What is an annotation?
Traditionally, an annotated law will include information about the application and intent behind the sections in a law. While many of the QS Community and Expert annotations will include these types of annotations, we have broadened the definition to also include references to:
- Recent or upcoming changes
- Relevant or historical case law/decisions (with links)
- High-level research-oriented discussion and inquiries
- References to policy or white papers pertaining to a particular law (upload tools available)
By broadening the definition of an annotation, we can deliver a more dynamic, flexible and relevant research tool that will evolve over time and as laws change.
Types of Annotations
Quickscribe 2.0 offers you the ability to make and save annotations as Private (only readable by you) or Organizational (accessible to only those in your organization); both are encrypted. Annotations can also be posted to the Quickscribe Community. These are moderated and some restrictions apply. Quickscribe's Expert Annotators will contribute annotations for the benefit of all users.
In summary, an annotation is any note that offers additional substantive value for our users.
Since 1984, Quickscribe has been delivering innovative and cost-effective legislation services to thousands of professionals across BC and abroad.
Quickscribe is now widely considered the go-to-source for those looking for an easier way to research, navigate, interpret and keep informed on annotated laws that matter most to you.
What Makes Quickscribe Different?
It starts with who picks up the phone. More often than not, when you call into our office, owner Mike Pasta will greet you on the other end. As a smaller, Victoria-based company, we pride ourselves in prioritizing service over profits. Whether you are an independent consultant who only requires the occassional reference to a handful of laws, or a legal research lawyer working for a major law firm, our fee structure will ensure that you will be able to justify the cost of this economical service.
See for yourself why Quickscribe is now the go-to source for legislation in BC. No credit card required. No invoices issued.
What Makes Quickscribe 2.0 Unique?
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Most Current - by far!
With Quickscribe, you'll never have to question whether you are accessing the most current version of a law again. QS 2.0 provides access to laws that are updated weeks before any other source. How do we do it? Our system was built with the flexibility to allow us to post changes the same day they come into law. In fact, as a convenience to our clients, Quickscribe will routinely post early consolidations of key laws prior to coming into force. These early consolidations are rarely, if ever, found elsewhere.
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Expert Insight (Annotations)
Whether you want to contribute and engage in the legislative discussions or simply benefit from reading the annotations made by others, Quickscribe's annotations deliver dynamic, value-added content that will enrich your legislative research experience.
Quickscribe's ever-growing panel of hand-selected expert annotators contributes annotations throughout the legislation for the benefit of all users.
You may also add your own annotations and save them as private (encrypted), organizational (only readable to those in your firm) or even shared with the QS community (moderated). The choice is up to you.
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PDF – on Demand!
Have you ever been frustrated with the process of trying to print off individual sections or entire laws from other sites? Quickscribe's popular PDF tools make it easy to print off professional-quality PDF versions of selected sections or entire laws on demand! These PDFs can also be saved to file. Clients even have the option to print both the annotated and non-annotated versions of the law.
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Custom Tracking/Alerts
QS 2.0 includes a number of timely, detailed and fully customizable alerts that will notify you of both upcoming and recent changes to laws of your choosing. These popular alerts will ensure you keep informed of the very latest changes. Each alert will provide detailed information with a link to the new/proposed change. Quickscribe has gained a reputation for sending these notices sooner than any other service on the market. Visit our alerts page to learn how these alerts can work for you.
- Historical Law Research Tools
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Select Hansard - at section level!
Quickscribe's Hansard feature makes it easy for you to determine statutory intent directly from the section being debated. Learn more.
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Supplemental Notes
Supplemental notes provide you with yet another layer of helpful information about each section of law. Supplemental notes can provide insight on the “how” and “why” a section came to be. Notes can also be used to link you to relevant government documents, research papers, reports and news articles that provide additional context about the section you are reading. We believe that the more context you have, the better equipped you will be to truly interpret the intent of the law.
Private Annotations
You can easily and securely create and save your own private annotations (PAs) throughout the legislation.
PAs are fully encrypted and can only be viewed by you. You can search, edit, manage and delete these as needed.
QS will even transfer your PAs over to a new account should you move to another organization. By default, all annotations are set to private.
Organizational Annotations
Organizational annotations (OAs) will help to facilitate collaborative discussion and awareness about legislative issues and cases that may be of interest to others in your organization.
OAs are fully encrypted and can only be read or shared by others in your organization. For larger organizations, OAs can be filtered and saved to subgroups. You can follow OAs posted by colleagues and reply to or share OAs within your organization at any time. Document upload and link-building tools make it easy to contribute to the Knowledge Management for your organization.
To save an annotation as an Organizational annotation, select "My Organization" when you go to save the annotation. The default is set to save annotations as Private.
Community Annotations
Quickscribe Community Annotations are posted for the benefit of all Quickscribe users. Saving your annotation as a QS Community (public) Annotation (QSCA) is a great way to share and contribute to the ever-growing, collaborative knowledge base that comprises all users.
For example, your research may have uncovered a valuable tip or reference to a case that might be of interest to others using Quickscribe. Other users may want to initiate a discussion relating to the interpretation of a vague reference in a proposed law. The Community annotations are intended to facilitate this type of content/discussion for the benefit of all users.
