CONSTRUCTION | INFRASTRUCTURE

IN THIS ISSUE
JUNE 2010
unturned". "Reasonable efforts" is a less onerous standard
>> “BEST 
EFFORTS” 
– “
REASONABLE EFFORTS”
  than "best efforts".
– “
COMMERCIALLY REASONABLE 
EFFORTS” 
–  
WHAT DO 
THESE TERMS MEAN?  Another variation is the "reasonable best efforts" phrase.
This has not been explicitly considered in Canadian
>> ENGINEER AND OWNER BOTH LIABLE FOR jurisprudence, though one American author opines that
NEGLIGENT DESIGN THAT FAILED TO "best efforts" and "reasonable best efforts" are likely similar
PROTECT PUBLIC SAFETY in that 'reasonable' in the latter phrase is largely irrelevant.2
This is significant in Canada (as in the United States) in that
drafting with the phrase "reasonable best efforts" might get
>> CONTACT US you in trouble if you think it means something less than
"best efforts", because it may not. The better practice is to
“BEST  EFFORTS”   –  “REASONABLE  use "best efforts" (to mean "no stones left unturned") and
EFFORTS”– “COMMERCIALLY REASONABLE  "reasonable efforts" (to mean "some stones reasonably left
EFFORTS” 
­ 
WHAT DO THESE 
TERMS MEAN?  unturned").
BY: E. JANE SIDNELL AND CHRIS KNIGHT
Finally, "commercially reasonable efforts" is a standard that
Agreements often refer to obligations being performed to a has received little judicial consideration and ought to be
certain standard. Those standards can be expressed in treated with caution. One possible interpretation is that the
many  di f
ferent ways , but  t he t erms “ best ef for
ts”,  market dictates the objective measure of value so as to
“r
eas onabl e eff
ort
s” and  “c ommer cial
ly reasonabl y eff
ort
s”  determine how far the obligation must be taken. However,
are frequently used qualifiers.1 So what is the difference "commercially reasonable efforts" is ambiguous and ought
between these qualifiers and is one more onerous than to be expressly defined if used in contracts.
another?
"Best Efforts"
Summary
The phrase "best efforts" was considered at length by
Performing  an  obli
gat i
on  with  one’
s " bes t
 effor
ts"
 is l
i
kely  Justice Dorgan of the British Columbia Supreme Court in
the most onerous standard of the three discussed in this Atmospheric Diving Systems Inc.3 Justice Dorgan
arti
cle.  I
f a  party promi ses  “best ef
f ort
s”, everyt
hing t
hat  considered how the term has been interpreted through a
can be done should be done, but not to the point of that century of English and Canadian jurisprudence4 and
party bankrupt i
ng  i
tself. 
 Although  t
he  “best 
effor
ts”
 quali
fi
er  distilled the following:
must be set against the context and purpose of the contract
in which it is found, the phrase "no stone unturned" In summary, the principles extracted from the cases on
exemplifies the "best efforts" standard. the issue of "best efforts" are:

By contrast, "reasonable efforts" implies that what can be 1. "Best efforts" imposes a higher obligation than a
done should be done, in the context and purpose of the "reasonable effort".
contract, but without requiring a party to leave "no stone
2. "Best efforts" means taking, in good faith, all
reasonable steps to achieve the objective, carrying

1 2
 
  Oth er 
te
rms  
that 
are used are “reasonab le best
 effort
s”,  Kenneth A. Adams, supra, page 136
3
“go od­f
ait
h  
effor
ts”, 
“dili
g ent effor
ts”, “co mme rci
a l
ly  Atmospheric Diving Systems Inc. v. International Hard
reasonable 
b e
s t
 e
fforts” 
an d “ev er
y effort” (s
ee  
Ke nneth   Suits Inc. (1994), 89 B.C.L.R. (2d) 356 (S.C.)
A. Adams, A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting, 2nd 4
Atmospheric Diving Systems Inc., supra, note 1, at paras.
ed. (American Bar Association, 2008)) at page 134 66 through 74
 Page 2

the process to its logical conclusion and leaving no

stone unturned. "Reasonable Efforts"

