There is presently no single body of law governing the circumstances under which trade secrets are legally protectable. The Criminal Code does not recognize theft of a trade secret as an offence. A person must therefore rely upon the law of contract or, in a case where there is no contract, equity. There are major problems with the current causes of action as far as they apply to protection of trade secrets. This report recommends [...]
This report is long and presents a comprehensive review of the existing law governing transfers and pledges of investment securities in Alberta. It contains a detailed examination of a wide range of issues that relate to current securities trading and holding practices. It proposes that uniform legislation be developed in consultation with other Canadian jurisdictions, but does not include draft legislation. The Alberta Business Corporations Act is the current Alberta law governing transfers of investments securities and [...]
In Alberta, professionals conduct their trades through professional corporations, which do not entitle these professionals to the same types of limited liability protection enjoyed by shareholders in traditional business corporations. The issue this report considers is whether certain professions, which are currently required to practice in unlimited liability firms (such as accounting, legal, and health care), should be allowed to practice through limited liability firms. This report recommends that these professions, and all others, be [...]
There is an inherent tension in cost of credit disclosure legislation. The legislative objective is to assist consumers in getting the information they need at the time they need it to make informed choices about whether to get credit and where to get it. Increasing the disclosure burden on credit grantors increases their costs, and credit grantors will naturally attempt to pass these costs on to consumers and the requirements will exceed the incremental benefit [...]
This report makes recommendations to reform the existing procedure for handling a class action and proposes that Alberta enact a modern class actions statute based on the Canadian model that has been enacted in Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia. Primary recommendations would add a procedure to the existing procedural framework for handling litigation involving multiple plaintiffs having the same or similar claims against the same defendant. Ancillary recommendations would add a procedure for handling litigation [...]
Presently limitation periods for bringing actions against insurers for failing to honour insurance policies depends on the type of insurance. The Insurance Act contains statutory provisions that specifically set out limitation periods for certain types of insurance and requires other specific types of insurance policies to contain "Statutory Conditions" that prescribe their own limitation periods. Inconsistent limitation periods have caused confusion for both insured and for lawyers, and have resulted in a considerable amount of litigation over [...]
This report examines the current law on enforcement of judgments outside of Alberta. Since 1925, Alberta has had a legislative regime whereby money judgments from other specified jurisdictions could be registered with the Alberta courts. Therefore, these judgments are recognized and enforceable in Alberta. This regime has been relatively unchanged since that time. In 1990, the Attorneys General and the Ministers of Justice requested that the Uniform Law Conference of Canada (ULCC) develop uniform legislation [...]
Under the present law of Alberta, specific performance of a contract for the sale and purchase of land will not be granted to the purchaser under the contract unless the land is unique in the sense that no substitute is readily available. In 1996, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Semelhago v Paramadevan, said that it is no longer the case that every piece of real estate is unique and that it therefore cannot be assumed [...]
Joint ventures are an increasingly common part of commercial arrangements. But the legal landscape has not kept up with commercial arrangements. There is a lack of fit between the applicable law and the exigencies of present day joint ventures and the resulting uncertainty is not good for the participants. Final Report 99, Joint Ventures recommends removing the uncertainty by specifying a clear result if a joint venture does two things: declare it is not a [...]
In this Report, ALRI recommends that Alberta adopt the Uniform International Commercial Arbitration Act (2014). ALRI’s recommendations are intended to bring Alberta’s international commercial arbitration law up-to-date with current international standards. Why is Change Needed? Alberta’s current International Commercial Arbitration Act is based on uniform legislation developed in 1986. The Alberta Act has fallen behind the advances that are being made internationally and in other provinces. By updating its legislation, Alberta will catch up to those jurisdictions [...]
