Page 2 - Wastech Services News Today

Callow, which expanded a contracting party’s duty of honesty, was released in December 2020; however, the SCC’s decision in Wastech, which clarifies the duty to exercise contractual discretion in good faith, was not released until early this month.  Although Wastech involved a commercial contract, it has implications for all contracts in which a party has discretionary power, including any such contracts entered into by employers. Background In 1996, Wastech Services Inc., a waste transp...

Since 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada has recognized that all commercial contracts must be performed honestly, in accordance with the principle of good faith: Bhasin v. Hyrnew, 2014 SCC 71 and...

In its recent decision in What you need to know The Court held that the organizing principle of good faith requires that, where a contract gives a party the ability to make a discretionary decision, the party must exercise that discretion reasonably in light of the bargain the parties made. The Court held that the duty to exercise discretion reasonably is imposed externally on the contractual relationship, and therefore the parties cannot contract out of it. This means that The Court heard t...

Background Wastech Services Ltd. (Wastech) moves and disposes of waste. In 1996, Wastech and the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District (Metro) entered into a 20-year contract for the disposal of waste from the Greater Vancouver Regional District (the Contract). Wastech agreed to remove and transport waste to three disposal facilities. Metro was responsible for allocating where the waste was to be disposed. The volume of waste allocated to each facility was a critical variable in calc...

The Supreme Court of Canada has waded into a dispute about garbage in Wastech Services Ltd. v. Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District.

Wastech, the Court clarified the content of another doctrine flowing from the organizing principle: the duty to exercise contractual discretion in good faith.  Background Wastech involved a waste transportation company (Wastech) and a corporation responsible for municipal waste disposal (Metro). In 1996, Wastech and Metro entered into a contract for waste disposal services that contemplated disposing waste in three landfills, one of which was much farther away than the others. The contract sta...

Today, in its decision in Wastech Services Ltd. v. Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District1, the Supreme Court has clarified the limits on the duty to exercise contractual...

not breached. The Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District (" Metro") and Wastech Services Ltd. (" Wastech") entered into a long-term contract for the removal and transportation of waste to three disposal sites. The contract gave Metro "absolute discretion" to allocate waste between the sites and provided that Wastech would be paid a different rate depending on the site. In 2011, Metro reallocated waste in a way that resulted in Wastechs not achieving a cost/revenue target identified i...

The Globe and Mail Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account Getting audio file ... This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy. Full Disclaimer LAURA LEYSHON/The Globe and Mail The obligation to show good faith in the performance of a contract stops short of harming one’s own interests, the Supreme Court has ruled. The ruling came in a dispute between a waste management...

On December 18, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada (" SCC") released its decision in C.M. Callow Inc v Tammy Zollinger Callow"); this decision will impact contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and various other components of the construction industry. The SCC clarified the duty of honest performance in contractual obligations and what may be considered a breach of this duty. What You Need to Know Parties to a contract have a duty of honest performance; The duty of honest performance means that ...