Income taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements [Abstract]

Disclosure of unused tax losses [Table Text Block]

		Canada		Other foreign		Total
2026	$	1,803,343	$	—	$	1,803,343
2027		1,516,471		—		1,516,471
2028		—		—		—
2029		1,554,181		461,496		2,015,677
2030		2,096,995		1,880,897		3,977,892
2031		1,263,375		18,526		1,281,901
2032		1,400,147		325,793		1,725,940
2033		1,697,116		157,463		1,854,579
2034		2,455,152		679,089		3,134,241
2035		2,774,535		570,901		3,345,436
2036		3,256,074		441,019		3,697,093
2037		2,606,582		232,719		2,839,301
2038		1,762,145		—		1,762,145
2039		1,576,315		3,923		1,580,238
2040		531,199		—		531,199
	$	26,293,630	$	4,771,826	$	31,065,456

Disclosure of deferred taxes [Table Text Block]

		2020			2019			2018
Non-capital losses and other	$	8,232,346		$	8,073,286		$	7,698,859
Capital losses		166,316			175,090			175,090
Property, equipment, patents and deferred costs		1,666,788			1,668,632			1,567,228
	$	10,065,450			9,917,008		$	9,441,177
Deferred tax asset not recognized		(10,065,450	)		(9,917,008	)		(9,441,177	)
	$	—		$	—		$	—

Disclosure of detailed information about effective income tax expense recovery [Table Text Block]

		2020			2019			2018
Loss before income taxes	$	(1,245,393	)	$	(2,832,864	)	$	(2,362,239	)
Statutory tax rate		26.50%			26.50%			26.50%
Expected income tax recovery	$	(330,029	)	$	(750,709	)	$	(625,993	)
Non-deductible expenses and other items		143,550			270,610			182,056
Effect of exchange rate on deferred tax assets carried forward and other		38,037			4,269			225,846
Effect of higher tax rates in foreign jurisdictions		—			—			—
Change in deferred tax assets not recognized		148,442			475,830			218,091
	$	—		$	—		$	—