Fiduciary

From Riverview Legal Group


Best Lifestyle v. County of Simcoe, 2019 ONSC 6619 (CanLII)

[69] There is at least one important difference between the duty of good faith and a fiduciary duty. If, for example, A owes a fiduciary duty to B, A must act only in accordance with B's interests when A exercises its powers or exercises a discretion arising out of the relationship: see York Condominium Corp. No. 167 et al. v. Newrey Holdings Ltd. et al. (1981), 1981 CanLII 1932 (ON CA), 122 D.L.R. (3d) 280 (Ont. C.A.) at 289, leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada refused [1981] 1 S.C.R. xi; Hodgkinson v. Simms, 1994 CanLII 70 (SCC), (1994) 3 S.C.R. 377. If, on the other hand, A owes a duty of good faith to B, A must give consideration to B's interests as well as to its own interests before exercising its power. Thus, if A owes a duty of good faith to B, so long as A deals honestly and reasonably with B, B's interests are not necessarily paramount: see for example Mason v. Freedman, 1958 CanLII 7 (SCC), (1958) S.C.R. 483.