CHRISTMAS TREES AND THE LAW

The law really does affect everything, including Christmas trees. Not to ruin the fun, or your fond memories of the miracle of the Charlie Brown Christmas, but here are just a few of the ways that law interacts with this holiday symbol:

1. Did you know that Ontario has a Christmas Tree Day Act? Passed in 2015, it proclaims the first Saturday in December to be Christmas Tree Day. It promotes the Christmas tree industry.

2. There used to be a regulation governing the grading of Christmas trees in Ontario, but it was repealed in 2009. It was considered “obsolete”, and the intent was to reduce the regulatory burden on tree farms.

3. You are permitted to cut one tree for your own use on Crown land.

4. On private property, you need the owner’s permission. Otherwise, you are trespassing, and committing a criminal act.

5. Christmas tree lights have been the subject of a tariff dispute, which found outdoor lights, even for use on trees, to be in a different category than lights to decorate a Christmas tree. The law deals in very narrow distinctions sometimes.

6. British Columbia tree growers have complained in trade cases of American growers “dumping” trees into the market.

7. You may not want to have the sort of “Christmas Tree” used to split propane flows- that sort was the subject of a lawsuit in British Columbia after an explosion.

8. A spouse who operated a Christmas tree farm found that it complicated the determination of support payments in a Nova Scotia case.

9. Trademarks applying to Christmas tree lights and decorations have generated enough litigation to make several lawyers’ holidays merry and bright.

10. And what would Christmas be without a tax issue? Not to be a Grinch about it, but whether or not you intend to commercially operate a Christmas tree farm may significantly alter the tax status of rural treed properties.

Whether you go minimalist with your tree or make it fancy, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, the Winter Solstice or Kwanzaa, or the traditions of the indigenous people first on this land, or in some other way, as you and those close to you share the holiday season, in person or at a distance, all of us at Weilers Law hope that you have a safe and happy holiday. See you in

2021!