CANADA Law and Practice Contributed by: Craig A.B. Ferris KC, Michael J. Donaldson KC and Scott Lucyk, Lawson Lundell LLP
Lawson Lundell LLP Suite 1600 Cathedral Place 925 West Georgia Street Vancouver British Columbia V6C 3L2 Canada Tel: +1 604 685 3456 Fax: +1 604 669 1620 Email: inquiries@lawsonlundell.com Web: www.lawsonlundell.com
1. General 1.1 Prevalence of Arbitration Arbitration is widely used in Canada as an alternative to court litigation. Historically, Canadian governments and courts have adopted a pro-arbitration stance in line with modern international practices. In 1986, Canada became the first jurisdiction to adopt the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration. Canadian courts have since issued over 200 written decisions under arbitration legislation based on the Model Law. Every province and territory, with the exception of Quebec, has a separate statute for domestic and international arbitration. In Quebec, arbitration legis - lation is set out in the Civil Code of Quebec and the Code of Civil Procedure, which are generally consist - ent with the Model Law. There are also many arbitration institutions and facili - ties in Canada which support both domestic and inter - national proceedings. Unless stated otherwise, the sections below address international arbitration matters. 1.2 Key Industries In Canada, international arbitration is commonly used in the following industries: mining, oil and gas, con - struction, information technology, forestry and share - holder disputes.
All industries are experiencing an increased demand for arbitration, which was accelerated by the pan - demic. Arbitration proceedings proceeded without interruption during the pandemic, while the courts in Canada had various limits or closures that made them less accessible to litigants. 1.3 Arbitration Institutions There are many arbitration institutions in Canada, including the ADR Institute of Canada Inc (ADRIC), the Vancouver International Arbitration Centre (VanIAC, formerly BCICAC), the Canadian International Inter - net Dispute Resolution Centre (CIIDRC, a division of VanIAC), the Canadian Arbitration Association (CAA) and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution of Canada (ICDR – Canada). Effective 1 July 2022, VanIAC has introduced new International Commercial Arbitration Rules of Proce - dure (the “VanIAC Rules”), which include International Expedited Procedures in Appendix A. In 2020, VanIAC amended its domestic arbitration rules (in conjunction with the province of British Columbia’s new domestic Arbitration Act, SBC 2020, c 2). 1.4 National Courts There are no specialised courts in Canada designated to hear arbitration-related disputes. These matters are typically heard by the provincial superior courts, in accordance with their rules of civil procedure. Canadian courts are accustomed to dealing with domestic and international arbitration matters, and
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