Energy and Mines News:

Changes to the Mineral Tenure Act Regulation
On July 1, 2012, changes to the Mineral Tenure Act Regulation, B.C. Reg. 529/2004, will come into effect with respect to claim acquisition and tenure maintenance. The changes will be brought into force by B.C. Reg. 89/2012. The BC regulation and a copy of the Mineral Tenure Act Regulation with the changes highlighted are available for your reference at the Ministry of Energy and Mines and Responsible for Housing site.

For your information, the major changes are:

• New claim registration fees are increased
• Most other event registration fees are eliminated
• Annual work obligations are increased and expanded
• A transition section that allows all claims to be deemed to be in year one
• A new subdivision tool

Clean Energy Act – Clark Declares Natural Gas "Green Energy" as Long as It’s Used for LNG
Premier Christy Clark said [recently] that natural gas is to be declared a source of clean energy as long as it is used to support the development of a new liquefied natural gas industry in British Columbia. The changed status of natural gas marks a major departure in the province’s clean energy policy by declaring a fossil fuel to be green energy under certain circumstances. Gas-fired power plants used to make LNG or to propel gas along pipelines will be considered green energy, a move that will enable the oil and gas industry to produce cheap electricity without compromising the requirements of the Clean Energy Act. The premier announced the change in the status of natural gas at an energy conference sponsored by the Business Council of British Columbia. Clark said the change is necessary because of the enormous amount of electricity required to liquefy natural gas. [Quickscribe will keep you informed as to when these regulations come into force.] Read full article in the Vancouver Sun.

Family, Wills & Estates News:

Family Law Act to Come into Effect March 18, 2013
On November 23, 2011, a new family law bill was passed in the BC legislature. The Family Law Act will come fully into force on March 18, 2013. The act places the safety and best interests of the child first when families are going through separation and divorce. It also clarifies parental responsibilities and the division of assets if relationships break down, addresses family violence and encourages families to resolve their disputes out of court. The new act replaces the Family Relations Act. Read more. Until the Act comes into force, the Family Relations Act will continue to govern family law cases in BC. A reminder that you can easily track any changes to the new Act by signing up to the BC Legislative Digest.

Four Reasons Why BC’s New Family Law Act is Good for Fathers
British Columbia’s new family laws will be in effect on March 18, 2013. For husbands and fathers who have felt victimized and exploited by the Family Relations Act, there is every reason to be optimistic that the new law will assist them to achieve the fairness and equality they have been fighting for. The first bit of good news is that effective March 18, 2013 the new law will apply to everyone, even if they commenced a family law proceeding under the current Family Relations Act that has not yet been concluded, with one exception. Property claims made under the old Act will be governed by that legislation, unless both parties agree that the new law should be applied. View full article on Georgialee Lang’s Blog – Lawdiva’s Blog.

Court Allows Disinheritance of Child for "Valid Reasons"
The British Columbia Wills Variation Act (“WVA”) permits the Court, in certain cases, to vary the terms of a will in order to make adequate provision for the proper maintenance and support of a spouse or child. This type of action can be initiated by children of all ages as the courts have determined that a parent may have a legal or moral obligation to provide for their adult independent child. A legal obligation will generally not arise unless the child contributed to the estate in some way. A moral obligation may be negated by the existence of the deceased parent’s reasons for disinheriting their child, if those reasons are valid and rational. View full article by Areet Kaila with Clark Wilson LLP.

New Legislative Changes to Provide Access to Logging
Slash & Wood Waste For Bioenergy Producers
Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Steve Thomson, recently announced regulatory changes that provide access to logging slash and wood waste fibre needed by bioenergy producers and manufacturers of wood pellets and other bio-products. Amendments to regulations under the Forest Act, the Forest and Range Practices Act, and the Wildfire Act will bring into effect a residual forestry licence to cut, as well as a fibre supply licence to cut, for wood biomass. These licences will enable smaller operators to acquire wood fibre and logging debris unwanted by primary harvesters. This includes the smaller trees, branches, limbs and tops of trees that are piled roadside or on logging landing sites as the by-product of a typical timber harvesting operation. The new tenures do not grant rights to harvest standing timber. View government news release.

Audit Uncovers Problems with Timber Sales Program on Island
An audit of a program created by the provincial government to revitalize the forest industry has found instances of non-compliance with regulations. B.C. Timber Sales program, active in 12 "business areas" around the province, did not comply with some rules in the Strait of Georgia area, which includes land around Campbell River. Examples include allowing sediment into fish-bearing streams, failing to maintain natural drainage of streams and not having sufficient fire-suppression measures in place. Read more.