3. "Best efforts" includes doing everything known to "Reasonable efforts" is often used to denote a degree of
be usual, necessary and proper for ensuring the effort less than "best efforts", and is normally defined by
success of the endeavour. what it does not entail, as in Ontario (Ministry of
Transportation) v. O.P.S.E.U.6:
4. The meaning of "best efforts" is, however, not
boundless. It must be approached in the light of
[R]easonable efforts does not mean "all
the particular contract, the parties to it and the
efforts". It does not mean "efforts to the point
contract's overall purpose as reflected in its
of undue hardship". It does not mean "every
language.
effort". What it means is efforts that are
reasonable in the circumstances all things
5. While "best efforts" of the defendant must be
considered. What is reasonable in the
subject to such overriding obligations as honesty
circumstances will, obviously, depend on the
and fair dealing, it is not necessary for the plaintiff
facts of particular cases.
to prove that the defendant acted in bad faith.
The standard of "reasonable efforts" is interpreted against
6. Evidence of "inevitable failure" is relevant to the
the context and purpose of the contract requiring the
issue of causation of damage but not to the issues
obligation to be performed, but without the "no stone
of liability. The onus to show that failure was
unturned" proviso. In Dobb v. Insurance Corp. of B.C.7 the
inevitable regardless of whether the defendant
court stated that:
made "best efforts" rests on the defendant.

7. Evidence that the defendant, had it acted diligently,

…  'r
easonabl e'  i
n t
he  prov ision i
s  synonymous 
could have sat isfi
ed t he " best
 ef forts” t est i s 
with the adjectives 'logical', 'sensible' and 'fair',
relevant evidence that the defendant did not use its
but does not mean that before resort can be
best efforts.
had to the provision the applicant must go to
whimsical or unwarranted lengths.
The "no stone unturned" test has been applied to contracts
relating to a wide variety of subject matters. Further, courts
In another British Columbia case, Armstrong v. Langley
routinely imply a term in contracts that the parties will make
(Township)8, the court referred to the Atmospheric Diving
reasonable efforts to fulfil their respective contractual
decision in finding that:
obligations. Where the parties include a "best efforts"
clause in a contract, as they did in the case at bar, they
must surely intend that something more than "reasonable
'
Reasonabl e effor
t'
 does not  requi r
e … al l
 
efforts" be used.
pos sible steps … [ but r at
her ]
 r eas onabl
e 
steps. Reasonable efforts does not mean best
Justice Dorgan determined that the standard of "best
efforts which imports a higher obligation on
efforts" was an onerous standard exemplified by the phrase
persons to accomplish the required task.
"no stone unturned", albeit within the overall context and
purpose of the contract itself, and is more onerous than
In Logic 2000 Inc. v. CNC Global Ltd.9, the Ontario Court of
"reasonable efforts". Justice Dorgan's analysis of "best
Appeal provided that "reasonable efforts" is not "best
efforts" in Atmospheric Diving has been endorsed by a
efforts" and includes "all reasonable and measured steps"
number of Canadian decisions5.
to complete the obligation.

5 6
Royal Oak Mines Inc. v. C.A.W., Local 2304 (1997), 63 Ontario (Ministry of Transportation) v. O.P.S.E.U.
L.A.C. (4th) 346 (Cdn. Arb. Bd.); Leacock v. Whalen, (1997), 4 L.A.C. (4th) 38 (Ont. Arb. Bd.)
7
Beliveau & Associates Inc., [1996] B.C.J. No. 2085 Dobb v. Insurance Corp. of B.C., [1991] B.C.W.L.D.
(S.C.); Amonson v. Martin Goldstein Professional Corp. 1987 (S.C.) at para. 26
8
(1995), 163 A.R. 161 (Q.B.); Wentworth Development Armstrong v. Langley (Township) (1997), 42 M.P.L.R.
Inc. v. Calgary (City) (1998), 218 A.R. 1 (Q.B.); (2d) 34 (B.C. S.C.) para. 34
9
Sherwood Park Mall Ltd. v. Zellers Inc., [2001] A.J. No. Logic 2000 Inc. v. CNC Global Ltd., 2002 WL 39094
885; and GC Parking Ltd. v. New West Ventures Ltd., (Ont. S.C.J.) at para. 26; aff'd 2003 WL 22048651 (Ont.
2004 BCSC 706 C.A.)
 Page 3

