After noting that it appeared that the GAAR assessments of the taxpayer had not first gone before the CRA GAAR Committee, St-Hilaire J stated (at para. 44):
Courts have consistently held that the issue in an appeal before this Court is the validity of the assessment and not the process by which it was established and further, the conduct of CRA officials is irrelevant to the determination of the correctness of an assessment (see Main Rehabilitation Co. Ltd. v The Queen, 2004 FCA 403 at para 8; Ereiser v The Queen, 2013 FCA 20 at para 31).