Electronic Signatures: Don't Despair, The Signature Is There

The scale and pace of change in our increasingly-connected digital and electronic world has been too much for even a stodgy area like the law to ignore. There is a pronounced trend in the law to recognize electronic transactions that are entered into other than through the old-fashioned pen and paper method. For example, the British Columbia Court of Appeal found that the negotiation of an agreement by an exchange of emails resulted in a legally binding agreement even though no formal contract was signed¹. Also, legislation enabling electronic transactions is now in place in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario (the "Electronic Commerce Legislation")², as well as in other provinces, that facilitates entering into transactions by non-traditional means.