RE:Special distrubitunAssuming they follow the precedent set with the previous two year-end special distributions (2022 and 2023) ... the entire special distribution amount will be characterized as Other Income and subject to tax at the highest rate (as opposed to Capital Gains which are taxed at half the highest rate applicable to any individual taxpayer) ... and ... this will be "offset" by increasing your holdings' ACB by the amount of the non-cash component.
So ponder the math for just a few minutes and you should realize that this is extremely tax inefficient when the holding is in a non-registered account. Because of that ... I liquidated our holding of HR.un in non-registered in early 2023 and rolled a similar amount into my RRSP.
"Fool me once shame on you .... fool me twice shame on me!"