Arbitration arrived relatively recently in Canada. Indeed,

Canada does not have any equivalent of the Federal Arbitration

Act (FAA),1 which has been in force in the U.S. for nearly a

century. Instead, Canadian courts resisted giving effect to

arbitration clauses until forced to do so when the Government

ratified the New York Convention in 1986,2 almost thirty years

after that Treaty had entered into force! Although Canada was a

late entry onto the arbitration stage, most observers would agree

that it has come a long way in a very short time.

 

While the topic of this paper concerns consolidation in

arbitration, I cannot proceed without a few words regarding

arbitration and consolidation of claims generally. I will thus

provide a brief overview of the legislative context in Canada

regarding arbitration and consolidation of claims before turning

to the critical issue of class arbitration.

 

 

The most significant difference between Canada and the U.S.

when it comes to arbitration is the absence of an equivalent in

Canada of the Federal Arbitration Act. Indeed, there is no

nationally applicable, federal law of arbitration in Canada and

provinces essentially retain legislative competence over
arbitration.3 Still, the framework for arbitration remains largely