Consultations – Timber Supply
The Special Committee on Timber Supply recently announced its plans for conducting community and provincial consultations. The all-party committee was appointed in May 2012 to investigate and make recommendations to address the loss of mid-term timber supply in the central interior due to the mountain pine beetle epidemic. A discussion paper available online outlines options for increasing the timber supply. “We plan to visit 15 communities and hold meetings in Vancouver to find out which options First Nations, local governments, the public and stakeholders prefer,” said committee chair John Rustad. “We are hoping to learn from communities what values and local knowledge should be considered when making recommendations about the mid-term timber supply,” added Norm Macdonald, deputy chair. For a list of the public hearings, and discussion paper, click here. 

Amendments to the Fisheries Act – New Fish Habitat Provisions and Increased Penalties
The federal Fisheries Act (the “Act”) is arguably the most powerful and most applied, on a day-to-day basis, environmental law in the country. Amendments to the Act that were passed into law by the government on June 18, 2012 as part of Bill C-38, the omnibus budget implementation legislation, bring significant changes to the regulatory regime and consequently to those regulated by the Act. The Act has changed its regulatory perspective over the years. Currently, the habitat and deleterious substance provisions in the Act are used as primary protection for the environment. The section 35 habitat provisions prohibit the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction (HADD) of fish habitat, unless a person has an authorization to do so. An HADD without an authorization is a punishable offence. View the full article by Tony Crossman, with Miller Thomson.

British Columbia Legislative Update in Health Law
A look at 5 recently introduced pieces of health legislation in BC
and their anticipated effects on health care providers and patients
Spring 2012 has seen the introduction of several new pieces of legislation in the Provincial Legislature specifically directed to the health care field. This new legislation includes:

• Bill 35 - The Pharmaceutical Services Act
• Bill 39 - The Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act
• Bill 48 - The Emergency Health Services Amendment Act
• Bill 41 - The Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act
• Bill 34 - The Limitation Act

Securities Regulators' Fines Called "a Farce"
$444M in Penalties Levied, But $285M Has Not Been Collected
Nearly two-thirds of penalties levied by provincial securities regulators across Canada in the past 5 years have not been paid, a CBC News investigation has found. "Clearly we have a problem with collection of fines and [securities] regulation," said Ermanno Pascutto, executive director of the Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights (FAIR Canada). View full article by CBC.

Insurance Act – New Revision
Effective July 1, 2012, the revised Insurance Act, SBC 2012, c. 37, was brought into force by B.C. Reg. 191/2012 as a limited revision under the Statute Revision Act, RSBC 1996, c. 140. It consolidates the previously existing act and its amendments, and revises it by simplifying the numbering and updating the style and language.  Read Tracy Mclean's post at Courthouse Libraries BC Blog, the Stream.

Just Cause – Dishonesty, Breach of Contract, Good Faith
It is always difficult for an employer to prove just cause. This post looks at a recent case from British Columbia that found just cause based on dishonesty, breach of contract and breach of the duty of good faith. Ernst was hired as a senior executive by a Vancouver based company to market a system for the secure distribution of recorded music over the internet. At the time, he was living in Alberta. He negotiated a written employment contract that said he would initially work from his home in Alberta, that if he was required to move to Vancouver the employer would pay the reasonable expenses of the move, and that his salary would be increased annually by not less than the cost of living increase in his province of residence. Read the full article posted by Earl Phillips with McCarthy Tetrault.

Mental Disorder Provision of the British Columbia Workers Compensation Act Now In Force
The BC Government passed Bill 14 in a bid to tackle workplace bullying. Effective July 1, 2012, the major provisions of the Workers Compensation Amendment Act, 2011, SBC 2012, c. 23, came into force amending the Workers Compensation Act (the “Act”). The most significant amendment is the expanded compensation for mental disorders. The new amendment clarifies that a worker is entitled to compensation for a “mental disorder”, as opposed to “mental stress”. It expands compensation for mental stress arising from the course of the worker’s employment to go beyond the previous requirement of “an acute reaction to a sudden and traumatic event” to include a mental disorder that is either:

(i) a reaction to one or more traumatic events arising out of and in the course of employment, or
(ii) predominantly caused by a significant work-related stressor, including bullying or harassment, or a cumulative series of such stressors, arising out of and in the course of employment.

