Rectify A Contract Due To An Error? The Supreme Court Says Yes

The Supreme Court of Canada issued its judgment in Québec (Agence du revenu) v. Services environnementaux the Court AES inc. and Québec (Agence du revenu) v. Riopel, 2013 SCC 65, confirming that the Civil Code of Québec allows the rectification of contracts due to an error. In so deciding, the Supreme Court confirmed the judgments of the Québec Court of Appeal and allowed the correction of the taxpayer's transactions, denying the tax authorities revenues that would have otherwise resulted purely from the errors made by the parties and their representatives.

This judgment may have a significant impact on both the rectification of transactions which have unexpected or unwanted tax consequences and on the interpretation of contracts more generally.