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ARTICLE · 30 NOVEMBER 2015

Federal Exemption From Liens Is No Simple Matter

McLennan Ross LLP
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With significant recent and ongoing expansion at the Calgary, Edmonton and Fort McMurray airports, a number of trades have been interested in the question whether airports are subject to builders' liens.

CanadaReal Estate and Construction
Corbin Devlin
Corbin Devlin
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With significant recent and ongoing expansion at the Calgary, Edmonton and Fort McMurray airports, a number of trades have been interested in the question whether airports are subject to builders’ liens. In the recent Alberta decision Park Avenue Flooring Inc. v. EllisDon Construction Services Inc., the judge states categorically that the Alberta Builders’ Lien Act has no application to the Calgary Airport because it is federal property. This is the first time a court has made such a clear pronouncement on this issue in Alberta.

The issue is canvassed more fully in the 2009 B.C. case Vancouver International Airport v. Lafarge Canada Inc.

Constitutional Questions

The issue is actually more complex than the decision in Park Avenue Flooring case might suggest. It is not every construction project relating to an airport that is exempt from provincial lien legislation. First, an interest in land owned by the federal government is clearly exempt. But... not all airport

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