Rip CJ found that the taxpayers, who were medical residents, were eligible for educational and textbook tax credits. The residency programs were administered by the medical schools of various Canadian universities, which were designated educational institutions.
The residency program was a qualifying educational program notwithstanding that residents did not take at least 10 hours of classes. Rip CJ stated (at para. 55):
The word "or" in the phrase "course or work" ... must be conjunctive. The word "or" permits an individual to follow a qualifying educational program that is wholly made up of academic courses or one that is wholly made up of work.
Regarding the Minister's argument that residents were employees rather than students, Rip CJ stated (at para. 54):
I do not find it illogical in reading Subsection 118(6) that a person can be both a full-time student and a full-time employee or even carry on his or her own business on a full-time basis while a full-time student.