Buffalo Point First Nation v. Buffalo Point Cottage Owners Association Inc

• Published date: 09 February 2026
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, Trials & Appeals & Compensation
• Law Firm: Gowling WLG
• Author: Ricki T. Johnston

Manitoba Court of Appeal confirms that the reasonableness standard continues to govern appeals from commercial arbitral awards, notwithstanding Vavilov.

Background

In Buffalo Point, the Manitoba Court of Appeal added its voice to the ongoing debate regarding standard of review applicable to appeals from commercial arbitral awards. The Court found that the Supreme Court of Canada's decisions in Sattva Capital Corp and Teal Cedar Products remain good law such that the reasonableness standard applies.

This is in contrast with the majority of lower court decisions and other appellate court decisions that have held that the appellate standard of review applies in light of the Supreme Court's analysis of statutory appeal clauses in Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov.

Facts

In Buffalo Point, the arbitral award under review was granted in connection with a disputearising from a Settlement Agreement reached between the parties following several years of ongoing litigation. The underlying dispute arose in connection with a series of leases granted over land owned by the Buffalo Point First Nation (the "Nation") and the ability of the Nation to enact a taxation scheme over the properties subject to those leases.

In 1974, the Nation surrendered reserve land to the Crown to allow for leases with the Buffalo Point Development Corp. Ltd. (the "Corporation") and the development of a recreational community through sublease agreements with individual cottage owners. The Buffalo Point Cottage Owners Association (the "Association") was created to represent the cottage subleaseholders, and the Corporation and the Association established a process for thepayment of fees for annual maintenance and the costs of local services.

In 2000, the Association, the Corporation, and local businesses entered into a co-management agreement establishing a joint planning committee and a process for determining the...