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www.canadianlawyermag.com 41 OFFICE VACANCY RATES Q2 2020 (Q2 2019) 4.6% (4.2%) Vancouver 24.5% (24.4%) Calgary 19.8% (19.4%) Edmonton 6.2% (7.3%) Toronto 9.3% (11.2%) Montreal he notes that many don't specifically mention a pandemic as a trigger to it being success- fully invoked. That is despite the SARS pandemic more than 15 years ago, which Witt says should have made both landlords and tenants more aware of the potential financial harm a major virus outbreak could cause. But Witt adds that, given how most force majeure provisions have generally been written, they generally don't work in favour of the tenant. "Whether or not these clauses mention pandemics, most go on to say, essentially, that financial hardship or lack of funds isn't a reason for a tenant not to perform their obligation to pay any amounts that are due under the lease," he says. "That's a pretty New Edition The 2020 Annotated Canada Labour Code Ronald M. Snyder Available risk-free for 45 days Online: store.thomsonreuters.ca Call Toll-Free: +1 800 387 5164 In Toronto: 416 609 3800 Print + ProView eBook $248 Softcover + eBook approx. 2140 pages May 2020 Print only Order # 30839220 $207 ProView eBook only $207 Multiple copy discounts available Pricing includes shipping and handling. Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes Also available as an eBook on Thomson Reuters ProView® For more than 25 years, Ronald Snyder's Annotated Canada Labour Code has been the "bible" among federal labour practitioners. Ron's annotations provide essential insights into the Canada Labour Code, and make this book the necessary resource for preparing any case before the Canada Industrial Relations Board. Annotated Canada Labour Code reviews reported case law to assist in the interpretation and application of the legislation delineated under Parts I, II, and III of the Code. It also references jurisprudence applicable to the Code's subordinate C.I.R.B. Regulations. New in this edition • 102 new decisions that have been rendered by the C.I.R.B., the O.S.H. Appeal Board, and adjudicators • Part I case law includes discussion of the board's duty to assess and weigh the sufficiency of evidence • Part II case law includes review of the standard of proof required to establish s. 128 refusal to work • Part III incorporates the new legislative amendments that came into force effective September 1, 2019 reflecting Parliament's most significant rewrite of Part III since it was enacted in 1965 • A detailed examination of the Supreme Court of Canada's recent Vavilov decision • Updated legislation current to December 25, 2019 subsequent amendments, including those related to COVID-19, are included in supplements Choose eBook, print, or both Experience the freedom and flexibility to work wherever and whenever you want, with or without an internet connection, with Thomson Reuters ProView®, the premier eBook experience for professionals worldwide. © 2020 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited TR1158418-NM watertight phrase." Witt adds that most tenants have likely flipped through their leases and "not found much of anything there that was helpful." A recent Quebec case, one of the first Covid-19-related lawsuits to surface in Canada, gives some indication of how force majeure clauses are being interpreted by the courts. In Hengyun International Investment Commerce Inc. c. 9368-7614 Québec inc., Quebec Superior Court Justice Peter Kalichman dismissed a fitness centre's (Quebec Inc.'s) contention that it was prevented by force majeure from an obli- gation to pay rent because it was unable to generate revenues due to the govern- ment shutdown order. Kalichman rejected Source: CBRE