Void versus Voidable [what is the difference between these legal terms]

Описание: The difference between the legal terms void and voidable is extremely consequential given the stark differences in outcomes emanating from each of these legal terms, such that void means that an instrument or transaction is so nugatory and ineffectual that nothing can cure it, it is an absolute nullity that precludes the instrument or transaction from having ever taken place as held in the 1916 Supreme Court of Canada decision Heron v. Lalonde, such that it is nulle ah initio; meanwhile voidable presents an imperfection or defect that can be cured by the act or confirmation of the person who could take advantage of it.
Thus acceptance of rent will make good a voidable lease, yet it will not affirm a void lease. For a contract to be void, it is of no effect whatsoever, being a nullity that is incapable of confirmation or ratification.
Justice Deschamps in the 2011 Supreme Court of Canada case iTrade Finance Inc. v. Bank of Montreal affirmed the long-standing proposition put forth by Chief Justice Fitzpatrick in the 1917 Supreme Court of Canada case Bawlf Grain Company v. Ross that:
“What is only voidable and not void cannot be held as invalid until it has been rescinded. It is not enough to avoid the contract, that nothing is done to affirm it, it must be disaffirmed.”
Where this has considerable potential impact is in relation to section 4 of the Alberta Employment Standards Code which states that “An agreement that this Act or a provision of it does not apply, or that the remedies provided by it are not to be available for an employee, is against public policy and void.”
And given that the term agreement includes collective agreements pursuant to paragraph 1(1)(a.1) of the Code, collective agreements can be rendered a nullity if it prescribes employee payments in contravention of the statutory minimums, which is arguably outside of the ambit of the 1995 Supreme Court of Canada decision in Weber v. Ontario Hydro that serves to keep union disputes outside of the court’s purview, as the collective agreement would be rendered void ab initio.