Are Online Waivers Legal in Saskatchewan?

Saskatchewan has a ruling that speaks directly to electronic waivers: in 2017, the Court of Queen's Bench dismissed a go-kart injury claim because the customer had agreed to a release by clicking "I agree" at a kiosk. For lake and lodge operators, outfitters, trampoline parks, gyms, camps, event organizers and rental shops, a signed agreement can release claims by adult participants and record the risks, rules and medical details for every guest. This guide covers e-signatures, how waivers are treated under Saskatchewan law, what else a signed agreement does, and what to know about participants under 18.

This guide is general information about Saskatchewan law, with links to the statutes and cases, so you and your lawyer can look into anything that applies to your business.

Waiver Law in Saskatchewan at a Glance

Are Electronic Signatures Legal in Saskatchewan?

Yes. The Electronic Information and Documents Act, 2000 says information or a document covered by the Act shall not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form (s. 6), and that a requirement under any law for a person's signature is satisfied by an electronic signature (s. 14(1)). It also confirms that an offer or acceptance can be expressed by touching or clicking a designated icon on a screen, and that a contract can't be denied legal effect just because electronic documents were used to form it (s. 18). Nothing in that part of the Act requires a person to use electronic documents (s. 7), so keep a kiosk or paper option for the rare guest who prefers it.

Are Liability Waivers Enforceable in Saskatchewan?

Generally, yes, for adults. Saskatchewan courts apply the same common-law contract principles as the rest of English Canada, set by the Supreme Court of Canada:

• Dyck v. Manitoba Snowmobile Association, [1985] 1 S.C.R. 589. A release signed to enter a snowmobile race was a complete defence, even though it covered negligence. The court said the participant freely joined, wasn't pressured, and it was not unreasonable for the organizer to protect itself against claims arising from the race's inherent dangers.
• Tercon Contractors Ltd. v. British Columbia, 2010 SCC 4. The current test: does the clause, properly read, cover what happened; was it unconscionable when the contract was made; and if valid, is there an overriding public policy reason not to enforce it? The person challenging the clause has to prove the public policy reason.
• Crocker v. Sundance Northwest Resorts Ltd., [1988] 1 S.C.R. 1186. Where waivers fail: the Supreme Court did not let a resort rely on a waiver in an inner-tube race where the waiver was signed with the entry form, was not drawn to the participant's attention, and was never read.

Quilichini v. Wilson's Greenhouse (2017)

In Quilichini v. Wilson's Greenhouse & Garden Centre Ltd., 2017 SKQB 10, a customer was hurt go-karting at Velocity Raceway. Before racing, customers went through a kiosk where they entered their details, paid, were photographed, and clicked through screens ending in a waiver and release they had to accept with an "I agree" icon. According to law firm summaries of the decision (Field Law and McCarthy Tétrault), the court held that the Electronic Information and Documents Act lets contract terms be accepted by clicking an icon, that the kiosk process gave the customer the chance to read the release, and that its wording ("all claims, liabilities, demands and/or actions for damages") covered negligence even without using that word. The claim was dismissed by summary judgment.

Appeal courts elsewhere have reached similar results: the BC Court of Appeal upheld a zipline release in Loychuk v. Cougar Mountain Adventures Ltd., 2012 BCCA 122, and Ontario's Court of Appeal upheld a ski waiver signed online with a season pass in Schnarr v. Blue Mountain Resorts Limited, 2018 ONCA 313. Saskatchewan courts can look to those as persuasive.

Gross Negligence and Intentional Harm

Canadian courts have not drawn a bright line at "gross negligence" the way many US states do. Under the third Tercon question, a court can refuse to enforce a valid waiver for overriding public policy. In Loychuk, the court described the kind of conduct that has met that bar: a business that knew it was putting the public in danger with a substandard product or service, or was reckless about it.

More Than a Release

A signed agreement does other work in Saskatchewan beyond the release itself:

• It records the risks the guest was told about. A signed description of your activity's risks is evidence of what the guest knew before taking part; how much it matters depends on the facts.
• It bears on shared fault. Under The Contributory Negligence Act, liability is divided in proportion to each person's fault (s. 2). A guest's agreement to your rules and staff instructions is part of that picture if they were broken.
• It's a record of notice. Saskatchewan has no Occupiers' Liability Act. The Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan's 2023 consultation report describes it as "the only common law province in Canada that still applies the common law of occupiers' liability," with separate categories for trespassers, licensees, invitees and contractual entrants. Whatever the premises rules, Crocker asks whether a waiver was brought to the signer's attention, and the act the Commission proposed would ask the same (plus whether the restriction is reasonable). That's a proposal, not law. A signed agreement is a record of how each guest received your terms.
• It collects what you need. Health conditions, emergency contacts, consent to first aid, and photo consent, before anyone takes part.

