ONTARIO – Arbitration – Application to set aside arbitral award under Arbitration Act, 1991, s. 46(1)6. –Where an arbitration agreement provides that the arbitral award is final without right of appeal even as to questions of law, the ambit of the Court’s right to set aside the award is limited to ensuring that both parties were treated equally and were given a right to present their case and respond. The Court will not review the correctness or reasonableness of the arbitral award.

ONTARIO – Arbitration – Set aside application pursuant to s. 46 of the Arbitration Act, 1991. Arbitrator had jurisdiction to raise the new issue. However, the Arbitrator’s refusal to allow a party to present evidence in respect of the new issue and their exclusion of certain evidence amounted to procedural unfairness that offended the principles of natural justice. An arbitrator does not have inherent jurisdiction.

ONTARIO – Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Award – Recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award refused pursuant to ICAA (Model Law) where contractual notice and stepped dispute resolution provisions not followed. The Model Law defers to the contractual means of delivery or service when specified and this is not considered a violation of due process.

ONTARIO – Arbitration – Standard of Review – The standard of review on an appeal from an arbitral award on a question of law or a mixed question of fact and law is reasonableness. The reasonableness standard is highly deferential to the arbitrator, but the arbitrator is required to decide disputes in accordance with binding precedent and it must reveal that the decision was not based on an irrational chain of analysis.

ONTARIO – Arbitration – Arbitration Act, 1991, S.O. 1991, c. 17, ss. 45(1) and (2)– Where an arbitration agreement provides that the arbitration “finally settles” all issues, there is no basis for the Court to grant leave to appeal from the arbitral award, even on questions of law.  

ONTARIO – Arbitration – Court Appointment of Arbitrator – Where the arbitration agreement provides no procedure for appointing the arbitral tribunal, the court has the jurisdiction under section 10(1)(a) of the Arbitrations Act, 1991 to make the appointment. Where there are several qualified candidates, the court’s task is to select the arbitrator that is best qualified by profession or occupation to decide the issues given the issues in dispute and the factual matrix in which they arose. Relative adjudicative experience is often a decisive factor.