Discretionary Rights within Contracts Must be Exercised in Good Faith

February 16, 2021 - Tony Anderson

In addition to the precise obligations required from parties to a contract, a common feature seen among contracting parties are options more formally referred to as “discretional rights”. As the name suggests, these rights afford parties certain latitude in the manner in which contractual rights may be performed. Although these tools afford parties flexibility with respect to contractual performance, the Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC”) has recently decided that these rights (or options) must be exercised in good faith.

The general doctrine of “good faith” is a longstanding organizing principal recognized under Canadian contract law. This duty imposes a…

New Rent Relief Program Announced to Replace CECRA

October 15, 2020 - Tony Anderson

Some good news for commercial tenants: the red tape which plagued the Canadian Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program has been reduced in favor of an easy-to-access application process that replaces the system of numerous prescribed documents required under CECRA.

On October 9, the Federal Government announced details regarding relief to commercial tenants who have experienced reduced revenues due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This new program will become the successor to the CECRA program originally announced in May of this year and officially now concluded as of September 30, 2020.

In its place, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) will…

Land Owner Transparency Registry to Launch November 30, 2020

October 13, 2020 - Tony Anderson

It was recently announced that much anticipated Land Owner Transparency Registry (the “Registry”) will become effective as of November 30, 2020 (the “Effective Date”) with the Province approving Order in Council No. 549, bringing into force almost all provisions of the governing legislation: the Land Owner Transparency Act (the “Act”).

The purpose of the Act is to mandate reporting for indirect ownership of land in the Province which shall be maintained in the Registry and publicly accessible. Prior to the Effective Date, only legal ownership of lands was recorded which meant that disclosure of ownership began and ended at the…

CECRA Program Extended Throughout July

June 30, 2020 - Tony Anderson

The federal government has just announced the extension the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) Program to cover the month of July. This extends the Program’s eligibility by one month beyond the original three months of April, May and June

As per our previous blog posts, the CECRA Program offers forgivable loans to qualifying small businesses (those that have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic) who lease commercial space from qualifying landlords. Ultimately, the federal and provincial governments will cover 50% of the gross rent, the eligible tenant would pay 25% and the landlord would forgo the remaining 25%.

Although…

No Eviction for Eligible Commercial Tenants Unless Landlords Apply for CECRA

June 01, 2020 - Tony Anderson

When the Canadian Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (“CECRA”) Program was first revealed, two issues were highlighted by the public concerning eligibility:

The requirement that the relevant commercial property had been used to secure a mortgage loan; and that commercial tenants were at the whim of their respective landlords to apply for the Program.

The former concern has recently been addressed by the Federal Government by eliminating the requirement for a mortgage to be registered and, as of today, it appears the latter issue has also been remedied.

This morning, the Provincial Finance Minister, Carole James, announced a new emergency order…

No Need For a Mortgage – Update to the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (“CECRA”) Program

May 19, 2020 - Tony Anderson

Scrutinized criteria regarding the eligibility of the CECRA Program appears to have been subtly addressed in recent days.  The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (“CMHC”) – the entity charged with administering the Program – had previously published criteria for eligible commercial landlords and tenants on their website. Among those conditions stood the requirement for the commercial property (which housed the affected commercial tenant) to have been used to secure a mortgage loan.

Previously, CMHC’s webpage contained a footnote next to this requirement with the following:

“For those property owners who do not have a mortgage, an alternative mechanism will be…