Par François-Xavier Robert
Ordre des agronomes du Québec

Dans la décision 1146491
Ontario Ltd. c. The Queen
(C.C.I., no 2000-4853 (GST), 10 mai 2002, j. Miller), la Cour canadienne de l’impôt
devait décider si les mélanges à salade commercialisés par la requérante
devaient être considérés comme des salades ou des produits alimentaires de base
au sens de la Loi sur la taxe d’accise,
L.R.C. 1985, c. E-5. La question était importante puisque les produits
alimentaires de base ne sont pas taxables, contrairement aux salades.

Les deux parties soulèvent que le sens ordinaire du
mot « salade » doit guider le tribunal dans l’interprétation de la
loi. Le juge leur répond, manifestement non sans sarcasme, que cette approche s’avère
peu utile dans le présent cas :

« [10] There was agreement between counsel that the correct
approach to this matter of interpretation can be found in the decision Shaklee
Canada Inc. v. Canada, (1995) 191 N.R. 227
(F.C.C.A.), which suggests it is appropriate to look at the common
understanding of a word. Having agreed on this, both counsel went on to provide
a number of dictionary definitions of salad. Frankly these are of little or no
assistance. To be told that a salad is « green vegetables (as lettuce,
endive, or romaine) and often tomatoes, cucumbers or radishes served with
dressing » has not considerably expanded my understanding of salad. Neither
was I much further ahead to be advised that a salad is « a mixture of
usually raw vegetables, eaten either as a separate dish or with other
food ». The Respondent’s counsel produced a history of the American salad.
While it was indeed fascinating reading, and acknowledged the emergence in 1990
of the convenience salad, it did not specifically address the matter of the
salad kit. « Salad » has evidently not been judicially defined. I am
certainly not going to do so. What I will do however is determine if the Market
Fresh salad kits are basic groceries or are exceptions to basic groceries. »

La Cour canadienne de l’impôt préfère plutôt cerner les
caractéristiques communes aux produits alimentaires considérés par la loi comme
n’était pas des produits alimentaires de base :

« [12] […] In reviewing the list, two themes become evident as to
what type of foods are not to be considered basic groceries: snacks or junk
food, including anything that most people would find not particularly healthy;
and foods intended to be eaten immediately after opening or removing the
packaging. Salads would not fall in the former category in most people’s view,
so to be caught by the exception in keeping with this common characteristic, a
salad should fall in the latter category. Specifically, looking at the foods
contained in subsections 1(o.1), (o.2), (o.3), (o.4) and (o.5), the common
thread can perhaps more aptly be described as a total convenience food. These
are foods that require no preparation – it is all done for you. Respondent’s
counsel argued that the salad kit is just such a food. I disagree. The
purchaser must take the salad kit home to assemble the salad. The salad may
indeed be used two or three days running by being re-sealed, or it might well
serve a family of four their salad for supper. It is certainly more convenient
than a head of lettuce, but it is not the same level of convenience as the
pre-made and assembled spinach salad proffered as an exhibit. The Respondent’s
counsel acknowledged the degrees of convenience, for the shopper went from a
head of lettuce, to pre-cut, pre-washed bags of lettuce, to the salad kit, to
the fully assembled salad. He maintained the line of convenience between the
bag of cut and washed lettuce and the salad kit was the line over which the tax
bite arose. Again, I disagree. The context of salad as one of an exception of
foodstuffs with common characteristics suggest to me that a salad as an
exception must be a fully assembled ready to eat salad, requiring no further
effort to make it so. A salad is a salad – a salad kit is a salad kit. »

Faisant manifestement peu de cas dans les habiletés
culinaires de la majorité de ses concitoyens et des juristes en
particulier, la Cour ajoute :

« [13] In this fast-paced day and age, where retailers market
convenience to households, in which spending more than one half hour on food
preparation is a rare luxury, it is inappropriate to find a salad kit not to be
part of basic groceries. Those steeped in culinary arts might pooh pooh the
idea that assembling a Caesar salad from a salad kit constitutes food
preparation or cooking. I have no doubt there are a far greater number, be they
university students, law clerks, young urban professionals or retired couples
who think the assembly of the salad from the kit is indeed cooking. As such,
the kit itself cannot be considered the salad. »

Le texte intégral de la décision est
disponible ici.