272 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 80 PART 2 MARCH 2022
frey T.K. Fraser (among others at the time) in a relationship that lasted 17
years until Bill’s retirement on his 80th birthday in December 2012.
Bill had an early interest in Aboriginal law, at a time when this was a
developing and not yet settled branch of law. He acted as advisor to the federal
government on development of mineral resources on Indian reserves
and drafted the first legislation dealing with these issues. Acting as counsel
and financial advisor to an Indian band, he formed the first Indian “public”
company in British Columbia, assisting it in raising finance to explore mineral
occurrences on Indian reserves in the Highland Valley. Ultimately,
resources on those properties became a part of the massive Highland Valley
Mine, in deals negotiated and concluded with Bill as principal legal and
financial advisor.
As a student of law, Bill excelled in legal research, acting as mentor to the
many lawyers at Worrall Scott and Page. Bill was an incredible mentor and
colleague.
In the days before non-disclosure agreements were commonplace documents
in negotiations between senior and junior exploration companies,
Bill recognized that implicit fiduciary obligations were created through
dealings between such companies in proposed acquisition or joint venture
agreements. He was advising counsel in the Lac Minerals Ltd. v. International
Corona Resources Ltd. case, which established the concept of implicit
fiduciary duties arising in negotiations. The case resulted in a judgment in
favour of the junior exploration company, with the senior company transferring
to the junior company ownership of a producing gold mine that had
been developed by the major company on mineral tenure in which the junior
had shared data with the major.
He recognized that the law “should provide” a remedy in equity where
there was no established contractual right, and he developed the theory into
a concept recognized by the trial court, the Ontario Court of Appeal and the
Supreme Court of Canada.
Following his retirement from active legal practice, Bill remained as an
independent director and advisor to a number of exploration and development
companies.
Predeceased by his wife, who had been his partner in life since they married
in 1956, Bill divided his “retirement” years between directors’ duties,
family involvement with his sons and grandchildren and his great love: participation
in choral singing in numerous choir and choral groups.
Lawrence Page, Q.C.