Clibetre Exploration Ltd. v. Canada (Minister of National Revenue), 2003 DTC 5073, 2003 FCA 16 -- summary under Paragraph 152(4)(b)

The taxpayer, which had claimed non-capital losses from its mining business, sought more than three years later to have the expenses giving rise to the losses characterized as Canadian exploration expenses in order that it could take deductions beyond the seven-year carryforward period for non-capital losses. Before referring the matter back to the Minister for reassessment on the basis that the previous years' expenditures qualified as Canadian exploration expense, Sharlow J.A. stated (at p. 5074) that there was no need for the Minister to reassess the taxpayer for the years in question in order to characterize the amounts as Canadian exploration expenses "because the taxable income and thus the tax payable for each of those years would be nil whether the expenses for the year are claimed as deductions in computing a non-capital loss, or treated as Canadian exploration expenses".