CLOUT
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This was an application to stay proceedings. The case involves the shipment of 2 loads of wood pulp from British Columbia to Finland via Rotterdam. Two ships, owned by different owners, carried the wood pulp from B.C. to Rotterdam. Two other ships owned by two other owners carried the wood pulp from Rotterdam to Finland. When the ships were unloaded in Rotterdam, the wood pulp was found to be damaged. Altogether there were 5 plaintiffs and 10 defendants (including the ships themselves) named in the action. The parties and the ships have close connections with various jurisdictions including British Columbia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Liberia, Bermuda, U.S.A., Panama, Japan and Denmark. As is readily apparent, the facts are complex. They are clearly set out in the reasons of the Prothonotary reported at (1998) 145 F.T.R. 125.

The defendants entered conditional appearances to bring motions to stay proceedings along with other procedural claims.

The application was allowed. The contract of affreightment contained an arbitration clause which was binding on two of the main parties. The contract of affreightment also bore the signature of Fibreco, the Canadian pulp producer and plaintiff, which indicated its awareness of the arbitration clause if not necessarily its legal submission to it. The decision to stay the Canadian proceedings until the arbitration took place between the parties involved therein was considered to be the most efficient means of litigating the issues between the various parties. As a result, the court used its discretion to stay proceedings and did not refer all of the parties to arbitration.

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