In t
he cont ext
 of  labour  r
elat
ions,
 the st
andar d of “every  including operational factors, employee
10
reasonable ef
fort” to accommodate vacation requests has preferences, length of service and why a
been considered: particular period is being selected. The
majority decision in this case did consider all of
these factors and found that as the employer
[51] In Re The Crown in Right of Ontario had only considered operational issues, it had
(Ministry of Community & Social Services) and not  
made  “ever y 
reasonabl e effort”
. 
OPSEU: … t he Ontari
o Cr own Empl oyee’s  
"Commercially Reasonable Efforts"
Grievance Boar d def
ined “ever y reas onable 
eff
or t
” as  
foll
ows  
at 
p. 
35: 
The phrase "commercially reasonable efforts" is frequently
...First and foremost, as employer counsel used in contract drafting, with several dozen reported
argued, making reasonable efforts does decisions considering contracts containing this phrase since
not   mean  “every”
 effort or
 “al
l ef
f orts”.
  It  1999. This entire phrase, however, has had little judicial
means making efforts that are reasonable consideration. Given the jurisprudence surrounding "best
all things considered, and that will, given efforts" and "reasonable efforts", the question to be
that this is a broadly worded clause of considered is whether "commercially reasonable" implies a
general application, depend on particular lower or higher standard from "reasonable efforts". That is,
circumstances of individual cases. are "commercially reasonable efforts" restricted only to
steps that might be commercially acceptable, thus making a
[52] What  
constitutes “every reasonable  eff
ort
”  
less onerous standard, or does "commercially" raise the bar
is a question of fact to be determined in every
such that the standard is closer to "best efforts" but only in
set of circumstances. In Re: City of Cornwall
a commercial context? This is an open question.
and CUPE,  Local  3251 … t he ar bi t
rat
or  
discussed what must be considered to act
In the context of a security agreement, the standard for a
reasonably in considering vacation requests
"commercially reasonable" transaction was outlined as
…:
follows:
The gr ievor ’
s job does not  invol ve the  Generally there are two tests that may be
provision of essential services, nor does it applied to the conduct of a sale as referred to
apparently require to be performed at any by the Court of Appeal in Wood v. Bank of
specified time. In order to decide whether Nov a Scotia … One is the less stringent test
a specific vacation request could which is that the creditor who sells must act in
reasonably be declined, it would be good faith. The plaintiff has clearly complied
necessary to take into account such with that test. The other test is the more
factors as the overall expense to the stringent one, that the creditor must take
Employer, the reasons for the grievor in reasonable care that the proper value is
requesting a particular vacation schedule, obtained. While it is not a trustee for the
the possibility of adjusting the instructional debtor it cannot act negligently in the sale. I
sc hedul e to acc ommodat e t he gr ievor’s  adopt the principle as stated in Debor
vacation requests without requiring her Cont r
acting Ltd. … (a Mechanics' Lien action)
spec if
i
c  r epl acement   at  t he  Ci t
y’s  that the creditor must "act a role somewhat
expense, and the proportion of the overall akin to that of an agent or fiduciary for the
agreed schedule of vacation which purpose of a sale". This is a higher standard
acc ommodat es  t he  Ci t
y’s  desi r e  for   than that referred to in Kimco Steel Sales Ltd.
efficiency and financial responsibility with … where the test was that the sale be in good
the  gr i
evor ’
s  desi r
e  f or  a  vac ati
on  faith and not be in a recklessly improvident
schedule which accommodates to a manner calculated to result in a sacrifice of the
reasonable degree her personal equipment.11
preferences.
Bas ed  on  t his  decisi
on,  “ commer ci
all
y  r
easonabl e”  
incorporates "proper value" as a central consideration of
[53] The case law referred to by counsel
what will be reasonable. In the security agreement context,
indicates that when considering whether an
the  “ commer cial
ly  reasonabl e”
  st andard  mus t
  be 
empl oyer has  made  “ever
y reasonable effort
”  
considered objectively from a commercial standpoint, as
to acc ommodat e any  empl oyee’
s vacat ion 
request, an arbitration board should consider
what the employer did and did not do to
respond to the request, and all issues

