Family, Wills and Estates News:

Duties And Responsibilities Of Lawyers When Retaining Clients' Wills For Safekeeping — Some of the obligations of lawyers when retaining clients' wills for safekeeping are described in this informative article from Clark Wilson, LLP. See their Winter newsletter.

Forest and Environment News:

Greenhouse Gas Reductions — The B.C. government has introduced new legislation that it hopes will help the province cut greenhouse gas emissions 33 per cent below current levels by 2020. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act S.B.C. 2007, chap. 42 (2007 Bill 44) was given Royal Assent Nov. 29, 2007 and includes the most aggressive pollution reduction targets in North America. See News Release.

Rare Algae Morphs Into Widespread Nuisance — A once rare and innocuous freshwater algae seems to have recently mutated into an amazing menace. The previously sparse algae, commonly referred to as didymo, now produces copious quantities of brown slime on boulders and plants in rivers and streams. Massive blooms of didymo were noticed for the first time in 1985 within the Heber River on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Since then it's quickly taken on this nasty habit in many BC rivers, as well as other parts of North America and Europe. See Rare Algae.

Is Canada's Forest a Carbon Sink or Source? — The importance of forests in the global carbon cycle – the exchange of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and the biosphere – is discussed in a recent article published by the Canadian Forest Service (CFS). See the Natural Resources Canada site.

Riparian Management in Headwater Catchments — FORREX Forest Research Extension Partnership has this and other informative articles in Streamline, their Watershed Management Bulletin.

Health News:

B.C. Not Ready To Ban Smoking In Cars With Kids — The health minister says British Columbians are not about to be banned from smoking in cars with children because the provincial government said it doesn't think society is ready for such a measure. For more information see CBC News story.

Local Government News:

Traffic Fine Funds Continue To Support Safe Communities — Municipalities in British Columbia continue to enhance their policing and build on community-based public safety programs, thanks to the Province's traffic fine revenue share funding. For details see Release.

FCM Opens Carbon Offset Market to Canadian Municipalities — The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) plans to help Canadian municipalities get into the market for carbon-offset credits. For details see FCM News.

New Green Building Proposals Combat Climate Change — Updates to the B.C. Building Code that will reduce the impact of buildings on the environment are now available online for public input. For details see News Release.

Proposed Framework for the Federal Regulation of Municipal Wastewater under the Fisheries Act Workshop — The BC Ministry of Environment is hosting a one-day workshop on Dec. 12, 2007 to provide a facilitated forum to review and discuss Environment Canada's proposed regulatory framework for the federal regulation of municipal wastewater effluent under the Fisheries Act. An update on the CCME draft Canada-wide Strategy for the Management of Municipal Wastewater Effluent will also be provided. The workshop will take place on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm at The Fairmont Waterfront Hotel, 900 Canada Place Way in Vancouver. For further information, see Workshop Details.

Motor Vehicle News:

Commercial Motor Vehicles — As mentioned in the BC Forest Safety Council notification Rumblings, service trucks and heavy duty pickups whose weight class is under 11 794 kg are no longer bound by the hours of service regulations. See the article in Rumblings. See also Regulation 382/2007 which amends the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations (26/58).

Real Estate News:

Obligation Of Strata Corporation To Maintain Records — A recent ruling by the B.C. Supreme Court provides some assistance to interpreting the nature of a strata corporation's obligations to maintain records. See the article by Allyson Baker which is on the Clark Wilson website.