Local Government News:

New Farm Assessment Regulations to be Implemented for 2013
The Province is implementing 4 more recommendations from the Farm Assessment Review Panel. With the enactment of Bill 8 – the Community, Sport and Cultural Development Statutes Amendment Act, 2011 – on March 15, 2012, and through recent regulatory amendments, government will implement 4 panel recommendations for the 2013 Assessment Roll. These will:

• Increase the tax exemption limit on farm outbuilding improvements (excluding the residence).
• Extend farmer’s dwelling and home site farm classification to retired farmers in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) for farms that stay in production.
• Reduce the administrative paperwork for farmers by changing the farm income reporting period to be consistent with each farmer’s Canada Revenue Agency income tax reporting period (i.e., a calendar or fiscal year).
• Provide more flexibility in meeting the requirements to maintain farm status by expanding the list of qualifying agricultural products (previously referred to as Primary Agricultural Production).

BC Sues Nanaimo to Recoup Medical Costs in Railway-crossing Crash – Health Care Cost Recovery Act
The BC government is suing the City of Nanaimo to recover costs of medical care for a Nanaimo teen left in a coma after a railway-crossing crash that killed his parents. The province is using the Health Care Costs Recovery Act, a little known piece of legislation that came into effect in 2009 and has allowed it to recoup millions in healthcare costs from third parties it deems negligent. Andrew Hall, now 17, was in the backseat of his parents' car when it was struck by a train on the Dorman Road crossing on October 14, 2009, killing his 44-year-old mother, Roseane Perreault, who was driving, and his 49-year-old father Lyle Brian Hall, who was in the passenger seat. Read more.

Miscellaneous News:

BC Government Delivers First Annual Report on Regulatory Reform
The government of British Columbia has delivered on a commitment to be the first jurisdiction in Canada to produce an annual public report on regulatory reform. British Columbia’s regulatory reform initiative is designed to improve the lives of all British Columbians by eliminating unnecessary red tape, minimizing the time and cost for business and citizens accessing government services or complying with regulatory requirements. BC’s streamlined regulatory environment attracts new investments to the province and encourages growth and innovation in the business community, creating new jobs that benefit all regions of the province. Under the Regulatory Reporting Act, enacted in November 2011, the government of BC made it a legislative requirement to present annual public reports on its regulatory reform progress no later than June of each year. Read the report posted here on June 29, 2012.

Traffic Police Catch Drunk Driver 18 Minutes after
New Drinking and Driving Laws Came into Effect
It took traffic police 18 minutes to nab someone under the reinstated tougher drinking and driving laws which came into effect Friday at midnight. Officers with the Integrated Road Safety Unit set up a roadblock near the Johnson Street Bridge when Constable Mike Klein-Beekman pulled over a driver who blew a fail, with a blood alcohol level over .08. The driver will face a 3-month driving ban, have his car impounded for 30 days, and will require an ignition interlock installed in his car for a year, amounting to thousands in fees. Read more.
NOTE: The amendments to 215.41 to 215.5 of the Motor Vehicle Act are designed to address the court’s concerns about providing failing drivers with a way to meaningfully challenge the roadside breath-test results.

CVSE – Bulletin For All Inspection Facilities
A Bulletin was issued by CVSE that reminds facilities of the appropriate application of the Certificate of Approval Inspection Decal. Both CVSE and Police enforcement agencies have reported an increase in the number of decals applied to vehicles that do not display an accurate expiry date. Typically, this results from decals being hole punched with the intent to display expiration. View bulletin.

Selling Common Property in Stratas – Strata Property Act
Developers of strata complexes often "sell" parking stalls and storage lockers to condo purchasers. One of the most common sales processes is to register a lease to a related company over the common property parking for a nominal amount (usually $10). For a price (usually thousands of dollars), the related company then sub-leases or provides a license to individual owners to use certain stalls. And so, the developer essentially sells owners their own property. Developers also enter into regular leases with telecommunications companies for antenna towers and related equipment on common property. The companies pay the developers for this privilege. None of the proceeds are given to the strata corporation. The developers' right to enter into these agreements has largely gone unquestioned. Perhaps this is because most people are naturally trusting; if the developer is entering into these agreements, that's because it can. Right? Not necessarily. View full article by Wesley McMillan, with Harper Grey LLP.

VISOA Offers Draft RFP for a Depreciation Report
A Depreciation Report, commonly known as a "Reserve Fund Study", is an analysis and recommendations for reserve funding, as a plan for the "provision of resources for major repairs and replacements of building components and improvements, or common elements, over time to ensure adequate funding of all future capital expenditures when required. The Vancouver Island Strata Owners Association has drafted an RFP (Request for Proposals) form for apartments and one for town houses that they hope will be useful in soliciting depreciation report proposals. Read more at the VISOA site.