Donna Bain Smith

The plaintiff, Wilderness North Air, was awarded a contract by Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. (Remotes) to be the primary vendor for the delivery of diesel fuel by air to five remote First Nations communities.

After the contract was awarded, several First Nations communities issued Band Council Resolutions (BCRs) stating they would only accept fuel delivered by Wasaya Airways, a First Nations-owned airline that had been unsuccessful in the bidding process.

Remotes subsequently cancelled Wilderness's purchase orders for four of the communities and awarded the work to Wasaya and another carrier.

Wilderness sued Remotes for breach of contract and breach of the duty of good faith, and sued Wasaya for inducing breach of contract.

The Superior Court of Justice found that Remotes breached the contract and its duty of good faith, and that Wasaya induced the breach.

Wilderness was awarded $2,718,988 in damages, with Wasaya jointly and severally liable for $856,458.

The plaintiffs, an auto recycling business and its owner, sued the lead investigator and the Thunder Bay Police Services Board for negligent police investigation after being acquitted of multiple counts of possession of stolen property.

The court found the police investigation was negligent because the officers failed to familiarize themselves with auto recycling industry practices, misunderstood the relevant law, ignored and failed to document innocent explanations, and failed to secure seized property.

The court awarded the plaintiffs $1,581,116.62 in damages, including compensation for lost business income, legal fees, property damage, and non-pecuniary losses for reputational harm and emotional distress.