10 11
Maritime Electric v. Burns & ors., 2004 PE SCTD 19 National Bank of Canada v. Marguis Furs Ltd., [1987]
(CanLII), at paras. 51 to 53 O.J. No. 1228 (Ont. H.C.)
 Page 4

opposed to subjectively, as might be expected in most good However, it is not difficult for one to imagine a situation
faith agency relationships.12 where a market valuation of a commodity is so high (or low)
that acquiring (or disposing) of the commodity in question
Based on the Alberta Court of Appeal decision in Atcor Ltd. might itself be commercially unreasonable. Surely
v. Continental Energy Marketing Ltd.13, the concept of being obtaining a commodity at a market value that would
“commer cial
ly r easonable” pl ay s a maj or role i n t he  otherwise bankrupt an enterprise cannot be considered to
interpretation of force majeure clauses. In the Atcor case, be "commercially reasonable."
the appellate court found that, as a general proposition, a
party claiming the protection of force majeure has a duty to Without further judicial consideration, "commercially
mitigate the effect of a force majeure event using a reasonable efforts" is ambiguous and should either be used
standard of "commercial reasonableness". At paragraph with caution or specifically defined within the contract to
11, the Court of Appeal stated: which it applies.

A supplier need not show that the event [of ENGINEER AND OWNER BOTH LIABLE FOR
alleged force majeure] made it impossible to NEGLIGENT DESIGN THAT FAILED TO
carry out the contract, but it must show that the
PROTECT PUBLIC SAFETY
event created, in commercial terms, a real and
substantial problem, one that makes BY: KAREN MARTIN AND MICHAEL KLOSE
performance commercially unfeasible.
In preparing their designs, professional engineers owe a
The Court of Appeal sent the matter back to trial, but the duty to take reasonable care not to create a hazard that will
parties ended up settling out-of-court. As a consequence, cause physical harm to members of the public. The recent
no judicial consideration of the standard "commercial decision from the British Columbia Supreme Court in Lovely
reasonableness" beyond the phrase "commercially v. Kamloops (City)14, examines the scope of this duty in the
unfeasible" emerged from Atcor. It remains undecided as context of the design of a waste transfer station, where the
to whether profit is a factor to be considered. It is difficult to design engineers had no prior professional experience with
predict just what the reference to "commercially unfeasible" such facilities. The case also addresses the responsibility of
means and leads to uncertainty in interpreting the standard the owner for its unsafe facilities. Both design consultants
of being "commercially reasonable". and owners can take important lessons from the case.

"Commercially reasonable efforts" may be tied to efforts The court confirmed that the standard of care for
required to secure a particular value for a commodity, with profess i
onals gener all
y i s one of  “reasonabl eness  and 
the market acting as an objective measure of what a ordinary competence, commensurate with the position of
"proper" value might be. If this is the case, the standard is the person or entity in question and prevailing internal
less onerous than "best efforts" in that stones may be left profess i
onal st andards”.
  Wi th r espect  t o pr ofes sional 
unturned (so to speak) so long as a market can provide a engineer s speci f
icall
y, the c ourt hel d t hat “ ther e is a 
fair valuation. The standard may be less onerous than paramount professional duty to ensure public safety in all
"reasonable efforts" in that the true measure of the efforts designs  si
gned  and sealed  by a professional  engineer ”
, as 
required are those required to satisfy a market based on an well as  a duty “t
o remain  curr
ent  on  development s  in the 
independent commercial evaluation, and not "all reasonable fi
eld of  engineering in whi ch they pr act
ised. ” The cour t 
and measured steps" required to achieve an objective. noted that other aspects of the duty include the duty to
make inquiries regarding how the facility is going to be
12 used, and to communicate any key assumptions or
See also Boychuk v. Hunterline Trucking (B.C.) Ltd. conditions for any designs approved by the engineer.
(1997), 122 Man. R. (2d) 114 (Q.B.): "'commercially Frami ng  t
he  court’
s analysis of whet her  t
he  duty  of
  care 
reaso nable' me ans…  a n ob jective and pragmatic standard was met by the engineer or not, was the fact that neither
of conduct in that it is not fixed and rigid but is shaped by the retained engineer nor  t
he City’
s  staff
 involv ed had  any 
circumstance." Likewise, in Re: Humby Enterprises Ltd., professional experience with waste transfer stations.
2007 FC 1085, National Bank of Canada, supra, and
Thoms v. Louisville Sales & Service Inc., [2006] 11 The underlying facts of the case are simple. The City of
W.W.R. 486 (Sask. Q.B.) were cited in support of the Kamloops retained a professional engineer to assist in the
view, on the facts of that case where goods were offered design of their new waste transfer facility. After the facility
for sale, acting "in a commercially reasonable manner" opened to the public, two serious accidents occurred
means that the party must accept whatever is offered and involving falls off of an unloading platform. One individual
that the price offered is to be accepted as the fair market sued the City and the engineering firm for negligent design.
value of the goods. In this sense, "commercially The court found that the professional engineer breached his
reasonable" may be based on the concept of "fair market duty to ensure public safety by designing the unloading
value".
13
Atcor Ltd. v. Continental Energy Marketing Ltd. (1996),
14
38 Alta. L.R. (3d) 229 (C.A.) 2009 BCSC 1359
 Page 5

