Saint-Laurent v. The Queen, 2008 DTC 3668 (TCC)

In investing in a partnership the taxpayer had no intention of deriving any profit whatsoever and his only motivation was to generate a tax refund to himself. Accordingly, the taxpayer did not operate a business in respect of the partnership, and his losses were not deductible.

The taxpayer did absolutely nothing to familiarize himself with his partners in a purported Quebec partnership, the financial quality of his investment or the reliability and credibility of the person heading the project, and signed a form for the sale of his partnership interest almost contemporaneously with his investment in the partnership. Accordingly, the taxpayer's investment "had absolutely nothing to do with a genuine partnership, the essential characteristics of which are a cooperative spirit, a contribution by combining property, knowledge or activities, and, lastly, a sharing of the pecuniary profits from this combining and from carrying on business during a certain period" (para. 98).