CLA 1101 - Understanding the Basics of the Commercial Liens Act

Scheduled Instruction 

3 hours

About the CLA

The Commercial Liens Act (CLA)  is a revolutionary statute that enables service providers to protect their trade credit with proprietary interests – liens – in the goods they enhance and preserve. Examples of service providers who benefit from liens conferred by the CLA include warehousers, transporters (e.g. truck, rail, plane, etc.), tow truck operators, mechanics, autobody specialists, grain dryers, jewelers, computer technicians, furniture restorationists, tailors, shoe smiths and artists. In conjunction with The Personal Property Security Act, 1993 (PPSA), the CLA modernizes and rationalizes the law of commercial liens by standardizing rules for attachment, perfection, priority and enforcement. Failure to comply with the technical requirements of the CLA can be fatal to a service provider's claim to the goods under service. Sound command of the statute is therefore an absolute must for any service provider or commercial lawyer, all of whom are invited to enrol in CLA 1101. 

About the Course

In your daily practice or business, are you being asked questions about the CLA and its Regulations for which you do not have ready answers? Are you encountering seemingly simple CLA issues that require hours of painstaking research? Enrol in CLA 1101 if you did not take a commercial liens course during your post-secondary training or are simply interested in learning about how the CLA affects your business or your clients' business.

Program

Session 1: History & Scope - 1:00-1:30pm  

The CLA was enacted in Saskatchewan in 2001 and took force in 2002. It enables service providers to protect their trade credit with liens on the goods they enhance and preserve. Session 1 recaps the historical events that led to the coming into force of the CLA, and outlines the general scope of the statute.

Session 2: Integration & Interpretation - 1:30-2:00pm   

The CLA is replete with technical terms and concepts. It is an integrated statute that incorporates sections and entire parts of the PPSA by reference. To gain proficiency with the CLA, one must study the statute itself (CLA proper) along with sections and entire parts of the PPSA that are incorporated by reference into the CLA (PPSA CLA-incorporated provisions). This legislative drafting approach creates interpretive difficulties, some of which are canvassed and resolved in Session 2.

Session 3: Creation & Termination - 2:00-2:30pm  

The CLA provides that a lien attaches to goods upon the commencement of the services giving rise to the lien. Until the services are completed, however, the lien secures only the fair value of the services provided to that stage. This feature of the Act diverges from the common law, under which a lien only arises upon completion of the services. There are also a series of events, canvassed in Session 3, that terminate a lien on serviced goods.

Refreshment Break - 2:30-2:45pm   

Session 4: Perfection - 2:45-3:15pm   

Perfecting a lien on goods under the CLA is a necessary yet insufficient condition for establishing priority over subsequent competing interests in serviced goods. It is therefore important that a lien claimant perfect its commercial lien. A lien may be perfected by possession or registration in the Personal Property Registry.

Session 5: Priority - 3:15-3:45pm   

Priority refers to the ordering or ranking of competing liens and security interests in goods. However, the term is also used in more colloquial fashion as a generic reference to a lien claimant's position in relation to any third party interest (like a buyer or lessee). A lien claimant who wishes to assert priority against third parties should ensure, at the very least, that its lien is perfected.

Session 6: Enforcement & Judicial Supervision - 3:45-4:15pm   

A lien claimant's enforcement rights become operative when the requester commits an act of default. The CLA lays out detailed rules of enforcement, which in some cases requires seizure by a sheriff.  The Court of King's Bench for Saskatchewan serves as adjudicator of legal disputes and oversees an expedited settlement procedure.

Enrolment Price

Free Enrolment for Saskatchewan Articling Students and current University of Saskatchewan law students (Student Enrollees).

Base Enrolment: $400 + GST

Deluxe Enrolment: $450 + GST (includes a copy of Bangsund on the Commercial Liens Act of Saskatchewan (Regina: Office of the King's Printer, 2023), which ordinarily retails for $80 + tax)

Terms of Enrolment

1. Registration. Course registrations are processed on a “first come, first serve” basis. Shortly after submitting your online registration or mailing your paper registration, you will receive an email confirming your enrolment. If your registration cannot be accepted for any reason (e.g. venue capacity limits), you will be notified by email and issued a full refund if you have already paid. 

2. Course Materials. As a Student Enrollee, Base Enrollee or a Deluxe Enrollee, you will be furnished with a hard copy of the course materials during your attendance at the course. Shortly after the course, you will also receive a pdf copy of the course materials via email. 

3. Book. As a Deluxe Enrollee, you will additionally be furnished with a copy of Bangsund on the Commercial Liens Act of Saskatchewan (Office of the King's Printer, 2023) during your attendance at the course.  

