever first occurs. Participants include major oil companies and Crown governments.

This corporate subsidy distorts resource allocation by giving specific oil sands projects an artificial competitive advantage over others. Remission transfers wealth from taxpayers to already-profitable corporations, encourages rent-seeking, and creates the moral hazard of investors counting on government bailouts when projects face adverse conditions. The regulation's very condition (revocation upon adverse economic effect) acknowledges it's a bailout mechanism. Market participants should bear full financial risk of their investment decisions; removing this distortion would let capital flow to genuinely productive uses rather than politically-connected ones.

The Spirit Destruction Remission Order waives excise duties on spirits accidentally destroyed while in government-supervised bonded storage or transport, provided the loss occurred without negligence and before release from excise control.

Deleting this would impose taxes on goods that were destroyed before entering commerce, creating unjust windfalls for the state and penalizing businesses for accidents beyond their control under government supervision. The remission corrects an otherwise harsh application of the excise tax, maintaining fairness in the tax system without distorting market incentives.

This regulation provides tax remission for imported goods used in circuses, fairs, exhibitions, and rodeos, with different remission amounts based on whether the events are subsidized by the Department of Agriculture and the duration of use in Canada. It includes complex administrative requirements including advance applications, reporting of changes, and post-use export verification.

This regulation creates significant administrative burden with complex reporting requirements, advance applications, and post-use export verification that imposes compliance costs on small businesses. The tax remission structure creates arbitrary distinctions based on event subsidies and use duration that distort market decisions. These compliance costs and regulatory complexities reduce economic efficiency and entrepreneurship in the entertainment sector without providing commensurate benefits to Canadians.

This regulation establishes airport zoning around Cartierville Airport in Quebec, restricting construction of buildings, structures, or objects that would penetrate defined imaginary surfaces (horizontal, approach, and transitional surfaces) designed to protect aircraft operations. It applies to extensive lands described through detailed metes and bounds, preventing development that would create obstructions in the airport's airspace.

If deleted, Canadians would face increased aviation safety risks from potential obstructions in critical approach and departure paths, endangering lives and disrupting essential air transportation. While it restricts property development, the regulation achieves its safety objective in a precise, technically-defined manner that would be difficult to replicate through voluntary means alone, given the life-threatening consequences of failure.

This regulation provides duty and tax relief for imported commercial samples of negligible value, allowing businesses to bring in representative goods for sales demonstrations without paying customs duties or GST/HST, with specific conditions on value limits and usage restrictions.

Canadians would be worse off if this regulation was deleted because it enables small businesses and entrepreneurs to conduct market research and sales activities without prohibitive costs, fostering international trade and competition. The negligible value threshold prevents abuse while maintaining the intended benefit of reducing barriers to legitimate business activities.

Customs duty remission for Canadian-manufactured railway rolling stock (1969-1985) used in international service, providing refunds on imported materials with a clawback if used domestically.

Obsolete industrial subsidy that misallocates capital, favors specific industries, and violates equal treatment. Even if dormant, it imposes administrative costs and entrenches destructive precedent of government picking winners through discriminatory tax breaks.

Establishes zoning restrictions around Canadian Forces Base Shearwater Airfield to protect airspace by limiting building heights that could penetrate defined approach, horizontal, and transitional surfaces. It defines an airport reference point (148 ft above sea level) and specifies dimensions of protected surfaces, applying to adjacent lands described in a schedule. Prohibits any construction that exceeds these surfaces.

Deleting this regulation would allow private development to encroach on critical airspace, increasing the risk of military aviation accidents that could cause loss of life, damage national defense capabilities, and harm ground communities. The regulation provides clear, enforceable ex‑ante height limits that prevent hazardous development in a cost‑effective way—a standard that would be difficult to achieve through after‑the‑fact litigation or voluntary easements given the high stakes and coordination challenges.

A tariff remission order that refunds customs duties on perfluorinated ion-exchange membranes used in chlorine and sodium hydroxide production, applicable only to imports between January 1, 1979 and June 30, 1990.

Expired over 35 years ago; keeping obsolete regulations increases legal complexity and compliance costs for no benefit. Moreover, the underlying principle of industry-specific tariff remissions distorts market signals and misallocates capital—the state should not pick technological winners.

This Order grants remission of customs duties on L-5 hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) imported into Canada on or after October 1, 1975, effectively eliminating tariffs on this dietary supplement.

Deleting this remission would reimpose customs duties on 5-HTP, increasing costs for consumers and businesses without any public benefit. The regulation achieves a desirable outcome (tariff elimination) that would be difficult to replicate otherwise without going through the full legislative process. Canadians would be worse off with higher prices and reduced access to this supplement.

This regulation provides tax remission for employees who received settlements due to involuntary retirement under specific Public Service Superannuation Act provisions. It calculates the tax difference between the actual settlement received and what would have been paid if salary/pension had been received over time, plus interest.

This is a narrow tax relief provision for a specific historical termination scenario that creates complexity in the tax code without addressing broader regulatory inefficiencies. It perpetuates a special carve-out rather than promoting general tax simplicity and neutrality, which would better serve economic liberty and reduce compliance costs for all Canadians.

Remission of excise tax for imported demonstration aircraft used by Canadian residents for sales purposes, with conditions including sole demonstration use, record-keeping, and export requirements.

Creates regulatory complexity and compliance burden for a narrow tax benefit that distorts market incentives and creates administrative overhead without clear net benefit to Canadians. The tax remission requires extensive record-keeping, certification, and export requirements that impose costs on businesses and government alike.