“An arbitral tribunal may rule on its own jurisdiction to conduct the arbitration: s. 17(1) of the Arbitration Act. A party may apply under s. 17(8) of the Arbitration Act for review by the court to decide the matter.
A hearing to decide the matter of the arbitral tribunal’s jurisdiction is a hearing de novo: Hornepayne First Nation v. Ontario First Nations (2008) Ltd., 2021 ONSC 5534, at paras. 2-6, citing Russian Federation v. Luxtona, 2021 ONSC 4604 (Div. Ct.), at para. 22.
The standard to be applied on a question of the arbitrator’s jurisdiction is correctness: Smyth v. Perth & Smith Falls District Hospital, 2008 ONCA 794, at para. 17.”