In determining whether the taxpayer was eligible for a Canada child tax benefit, Boyle J. found that the taxpayer was resident in Canada for the 16 years he spent in full-time rabbinical studies in Israel. The taxpayer's family had Israeli health insurance, the children went to school in Israel, and taxpayer's wife occasionally worked in Israel during the study period. However, the taxpayer remained a Canadian citizen with a Canadian passport. He intended to accept a faculty position, offered by a Canadian school, upon his return. He voted in Canadian elections, filed Canadian tax returns, and maintained personal relationships, financial accounts, drop-boxes, and an apartment in Canada.
While the taxpayer's studies in Israel were very extended, Boyle J. found at paras. 32-33 that it would be inappropriate for the court to set a specific time limit on studies abroad. Therefore, the taxpayer could not lose Canadian residency on the basis of time alone.