Draft Legislation Released July 23, 2026

While Canadians were enjoying the height of summer 2026, Finance Canada released draft legislation for a number of previously announced tax measures including new rules for the disabled, apprentices in the trades, those with automobile benefits, farmers on the prairies and business owners buying assets or remitting GST/HST. A consultation has been issued on the proposed new rules, which must be emailed to the department by September 4.  There are some important changes, some summarized below, which will also be covered in the September 23 CE Summit.

Seniors over the age of 74 will have been delighted by the raise they received in their Old Age Security Benefits in July of 2022. The specifics of the new permanent increase, its effect on the clawback of OAS and other new details follow:

Statistics Canada is reporting that a shortage of labor continues to be a significant issue for 35% of businesses in Canada, while skilled labor shortages are an obstacle for close to 28%. Those who responded to Knowledge Bureau’s July Poll agreed:  91.67% said yes, their clients are finding it more difficult to hire skilled people in 2022. 

Can ethical behaviour be regulated? Can we eliminate all of the “Bad Apples’ with regulation or does it take more? Is it possible that ethical behaviour is a byproduct of a “culture of care”? In other words, when it comes from the heart, is ethical behaviour a standard on its own? Organizations must be sure and so, they must back up a culture of care with strategy and processes to ensure consistency.  CEO of CANFIN, Tony Mahabir who will share his inspiring insights on how to accomplish this against the backdrop of increasingly complex and expensive regulation.

It’s not too late to learn to prepare personal income tax returns from your home or office and now you can confidently learn and practice with Knowledge Bureau’s newly released Professional Entry level course. 

After years of historically low interest rates, lending rates have risen dramatically since March 2022 with prime rates rising 2.25% in just over 4 months.  Many clients are now becoming more concerned about the impact rising rates will have on their cash flow and looking for ways to reduce their borrowing costs. One way is to be sure tax deductions for interest costs are maximized. Here’s how:

University bound? It’s an exciting time of life for both young adults and their parents, both of whom may be able to write off some of those expensive tuition fees.  What else is new is your tax filing status. A Tax Services Specialist can help answer your questions and a handy guide to the rules follows: