The Alberta Court of Appeal recently considered an arbitration award in which the arbitrator had decided the rights of non parties to the arbitration.  In MJS Recycling Inc. v. Shane Homes Limited, the Court held that the arbitrator had no authority to determine the rights of non-parties. The court set aside the award and remitted [...]

The competence of an arbitral tribunal to determine its own competence has become firmly rooted in Canadian law.  But what happens when the tribunal has to decide issues which directly affect third parties? In Ontario v. Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited, the Court of Appeal for Ontario recently held that, in that circumstance, the principle does [...]

In a judgment delivered on May 6, 2011, Chief Justice Joseph P. Kennedy of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court dealt with a contentious issue relating to arbitration clauses in construction contracts. Is an arbitration clause in the main contract between the owner and the contractor incorporated into a subcontract between the contractor and subcontractor? If [...]