4. Cancellation & Partial Refund.  The cancellation deadline date is the date that precedes the course date by five business days. If you deliver notice of cancellation via email to Clayton Bangsund at clayton.bangsund@juliuserwin.com on or before the cancellation deadline date, you will receive a refund less a $50 administration fee. 

5. Credit for Future Course

a. Election for Credit. As a cancelling Enrollee, instead of receiving a partial refund, you may elect to receive a full credit for enrolment in any future offering of the course, or alternatively, another CLA or PPSA course with an enrolment price of equal or lesser value. You may also apply your credit toward partial payment of the enrolment price for any future CLA or PPSA course with a higher enrolment price than the course from which you have cancelled. 

b. Course Materials in the Event of Election for Course Credit. If, as a cancelling Base Enrollee, you elect to receive credit for enrolment in a future course, a pdf copy of the course materials will be emailed to you shortly after the date of scheduled course delivery. If, as a cancelling Deluxe Enrollee, you elect to receive credit for a future course, then your copy of Bangsund on the Commercial Liens Act of Saskatchewan (Regina: Office of the King's Printer, 2023), along with a hard copy of the course materials, will be mailed to you shortly after the date of scheduled course delivery, and you will also receive a pdf copy of the course materials via email. For greater certainty, you will not receive an additional book at the future course you attend unless you pay an additional $50 + tax. However, just as any Base Enrollee, you will receive hard and digital copies of the course materials at your choice of future course.

c. Cancelling Enrollee’s Election. In your cancellation email, please indicate your election to receive credit for enrolment in a future CLA or PPSA course offering. If you do not specify an election for course credit in your cancellation email, you will be deemed to have elected to receive a partial refund pursuant to Section 4. 

d. Student Enrollee Cancellation. This section does not apply in favour of a Student Enrollee who cancels free enrolment.

6. Non-Compliance, Non-Attendance & Forfeiture. Subject to Section 7, after the cancellation deadline date, enrolment cancellations will not be honoured and requests for refunds will be refused. Failure to comply with these terms governing cancellation will result in forfeiture of your entire enrolment fee. Non-attendance does not constitute cancellation. 

7. Positive Covid Test Result. If you test positive for Covid after the cancellation deadline date and before the date of scheduled course delivery, do not attend the course. If you furnish documentary evidence of your positive test result, you will be eligible for a full refund or course credit as outlined in Section 5, whichever you elect. 

8. Substitution. Enrollee substitutions will be accepted. If you wish to designate a Substitute Enrollee to attend the course in your place, email Clayton Bangsund at clayton.bangsund@juliuserwin.com in advance of the course date, with the name and email address of the Substitute Enrollee. This substitution policy does not apply in favour of a Student Enrollee who enrols in CLA 1101 for free.

9. Not Advice. The information contained in Bangsund on the Commercial Liens Act of Saskatchewan (Regina: Office of the King's Printer, 2023) and the course materials, and the presentation of such information during the course, does not constitute legal advice or advice of any kind. Clayton Bangsund, operating as Julius Erwin Consulting, is in no way liable in connection with the provision of this information. A lawyer-client relationship is not established by virtue of your enrolment in or attendance at this course. If you wish to engage Clayton Bangsund (operating as Julius Erwin Consulting) for legal advice or other consulting services, such engagement will be subject to separate written terms and standard file-opening procedures. 

10. Force Majeure. If the course is cancelled or postponed due to public health restrictions or other forces beyond the contemplation or control of Clayton Bangsund, then you will be notified by email of the cancellation or postponement and issued a full refund if you have already paid. Instead of receiving a refund, you may elect to receive a full credit for enrolment in the postponed version of the course, any future offering of the course, or another CLA or PPSA course with an enrolment price of equal or lesser value. You may also apply your credit as partial payment of the enrolment price in any future CLA or PPSA course with a higher enrolment price than the course cancelled pursuant to this section. This policy does not apply in favour of a Student Enrollee who enrols in CLA 1101 for free.

11. Governing Law. This contract is governed by the laws of the Province of Saskatchewan, and by entering into this contract you attorn to the jurisdiction of the courts of the Province of Saskatchewan.

Paper-Based Registration & Payment

To register on paper and pay via cheque, print, complete and sign the Paper Registration Form, then mail it, accompanied by a cheque for the enrolment price made payable to Julius Erwin Consulting, to the following address:

Julius Erwin Consulting

331 - 120 23rd Street East

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

S7K 0K8

Attention: Clayton Bangsund

To view and print the Paper Registration Form, click here.

Volume Discount Pricing for Group Enrolment

For organizations interested in registering three or more enrollees in CLA 1101, volume discounting is available. All enrolments covered by a volume discount must be registered using paper-based registration and paid for with a cheque. To view and print the Group Registration Form, click here.

Registration Deadline

The deadline for registration and payment is April 18, 2024.