Federal Court - Christian Aboriginal Infrastructure Developments ...

Page: 285
[1084] Mr. Alan Kerr and Mr. Brian Kerr, representatives of LPL, also testified that they
understood that the Defendant had committed to providing the wood that was required to operate
the mill.
[1085] On the basis of that representation, LPL decided to move ahead, in a joint venture, where
SYFC was chosen as the operating entity of the joint venture. The Plaintiffs built the mill in 1997
2010 FC 495 (CanLII)
and 1998, and it first began operating in October 1998.
[1086] The starting point in dealing with the issue of a contract is, once more, the relationship
between the parties. The Defendant was the custodian of the forest resources in southeast Yukon
and the Plaintiffs were private corporate citizens with an interest in pursuing business interests in
that region, involving the construction and operation of a mill that would provide employment in an
area with chronically high levels of unemployment and that would allow the policies embodied in
the regulation regarding the 60/40 Rule, to work, also contributing to employment for woodsmen
and loggers. There was an alignment of interests.
[1087] As I have earlier found, the Defendant made a representation to LPL at the “due diligence”
meeting on July 15, 1997. In brief, there was a representation that “if you build a mill, we will give
you timber”. This representation contains the implied representations that there was an existing
commitment to provide a long-term adequate volume of timber to whoever built a mill in southeast
Yukon, together with the ability to provide the timber.