Edmonton Master Schlosser in CWL Commercial (Edm) Inc. v. Dynafour Real Estate, A Partnership, 2013 ABQB 545 says a respondent opposing arbitration should be required to show that it is ‘beyond doubt’ that the matter is not subject to arbitration in order to supplant the jurisdiction of the arbitrator and force the applicant into court.
The arbitrator is to decide the jurisdictional issues and deal with preliminary objections once the applicant shows there is an arguable case that may be covered by an arbitration agreement.
The Master notes that the point does not seem to have been directly addressed by any of the decided cases.