Ottawa Graffiti Removal Program
The City is holding an information session on the morning of March 29th to discuss the 2008 graffiti bylaw (and graffiti removal strategy), with homeowners and business owners. The new bylaw requires all property owners to maintain graffiti-free properties. Since part of the strategy is to remove graffiti as quickly as possible, property owners will […]
Agreements for real estate commission don’t need to be in writing
A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision highlights the provisions of the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act (”REBBA”) relating to commissions. The City of Ottawa was assisted by a real estate broker in the sale of one of its properties. At issue was whether approximately $125,000.00 of commission was payable upon the sale. The […]
Duty owed by real estate agents to clients
In a recent Ottawa case involving a disputed real estate commission, an Ottawa couple alleged that their real estate agents failed to disclose the existence of a dual agency relationship to them. A dual agency exists when the same real estate broker, or even the same agent, represents both the buyer and the seller. Although […]
Harmonization of corporate taxes
Provincial corporations in Ontario will file a single T2 Corporation Income Tax Return starting in taxation year 2009 to Canada Revenue Agency. This harmonization is intended to reduce the costs of compliance for corporations who, previously, had to file separate returns with both the Ontario Ministry of Revenue and the Federal government. The integration of […]
Gender differences in business growth?
This afternoon, I attended a Women’s Business Network luncheon where Dr. Barbara Orser talked about challenges facing women entrepreneurs. Barbara is a professor at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. She discussed that although women own almost half of new small and medium-sized businesses in Canada, women-owned businesses are smaller and […]
