There is more to contracts in Canada than the words on the page. With
its very recent decision in Bhasin v Hrynew (2014 SCC 71), the Supreme
Court of Canada has reshaped the way that Canadian courts will look at
contractual performance. In a unanimous decision, the Court: (1)
recognized good faith contractual performance as a "general organizing
principle of the common law of contract"; and (2) recognized a new duty
of "honest performance", which requires the parties to be honest with
each other in relation to the performance of their contractual
obligations. The decision has broad implications, and raises several
issues that will likely be the subject of further litigation. Published
in the Canadian section of
Best of the Best 2015.
Bennett Jones