USco disposed of 50% of the shares of Canco to another corporation ("Holdco" – that was a Canadian-owned Canadian corporation), "retroactive" to a particular date. In commenting on the effectiveness of the stated effective date, the Directorate stated:
[F]or tax purposes, the parties may only stipulate an effective date of a contract that is earlier than the date of signature if, at that earlier date, the parties had reached a final agreement on the essential elements of the contract. Thus, in our view, the effective date in the contract will not be enforceable against the CRA if, after the effective date, the parties continue to negotiate essential elements of the contract (e.g., the price or the subject matter of the contract), or if the parties have indicated an intention not to be bound until a final contract is signed.