The Fund, which is a mutual fund trust, a REIT and a closed-end unit trust described in s. 108(2)(b), holds a subsidiary limited partnership which had issued exchangeable Class B units to third-party vendors. The ruling letter, before going on to disclaim any opinion on the application of s. 97(2), stated:
16. The purpose of the existence of LP is to facilitate XXXXXXXXXX acquisitions by the Fund by providing potential vendors with the ability to transfer their XXXXXXXXXX to LP on a tax deferred basis under subsection 97(2). This is common practice among real estate investment trusts (REITs) in general and allows the Fund to have more flexibility with investing in a diversified portfolio of investments since it ensures that the Fund can make offers to purchase XXXXXXXXXX from potential vendors that are comparable to offers that may be made by other REITs.