Can Pembina be held vicariously liable for the actions of Secure?

CCS further argues that, even if Secure and Pembina are not found to be partners, Pembina is vicariously liable for Secure’s wrongful conduct under the doctrine of vicarious liability, pointing to Sagaz, at paras. 25-27: Vicarious liability is not a distinct tort. It is a theory that holds one person responsible for the misconduct of another because of the relationship between them. Although the categories of relationships in law that attract vicarious liability are neither exhaustively defined nor closed, the most common one to give rise to vicarious liability is the relationship between master and servant, now more commonly called employer and employee. In general, tort law attempts to hold persons accountable for their wrongful acts and omissions and the direct harm that flows from those wrongs. Vicarious liability, by contrast, is considered to be a species of strict liability because it requires no proof of personal wrongdoing on the part of the person who is subject to it. As such, it is still relatively uncommon in Canadian tort law. What policy considerations govern its discriminate application? As Fleming stated in an oft-quoted passage: [T]he modern doctrine of vicarious liability cannot parade as a deduction from legalistic premises, but should be frankly recognised as having its basis in a combination of policy considerations.... (The Law of Torts (9th ed. 1998), at p. 410, cited in Bazley v. Curry, 1999 CanLII 692 (SCC), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 534, at para. 26, per McLachlin J. (as she then was); see also Jacobi v. Griffiths, 1999 CanLII 693 (SCC), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 570, released concurrently, at para. 29, per Binnie J.) However, McLachlin J. noted in Bazley, at para. 27 (cited in Jacobi, at para. 29) that "[a] focus on policy is not to diminish the importance of legal principle."