The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench has once again
confirmed that obtaining permission to appeal an arbitration award
under section 44(2) of the Arbitration Act, which applies
where an arbitration agreement is silent on an appeal right, will
be a virtually impossible task. Parties wishing to have the option
of appealing their arbitration awards to the Alberta courts should
therefore be reluctant to rely upon this section and should instead
include appeal rights in their arbitration agreements.
As in most Canadian jurisdictions, the framework for appeal of
an arbitration award in Alberta depends on the underlying
arbitration agreement. Parties can agree that awards may be
appealed on questions of law, questions of fact, or questions of
mixed fact and law under section 44(1) of the Arbitration
Act, RSA 2000, c A-43 (Act). Where the agreement is
silent, section 44(2) of the Act provides that, with permission of
the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, parties can appeal on
