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______________________________________________________________________________Stewart McKelveyDoing Business in Atlantic Canadaevidencing title to land, powers of attorney and most negotiable instruments, which require originalsignatures and thus cannot be finalized in electronic format.All of the Atlantic Provinces have enacted provincial legislation to deal with several important electroniccommerce issues. In New Brunswick, the Electronic Transactions Act governs electronic commerce. InNova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador the relevant legislation is known asthe Electronic Commerce Act. The legislation across the four provinces shares some common features,including the following significant provisions:• Information will not be denied legal effect simply because it is electronic nor will a contract bedenied legal effect or enforceability by reason only that electronic means of communication wereused in its formation.• A requirement that information be in writing is satisfied by electronic information provided that theinformation is accessible and capable of being retained for subsequent reference.• A requirement that information be in a specified non-electronic form is acceptable in electronicform provided that it is provided in substantially the same form as the non-electronic form and isaccessible and capable of being retained for subsequent reference.• A requirement for a signature will generally be met by an electronic signature, subject to certainexceptions.• Electronic information is not considered to be capable of being retained where the personproviding the electronic information prohibits the printing or storage of the information by therecipient.Page 54