Energy and Mines News:

B.C.'s Land Rights Sales Reflect Investor Confidence
The June 2009 land rights sale resulted in $178.4 million in bonus bids, bringing the calendar year to date total to $246.4 million, a positive signal of investor confidence, it was recently announced. See the News Release.

Canada to Match US Climate Change Rules
Canada will adopt climate-change regulations comparable to those of the United States – including new rules for oil sands producers and refiners – to avoid punitive "green" tariffs, federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice says. See the Globe & Mail News story.

Family, Wills and Estates News:

B.C. civil, family courts to be reformed
The B.C. government has announced reforms to civil and family courts that it says will make justice more accessible, affordable and responsive to ordinary citizens. The changes will go into effect next July. See the News story.

Forest and Environment News:

Wanted: Lawyers ready to go green
The environmental lawyer, it turns out, is to the green age what the intellectual property (IP) and information technology (IT) lawyers were to the dot-com era. See the E-Vancouver Sun News story.

Kamloops logging company staff face fraud charges after scam revealed
Three men connected to a now-defunct Kamloops logging company allegedly stumped government computers and hacked money from the B.C. Ministry of Forests in an unusual high-tech crime. See The Province News Article.

B.C. logging deaths spark debate
A spike in the number of loggers dying in B.C.'s woods has alarmed their union, but the province's forestry minister says the numbers could be misleading. See CBCNews Article.

More details on rights and title law soon to be released
More information will be released on the government's efforts to recognize First Nations rights in legislation, and hopefully a chance for public input, says Nechako Lakes Liberal MLA John Rustad. The Liberals had been moving to introduce the legislation -- which they have said will bring a "seismic shift" in relations with First Nations -- before the May 12 election, but then backed off in the face of criticism from both industry and first nations communities. See the News story.

New Report Published Focuses on Water Governance in BC
This detailed policy paper explores the options and opportunities for water governance reform in British Columbia. The paper was developed to assist the Ministry of Environment with its commitment to address water management and modernize the 100 year old Water Act that is no longer able to deal with existing and emerging water issues in the province. See the pdf of the Full Report by Oliver M Brandes and Deborah Curran (POLIS Project on Ecological Governance).

B.C. Government Releases Compliance Summary
The Ministry of Environment has released the first Quarterly Compliance and Enforcement Summary for 2009. The summary reports on compliance and enforcement actions taken across the entire ministry between Jan. 1, 2009 and March 31, 2009. It outlines:

• 3 orders issued to prevent or stop impacts to the environment, human health or safety
• 47 administrative licensing sanctions taken against individual or commercial hunters or anglers for committing certain offences
• 320 tickets
• 11 court convictions

Health News:

B.C. aboriginal health indicators show some improvement
B.C.'s Provincial Health Officer recently released his report on aboriginal health, which showed that while improvements have been made in the health of aboriginal people, there is still much work to be done. See the CBC News story.

Labour and Company News:

Consumer Taxation Branch
For the latest Bulletins from the Consumer Taxation Branch, see What's New.

Local Government News:

LoGo Notebook – Staples McDannold Stewart has posted the Spring 2009 issue of their LoGo NoteBook. The articles include "On the Waterfront – Two Recent Cases Examine the Authority to Regulate the Marine Environment", "No Defamation Remedy For Local Government", "You Should Be A-Waltzing with TILMA Today" and "The Far Reach of Freedom of Information to Local Government Subsidiaries". See the LoGo Notebook.

Motor Vehicle News:

B.C. residents asked for input on cellphones in cars
As many as 117 people die each year in B.C., and another 1,400 are hospitalized, from traffic crashes linked to distractions such as the use of cellphones or MP3 players while driving, says a report released by the B.C. government earlier this week. "Driver distraction, of all types, is associated with approximately 25 per cent of all crashes and results in a significant cost to society in terms of a tragic loss of life, serious injuries and resulting monetary costs," reads the report by the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles. See The Vancouver Sun News story. To read the full report, or to send your input, go to: www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/legislation/current.htm .

CVSE issues – Bulletin Re: Structural Integrity Reports for the Inspection of Salvaged Vehicles
This bulletin is intended to provide direction on the procedure for the inspection of vehicles branded or identified as a SALVAGED vehicle. See the Vehicle Safety and Standards Bulletin.

Real Estate and Builders Lien News:

Despite Media Hysteria, Outs for Pre-Sale Condo Purchasers Remain the Same
It should be no surprise that, with the current market conditions, both developers and purchasers are closely scrutinizing just how firm their contracts are for residential property developments currently under construction. As such, the recent British Columbia Supreme Court decision in Dwane v. Bastion Coast Homes Ltd. drew a lot of attention from developers, pre-sale purchasers, and the media alike in this Province. Though headlines blared "Judge lets buyer ditch deal on condo" and "B.C. court rules pre-sale condo contract invalid", the fact of the matter is that Bastion Coast is little more than the application of pre-existing law. For more information, see the Article.

Real estate sales booming in Vancouver and Victoria areas
Historically low interest rates and discounted housing prices are fuelling a real estate boom on B.C.'s south coast with sales in Vancouver up 75 per cent compared to June of last year. See the CBC News story.

The Court's View On A Potpourri Of Strata Items
On April 22, 2009, Judge Burnyeat of the BC Supreme Court rendered a lengthy decision (Azura Management (Kelowna) Corp. v. Strata Plan KAS 2428) that addressed a number of issues that have plagued strata corporations for many years. In most instances, this was the first time that a court had ruled on the issues and these rulings should greatly assist strata governance. The decision touches on a wide range of matters – from when a strata corporation may prohibit voting to disclosing legal opinions to providing financial statements to the proper way to tally votes at general meetings. This article will review a number of the rulings that address strata governance. See the Full Article as published by CW Strategies – A publication of Clark Wilson’s Property Group.