Application for declaration that lease dispute is not arbitrable dismissed; arbitrator must decide jurisdiction.
The applicant, the Corporation of the Town of Saugeen Shores, sought a declaration that a dispute with its lessee over construction delays was not arbitrable and must be litigated.
The lessee argued that the dispute, which involved a force majeure clause, should be resolved by arbitration and that the arbitrator should decide jurisdiction at first instance based on the competence-competence principle.
The court dismissed the application, holding that the issue of arbitrability raised questions of mixed fact and law that required more than superficial consideration of the documentary evidence, and therefore must first be determined by an arbitrator.
