Another Harsh Lesson Learned Under the Farm Debt Mediation Act – This Time by a Landlord: HCI Ventures LTD. v. S.O.L. Acres (2017 SKQB 264)
Introduction In a previous Communique post entitled Things You May Not Know About the Farm Debt Mediation Act, we discussed several aspects of how the federal Farm Debt Mediation Act (referred to throughout as the “FDMA” or the “Act”) operates,...
Saskatchewan Court of Appeal confirms that emails can extend limitation periods under the Limitations Act
In a previous article, we wrote about the decision in I.D.H. Diamonds NV v Embee Diamond Technologies Inc., 2017 SKQB 79, where Mr. Justice Layh held: a) that the sort of informal email discussions that are commonplace in today’s business...
Changes Proposed to the Oversight of Retail Payments in Canada
This summer the federal Department of Finance released a discussion paper regarding the oversight framework for retail payment systems in Canada. The paper proposes a number of changes to the way the retail payment systems in Canada are regulated. These...
Ontario Bill 154: Perfection by VIN
On September 14th Ontario Bill 154, Cutting Unnecessary Red Tape Act, 2017 passed first reading. The Bill has various Schedules with the names of each Ministry responsible for the statutes being amended or provisions repealed by each Schedule. Schedule 9, the schedule that deals...
A u-turn on priority disputes between secured creditors and lienholders!
National Bank of Canada v. KNC Holdings Ltd. 2017 SKCA 57 In 2016, the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench rendered a decision on the priority of builder’s liens filed against certain assets under The Builders’ Lien Act (Saskatchewan) (the “BLA”),...
Receivership or CCAA? Having already given significant time, a creditor is not forced to wait longer to enforce
Affinity Credit Union 2013 v. Vortex Drilling Ltd. 2017 SKQB 228 In late July 2017, Mr. Justice Scherman was faced, for the second time in less than two years, with competing applications for CCAA and receivership orders. For the second...
Giving Legal Effect to Emails – Can Emails Satisfy the Requirements to Extend Limitation Periods Under The Limitations Act?
E-mail conversations are often relatively informal and the participants, especially when they are not lawyers, can take prior discussions as a “given” rather than fully and expressly repeating them to ensure they have legal effect. Recently, in I.D.H. Diamonds NV...
Be Careful What You Ask For: What Can Happen When a Creditor Provides the Wrong Payout Figure
One of the routine things that lenders and other creditors do is respond to requests for payout amounts. A recent Saskatchewan decision, Halpape v Bank of Montreal, 2017 SKQB 23, provides a cautionary tale for the disaster that can ensue...
Lesson to Directors: You can be held personally liable for oppressive conduct
While Supreme Court of Canada judgments dealing with commercial law are scarce, in Wilson v. Alharayeri, Canada’s highest Court unanimously held that directors, as opposed to the corporation, itself can be held personally liable for corporate oppression. The Supreme Court...
CASL Reprieve – Private Right of Action No Longer Imminent
By an Order in Council released June 7, 2017, the federal government has suspended the private right of action under Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (or “CASL”). The provisions, which were to come into force on July 1, 2017, would have provided...
