When redrafting the appeal provision in an arbitration agreement, can counsel for the parties be presumed to be aware of the provisions of the Arbitration Act?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from 6524443 Canada Inc. v City of Toronto, 2016 ONSC 7147 (CanLII):

I agree with the observations of Czutrin J. in Costa v. Costa, 2008 CanLII 9609 (ON SC), at para. 34: When redrafting the appeal provision, the parties were represented by counsel. Counsel for the parties should be presumed to be aware of the provisions of the Arbitration Act, especially since they limited their right of appeal to the options provided for under that statute. Therefore, they should be presumed to know that the Arbitration Act requires the arbitration agreement to specify whether the parties have the right to appeal questions of fact or mixed fact and law. The parties chose not to include a right of appeal on questions of fact and mixed fact and law in their arbitration agreement. Therefore, the only reasonable interpretation of the arbitration agreement is that parties intended to restrict their right of appeal to questions of law with leave pursuant to s. 45(1) of the Arbitration Act.[5]

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