SCC 2004

The appellant was the original tenant of commercial leases which it assigned to a subsidiary.

The assignee later became insolvent and repudiated the leases under s. 65.2 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

The landlords sued the appellant for outstanding rent under the assignment clause.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that the repudiation of a lease by an insolvent assignee under s. 65.2 benefits only the insolvent and does not relieve the original tenant or assignor of its contractual obligations to the landlord.

During a strike by its unionized stage technicians, the Société de la Place des Arts de Montréal (SPA) decided to cease providing technical services to its tenants, requiring the tenants to hire their own technicians.

The union obtained an injunction from the Superior Court, upheld by the Court of Appeal, preventing the SPA from allowing tenants to use their own technicians, on the basis that this violated the anti-strikebreaking provisions of s. 109.1(b) of the Labour Code.

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal and vacated the injunction, holding that the SPA had genuinely abandoned the technical services part of its business and was not 'utilizing' the services of persons employed by another employer within the meaning of the Code.

The appellant, acting as curator for an elderly woman, sought indemnification from the Chambre des notaires du Québec after her notary fraudulently acquired her home for one dollar and sold it for $550,000.

The Chambre's Administrative Committee rejected the claim, concluding the notary acted in a personal rather than professional capacity.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that this decision was patently unreasonable, as the notary was acting as a legal adviser and owed a professional duty of impartiality.

The Court ordered the Chambre to pay the remaining maximum indemnity of $187,464.04, plus interest and an additional indemnity, finding that the statutory cap on indemnities does not preclude awards for interest or delay.