What is the scope of the alleged duty of disclosure of a property owner?

34. In the absence of any representation which the buyer could say she relied on in making the decision to enter into the agreement of purchase and sale, in my view the short answer to her allegations of negligent and/or fraudulent misrepresentation is that they must be rejected because misrepresentation and reliance are two of the essential elements of both causes of action: see Queen v. Cognos Inc., 1993 CanLII 146 (SCC), [1993] 1 S.C.R. 87 at 110; Parna v. G & S Properties Ltd., 1970 CanLII 25 (SCC), [1971] S.C.R. 306. However the route to that otherwise simple conclusion is complicated by two aspects of the buyer’s submissions. She submits: (i) that a positive duty to disclose arises even as to defects not affecting the habitability of the premises; and (ii) that silence can amount to fraud. Issue 1: Scope of the Alleged Duty to Disclose