Nicole Garton

President & General Counsel @heritagetrustco

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

Before It's Too Late: The Estate Organizer for Canadians, 2nd Edition is out! Updated to reflect new developments in digital asset management, it also includes downloadable forms that you can edit for your personal circumstances. You can pick one up here: https://t.co/99DNVcZl8f

[Jas Johal @JasJohalBC]

NEW - Dimitri Pantazopoulos is a respected BC pollster, one of the few who called 2013 correctly, and had the BCC’s running strong in 2024. In just 73 days KLF has turned a double digit lead into a 6 point deficit. That’s a point of support burned every 4 days. #bcpoli #cdnpoli

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

@RichardRauser @Google @antigravity Very cool! 👍

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

@herandrews The new Phyllis Shlafly

[DimitriPantazopoulos @DPinBC]

A review of three US elections. This was more a drop in D vote than an R surge...
Donald Trump:
2016 62.9 million votes
2020 74.2
2024 72.1

Democrats
2016 65.8 million (Clinton)
2020 81.3 million (Biden)
2024 67.3 million (Harris)
(* 2024 still being counted)

[DimitriPantazopoulos @DPinBC]

Following on my post yesterday - here is a longer post delving into the results of the BC Election. (With apologies for the Toronto skyline in the link!)
https://t.co/4PjIt9BgqV

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

@guyfelicella @marissenmark I’m referring to the policy approach. We want the same end result.

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

@guyfelicella @marissenmark It was Nanaimo I was thinking of though, realize not Vancouver. Overdose deaths in Nanaimo, B.C. have climbed by more than 400 per cent from 2019 (27 deaths) to 2023 (112 deaths), according to the BC Coroners Service.

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

@guyfelicella @marissenmark https://t.co/BD0ggvUhsj

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

@marissenmark Not zero but that is beside the point. More people than ever are dying, an individual & collective tragedy. Not to mention that there is an infrastructure which benefits from the status quo. I’m voting for leaders who will change course and redirect the $ to treatment & support.

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

@jordan_law21 Lovely, wise piece. Thank you, @jordan_law21

[Kim G C Moody @KimGCMoody]

My latest @financialpost article discusses the fact that the Canadian capital gains inclusion rate increase draft legislation is still not available:

“Unfortunately, the budget did not have detailed draft legislation to specifically lay out how this proposal will work and we still do not have such details…

Since April 16, tax practitioners have fielded an unending number of questions from people wondering what they should do. Unfortunately, tax practitioners and their clients are planning in the dark. You might think that legislation to change the capital gains inclusion rate should be pretty easy to draft. But you would be incorrect. Details matter.

For example, how will capital-loss carry-forwards now work? Will the government enable a one-time election — effective June 25 — like it did when it repealed the old $100,000 capital gains deduction (which became effective Feb. 22, 1994) to effectuate dispositions? Or will it only respect legal dispositions? How exactly will the triggered gains interact with the new/amended Alternative Minimum Tax?

These types of questions are only scratching the surface...

But wait. Our illustrious finance minister last week announced that the legislative package will be released before the House rises for summer recess on June 21. That’s good, isn’t it? Well, no, it isn’t. If the draft legislation is released on, say, June 14, that leaves practitioners a whopping five business days to absorb the details and try to give proper advice to a whole host of people. Not good…

I’ll happily debate any academic or economist who thinks this proposal will be good for Canada. But be warned: if you accept my challenge, you need to come armed with real-life examples of how the capital gains inclusion rate increase will make life better for the average Canadian, investor, entrepreneur and pensioner…

I’m not interested in academic theories, formulas and studies that are not tested against behavioural change and real-life examples. I live real life every day and while I’m certainly open to different views and experiences, my real-life experience (combined with a strong knowledge of theory and policy) of how bad tax and economic policy impact everyday Canadians is pretty compelling.

As the 1700s German philosopher Immanuel Kant once wrote: “Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play.” Very wise and true.

Despite the massive pushback, Canadians may have to wait for an election and government change to have the right thing done (scrapping the capital gains inclusion rate increase). In the meantime, at a minimum, the recommendations of the joint committee and CPA Canada should be followed by delaying implementation to Jan. 1, 2025, to give Canadians enough time to seek advice after tax professionals have fully absorbed the details.

Planning in the dark is never a good thing.”

CDNs need to continue to push back against this nonsense. https://t.co/7xqP2OYIW0

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

@benln Would love a copy

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

@CraigCameronWV @DPinBC Both of you are highly intelligent, experienced, engaged leaders who truly care about Canada so better to focus on that and what you agree on, which is likely more than it may appear at first glance. ☮️

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

@LawSocietyofBC Hello - Easter Sunday for millions of people today.

[Fareed Zakaria @FareedZakaria]

America’s top universities should abandon their long misadventure into politics, retrain their gaze on their core strengths and rebuild their reputations as centers of research and learning.

My take:

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

@KenHardie Hoping you have a libel lawyer on retainer

[Law Society of BC @LawSocietyofBC]

Constance Dora Isherwood was a trailblazer for women in BC's legal profession. She became the first woman to receive the Law Society's lifetime achievement award and was the oldest practising lawyer in the ­province until she died at 101. Learn more: https://t.co/tN77bGRVp0

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

The Estate & Elder Mediation Guide for BC https://t.co/gv2a0O6fjC - a resource for mediators, lawyers and families.

[Nicole Garton @nlgarton]

@EdWootten @HeritageLaw @HeritageTrustCo Thank you Ed