Waivers for Minors in Saskatchewan

For families, the parent's form is where a parent or guardian approves the child's participation, agrees to your rules, and gives you medical information and emergency contacts. It's also a record that the risks were explained to the adult responsible for the child.

Whether it also releases the child's own claim is a separate question. The age of majority in Saskatchewan is 18 (The Age of Majority Act, s. 2(1)), and contracts generally can't be enforced against a minor. We found no Saskatchewan statute or decision that lets a parent waive a child's future injury claim, and no Saskatchewan decision ruling on the question. In BC, a court has held that a parent cannot waive a child's right to sue (Wong v. Lok's Martial Arts Centre, 2009 BCSC 1385), though that ruling rested on BC's Infants Act, and commentators across Canada generally treat parental waivers as unlikely to stop a child's own claim.

Points to Raise With Your Lawyer

WaiverFile doesn't draft waivers, and the wording of your agreement is a job for you and your lawyer. Based on the cases above, these are points worth raising when preparing a Saskatchewan agreement:

• How the agreement is brought to each guest's attention before the activity. The court in Quilichini found the kiosk process gave a full chance to read; the court in Crocker faulted a waiver no one pointed out.
• Whether the wording clearly covers the claims you mean it to cover, including the business's own negligence.
• A clear title and warning. The release upheld in Loychuk was one page, titled as a release and waiver, and warned in capitals that signing waives legal rights.
• A plain description of your activity's specific risks and rules.
• How the form handles participants under 18.

How WaiverFile Helps Saskatchewan Businesses

Once your agreement is written, WaiverFile makes it easy for every guest to sign it and keeps a complete, easy-to-find record of each one:

• Your agreement, laid out your way. Add the agreement text you and your lawyer prepared, and use the editor's formatting options (bold, capitals, font size) to lay it out the way it was written.
• A checkbox or initials where you want them. Add initial boxes inside the agreement text and required checkboxes for the rules, risks and clauses you choose, so each one has its own acknowledgment.
• Time to read. Guests sign ahead from their own phone or computer by email, text, QR code or your website. Waivers are built into online booking, so you see each guest's status at check-in.
• A record of what was signed. Each signed form stores the signature, the answers, and the date and time, plus the IP address and device for online signing. Add a photo of each signer or their ID if you like.
• Medical questions. Required questions capture health conditions and emergency contacts. HIPAA features add extra protection for health information. (HIPAA is a US law. In Saskatchewan, private businesses' handling of personal information falls under the federal PIPEDA.)
• Families on one form. A parent adds each child by name and date of birth, and minors are flagged at check-in.
• Sign anywhere, find anything. Use a tablet kiosk on site, and the Venue app works offline at lakes and remote sites. Search any waiver in seconds, or download them in bulk as a ZIP file for any date range.

Start with one of our free waiver templates, review it with your lawyer, and set up a free account to start collecting signatures.

Sources and Further Reading

• The Electronic Information and Documents Act, 2000, SS 2000, c. E-7.22
• The Contributory Negligence Act, RSS 1978, c. C-31 (s. 2)
• The Age of Majority Act, RSS 1978, c. A-6
• Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan, Reform of Occupiers' Liability Law in Saskatchewan: Consultation Report (2023)
• Field Law: Case Summary, Quilichini v. Wilson's Greenhouse & Garden Centre Ltd. and Velocity Raceway Ltd., 2017 SKQB 10 (2019)
• McCarthy Tétrault: Saskatchewan Court Upholds Electronic Waiver as Enforceable (2017)
• Tercon Contractors Ltd. v. British Columbia (Transportation and Highways), 2010 SCC 4 (Supreme Court of Canada case page)
• Loychuk v. Cougar Mountain Adventures Ltd., 2012 BCCA 122 (quotes Tercon and Dyck v. Manitoba Snowmobile Association, [1985] 1 S.C.R. 589)
• Lexpert: Crocker v. Sundance Northwest Resorts Ltd., [1988] 1 S.C.R. 1186
• Schnarr v. Blue Mountain Resorts Limited, 2018 ONCA 313
• Wong v. Lok's Martial Arts Centre Inc., 2009 BCSC 1385 (BC)
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: Summary of privacy laws in Canada

Published November 4, 2026