Armeco Construction Ltd. v. Canada
A-249-95
Isaac C.J.
22/11/95
14 pp.
Appeal from direction Trial Division, trying action for breach of contract to construct Victoria International Airport, lacking jurisdiction to assess, as part of assessing damages in action, amounts for which plaintiff liable to each of its subcontractors for labour, plant and material-Contract signed, work beginning in 1985-Work completed in 1987-Subcontractors not parties to construction contract-Claims arising from individual contracts-Issue turning on proper construction of standard construction contract-Assessment of damages pursuant to arts. GC50.1.1, GC50.2.1, requiring determination of "all reason able and proper amounts . . . legally payable" by appellant to subcontractors in respect of labour, plant and material provided for Victoria Airport project-Determination necessarily requiring examination of each contract, findings of fact, determination of rights and liabilities of parties-Must be based on law of contract, whether statutory or common law-Absent agreement by interested parties, determination of amounts "legally payable" to subcontractors including identification, application of laws establishing, apportioning or limiting liability-Provincial laws applicable regardless of whether assessment of appellant's claim based on law of contract or of tort-Trial Division lacking jurisdiction to make such determination with respect to contracts founded wholly on provincial law and where not all parties to contracts before it because (1) disputes between appellant and subcontractors between subject and subject, and no jurisdiction conferred upon Trial Division by Federal Court Act, s. 17 (prior to amendment coming into force in 1992) or any other Act to adjudicate upon them; (2) such disputes not founded upon "law of Canada"-Although appellant's case properly before Trial Division (application of tripartite test in ITO-International Terminal Operators Ltd. v. Miida Electronics Inc. et al., [1986] 1 S.C.R. 752), Trial Division lacking jurisdiction to "estimate" subcontractors' claims as estimation not "incidentally necessary" to resolve issues-Significant proportion of proceeding in Trial Division consumed in resolution of issues presented by dispute between appellant and subcontractors-"Legally payable" in art. GC50.1.2 meaning payable after determination by court of competent jurisdiction i.e. provincial superior court-Appeal dismissed-Federal Court Act, R.S.C., 1985, s. 17 (as am. by S.C. 1990, c. 8, s. 3).