Friedlander v. The Queen, 2012 DTC 1165 [at at 3405], 2012 TCC 163 (Informal Procedure) -- summary under Subsection 162(1)

After referring to the finding in Les Résidences Majeau v. The Queen, 2010 FCA 28, para. 8 that the due diligence defence extended to situations where the taxpayer "made a reasonable mistake of fact," Paris J. found that the taxpayer should not incur penalties under s. 162(1), in respect of a failure to file the required forms (T1-OVP) on excess contributions made to an RRSP account he held. It was clear that the taxpayer, who had little familiarity with the English language or Canadian investment products, had intended to set up an investment account rather than an RRSP. The bank employee who set up the account had misunderstood the taxpayer's request, and the taxpayer misunderstood the nature of the account he had created and had no reason to believe that excess contributions would ever be an issue.