A Castlegar-based construction company is getting another chance to challenge a decision in its dispute with the B.C. government over work it did on the Kootenay Lake ferry terminals.
In reasons for judgment released Oct. 5, B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Griffin granted Marwest Industries Ltd. leave to appeal an arbitration decision involving its contract with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
According to the decision, Marwest signed a contract with the ministry in April 2021 to supply construction and general contracting services for the Kootenay Lake Ferry Terminals Improvement Project.
The work started in June 2021 and was officially finished in February 2023.
The court documents outline a dispute over whether Marwest was owed additional money under the contract, which included an 18-month deadline for bringing forward claims after the work was completed.
Marwest filed a lawsuit against the province on Aug. 16, 2024, one day before that deadline expired. However, it did not formally begin arbitration proceedings until Oct. 10, 2024.
The company later argued that filing the original lawsuit before the deadline should have protected its claim when the dispute was moved into arbitration.
An arbitrator ruled in the ministry’s favour in June 2026, finding the claim was “time-barred” because arbitration had not been started within the contractual deadline.
As a result of the ruling, Marwest then applied to the Court of Appeal for permission to challenge that decision.
In granting leave to appeal, Justice Griffin found the company had raised an arguable legal issue over whether a provision of B.C.’s Arbitration Act allows contractual deadlines to be suspended when a claim is initially filed in court and later moved to arbitration.
“This ground of appeal has sufficient merit that when combined with all other factors mentioned, I am of the view it justifies review by a division of this Court,” Griffin wrote.
The decision also notes Marwest’s claim is valued at more than $2 million and that the legal question could have broader implications for other parties with arbitration clauses in their contracts.
The court has not determined whether Marwest is entitled to additional compensation. It has only granted permission for the appeal to proceed.
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