Biography

Blair graduated from Dalhousie Law School and articled at the Toronto office of McCarthy & McCarthy (now McCarthy Tétrault). After completing the Ontario Bar Admission Course in 1985 and achieving the top mark in taxation, he started the practice of tax law with the Toronto tax department of McCarthy's.

In 1988, Blair was seconded to the Head Office of Revenue Canada (Rulings Directorate). As a senior rulings officer, he considered taxpayer requests for advance income tax rulings and advised local offices of Revenue Canada.

Blair resumed the private practice of tax law in 1989. Rather than returning to the Toronto office of McCarthy's, however, he headed west to the Vancouver office of the firm.

In 1992, he resigned his partnership in McCarthy's in order to move to Victoria. After three years of practice as a partner of Crease Harman & Company, Blair established his own firm - Victoria's first tax and estate planning boutique.

Blair is the author of Canada Taxation and Investment, the Canadian volume in the on-line publications of the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation ("IBFD"), Amsterdam. He has spoken at numerous seminars and conferences and is a past instructor in Advanced Taxation at the University of Victoria Law School.

Blair is rated AV (pre-eminent with high ethics) by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. This is the highest rating that a lawyer can receive.

1. "Considerations in Drafting Shareholder Agreements", British Columbia Tax Conference. Vancouver, BC: November 21-22, 2005 (Canadian Tax Foundation).
2. "Debt Restructuring", Tax for the Non-Specialist - 1996. Vancouver, BC: February 15, 1996 (The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia).
3. "A Comparison of the Income Tax Implications of Using a Partnership or a Joint Venture", Corporate Management Tax Conference. Toronto, Ontario: June 28-29, 1994 (Canadian Tax Foundation).
4. "Tax and Matrimonial Problems", Matrimonial Law, Tax and Pensions. Vancouver, BC: December 2, 1993 (The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia).
5. "Tax and Matrimonial Problems", Tax for the Non-Specialist - 1993. Vancouver, BC: March 10, 1993 (The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia).
6. "GST Consequences for Reorganizations", Corporate Tax: The Essentials Course. Vancouver, BC: October 21-22, 1992 (The Canadian Institute).
7. "The Federal Goods and Services Tax and Commercial Leases", Strategic Issues in Commercial Leasing: Competing in Today's Market. Vancouver, BC: April 29, 1992 (The Canadian Institute).
8. "Tax Implications of Incorporation", Tax for the Non-Specialist-1991. Vancouver, BC: October 17, 1991 (The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia).
9. "Taxation of Partnerships and Joint Ventures", British Columbia Tax Conference. Vancouver, BC: September 12-13, 1990 (Canadian Tax Foundation).

1. International Fiscal Association
2. Canadian Tax Foundation
3. Canadian Bar Association
4. Victoria Bar Association
5. Law Society of British Columbia
6. Victoria Estate Planning Council
7. Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners

1. Lecturer for Tax Update Course, Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia (Victoria sessions, 2000).
2. Instructor in Advanced Taxation, University of Victoria Law School (spring term, 1994).
3. Instructor in Tax Law, Professional Legal Training Course (Victoria session of the British Columbia Bar Admission Course), 1993 to 1999.
4. Instructor in Business Law at the Bar Admission Course of the Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario) (1986-87).