Does a subcontractor have an interest in the outcome of an arbitration?

The responding parties rely on the decision of Pattillo J. in Baffinland Iron Mines v. Tower-EBC, 2021 ONSC 5639. In that case, an award in an arbitration provided for damages to the claimant which included an amount for lost profits and standby charges that would be paid to a subcontractor of the claimant. An application was brought by the unsuccessful party to the arbitration to set aside the award. The subcontractor moved for leave to intervene on the basis that the subcontractor had an interest in the subject matter of the proceeding and, if the award was set aside, the subcontractor would be adversely affected. Pattillo J., at para. 23, accepted that the subcontractor has a financial interest in the outcome or result of the proceeding but not in the subject matter of the proceeding which was concerned with an arbitration involving a contract to which the subcontractor was not a party. Pattillo J. held, at para. 32, that while the subcontractor can show a greater adverse impact than a member of the public in respect of the possible outcome of the application, the impact is incidental to and separate from the subject matter of the application given that the subcontractor is a non-party to the arbitration and its claim is against the claimant and not the party seeking to set aside the award.