platform without sufficient safety measures and held the measures was not of an overly technical nature requiring
engineer 35% liable for the injuries suffered. professional training or any special knowledge, but more to
do with common sense. Accordingly, the court found the
Interestingly, in retaining the professional engineer in this City 55% liable for the injuries suffered.
case, the City did not conduct any procurement process.
Instead, the City simply asked their current primary This decision underscores the fact that an engineer
engineering consultant if he wanted the work at his current practising without prior professional experience will be held
hourly rate. As a result, there was no written contract to a high standard of care and can be judged harshly by a
between the parties regarding the project. This became court when doing so. In this case, there is no doubt that the
important because at trial, the City and the engineer prof essional  engi neer ’
s  l ack  of  spec i
fi
c  ex per i
ence 
disagreed about  the sc ope of  the engi neer ’
s role in t he  influenced how the court viewed and characterized the
design of the project, and without a written contract, the engi neer ’
s acti
ons.
cour t
 was  forced  t
o infer t
he terms  
of t
he engi neer ’
s retainer  
from the sometimes conflicting evidence of the parties. The This decision also confirms that an owner cannot be
lack of a written contract, coupled with the fact that neither absolved of design liability simply because a professional
the professional engineer nor any of the City staff involved engineer was retained and that an owner may be held
had any experience in designing waste transfer stations, responsible for aspects of design that are based on
played  a l
ar ge role i
n the court’
s ult
imat e 
dec isi
on.   common sense.

Despite his lack of specific experience with waste transfer Finally, this decision is also an example of what can go
stations, the engineer argued he had fulfilled the standard wrong when parties operate without a written contract to
of a reasonable prudent engineer. As part of his defence clearly establish the scope of the engagement. While it
the engineer relied on his classification of the unloading may initially appear that the parties have reached
platform as  a “ l
oadi ng doc k” .
  Under  t he Occupational consensus on the scope of the retainer, once an issue
Health and Safety Regulations, “ l
oadi ng docks ”
 do not   arises, the parties often have divergent opinions. In that
require installation of guardrails. In rejecting that argument, case, the court must determine the scope of the retainer,
the court held that a fundamental aspect of a design which may lead to unexpected or undesirable results for
engi neer’s dut y is t
o  communi cate any  
k ey  
ass umpt i
ons 
or   both parties.
conditions of that design, which the engineer failed to do in
this case. More generally, the court held that using the CONTACT US
“l
oadi ng dock ” c lassifi
cati
on as a j ust i
fi
cation f or
 the  For further information, please contact a member of our
absence of fall protection was a failure to meet the duty to
National Construction | Infrastructure Group.
ensure public safety.

The engineer also argued that in approving the design, he

had assumed that as part of the operation of the facility
there would be a site safety plan in place during operations.
However, such a key assumption was not written on the
drawings or any related documentation and there was no
evidence that the engineer attempted to confirm this
assumption with the City. The court held that this was a
violation of the duty to communicate such a condition to the
approval of the drawings and a violation of the duty to
inquire as to the use of a facility.

It is worth noting that the City argued that it should not be

liable because it had relied on the expertise of the
professional engineer it had retained. The court flatly
rejected that argument. The court stated that the City knew
the engineer had no direct professional experience in waste
transfer station design and that the installation of safety