All QSCAs are moderated and reviewed prior to publishing. Portions of QS Community annotations may also be published to various public sites.
To save an annotation as an Organizational annotation, select "QS Community" when you go to save the annotation. The default is set to save annotations as Private.
What is an annotation?
Traditionally, an annotated law will include information about the application and intent behind the sections in a law. While many of the QS Community and Expert annotations will include these types of annotations, we have broadened the definition to also include references to:
- Recent or upcoming changes
- Relevant or historical case law/decisions (with links)
- High-level research-oriented discussion and inquiries
- References to policy or white papers pertaining to a particular law (upload tools available)
By broadening the definition of an annotation, we can deliver a more dynamic, flexible and relevant research tool that will evolve over time and as laws change.
Types of Annotations
Quickscribe 2.0 offers you the ability to make and save annotations as Private (only readable by you) or Organizational (accessible to only those in your organization); both are encrypted. Annotations can also be posted to the Quickscribe Community. These are moderated and some restrictions apply. Quickscribe's Expert Annotators will contribute annotations for the benefit of all users.
In summary, an annotation is any note that offers additional substantive value for our users.
Annotations from our Quickscribe Experts
This provision is mandatory and there is no discretion to order payment to be made to someone other than the PGT. See 2019 BCCA 171 at paras 7 - 11.
Dan Orsetti, Public Guardian And Trustee of British Columbia on WILLS, ESTATES AND SUCCESSION ACT
It is not always necessary to show that the proposed action is in the best interest of the estate. It may be sufficient if it is necessary or expedient to protect the interest of a specified person.
Stanley Rule, Sabey Rule LLP on WILLS, ESTATES AND SUCCESSION ACT
Section 36 of the Property Law Act does not apply to the Crown land owned or controlled by the Provincial government: Fox v British Columbia (Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development), 2022 BCSC 541
Peter Roberts, Lawson Lundell LLP on PROPERTY LAW ACT
In CARDON Group, Re., 2024 BCIPC 102, the adjudicator exercised her discretion available under s. 50(1) of PIPA to cancel an inquiry which was deemed moot, as a result of the applicant revealing during her submissions that she already had a copy of the unredacted documents at ...
Karen Zimmer, Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP on PERSONAL INFORMATION PROTECTION ACT
Decisions of the court under s. 17 are not limited appeal orders and therefore leave is not required under s. 11 of the Court of Appeal Rules to appeal.
Melanie Harmer, McMillan LLP on JUDICIAL REVIEW PROCEDURE ACT
This amendment means that all minimum rates will be automatically determined by the previous year's average inflation rate for the province of BC. The increase will take effect on June 1 each year, except for agricultural piece rates that will increase on December 31 eac...
Scott Marcinkow, Harper Grey LLP on EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS ACT
The purpose of this provision, embodying as it does the common law “indoor management rule” is clear: persons doing business with a corporation should not have to be concerned about whether the company’s internal business housekeeping is in order. Instead, it...
Debby Cumberford, Deborah M. Cumberford on BUSINESS CORPORATIONS ACT
The Court of Appeal quashed a decision of the Tribunal that denied legal representation on the basis that legal counsel could instead provide assistance anonymously and behind the scenes.
The constitutionality of the Civil Resolution Tribunal's limitation on legal representat...
Melanie Harmer, McMillan LLP on CIVIL RESOLUTION TRIBUNAL ACT
The implications of this section are canvassed by Jennifer Bednard in "Will or Will Not: Practice Implications of Section 58 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act Part I: What is a Testamentary Document Anyway?" (2020) 78 Advocate 527.
D. Michael Bain, K.C., Hamilton Howell Bain & Gould on WILLS, ESTATES AND SUCCESSION ACT
In Wilkinson v. Chartier, 2025 BCCA 53, the Court of Appeal overturned the chambers judge’s order granting summary judgment in relation to trust claims brought under s. 151 of WESA on the basis that the claims were statute barred by the Limitation Act. The Court of Appea...
OnPoint Legal Research, Onpoint Legal Research Law Corporation on LIMITATION ACT
In Ocean Pacific Hotels v. Lee, 2025 BCCA 57, the Court of Appeal overturned the certification judge’s order certifying the common issues relating to the claim for contractual breaches. In the Court’s view, it was plain and obvious that the pleadings as drafted did...
OnPoint Legal Research, Onpoint Legal Research Law Corporation on CLASS PROCEEDINGS ACT
In April 2025 the British Columbia Human Rights Commissioner published the results of an inquiry into practices under s. 59 of the Adult Guardianship Act. “We’re still here": Report of the Inquiry into detentions under the Adult Guardianship Act documents some dete...
Laura Johnston, Health Justice on ADULT GUARDIANSHIP ACT
In Cohen 2023 BCSECCOM 317 an application was made to the BC Securities Commission for orders than notice delivered under an advance notice policy requiring notice with respect to the election of directors be included in a circular and that the shareholder vote be rest...
Teresa Tomchak, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on SECURITIES ACT
The term "obsolete" means something that is "no longer practised or used, discarded; [and] out of date". A determination of obsolescence is a consideration of the nature of the charge itself in the circumstances of the use of the relevant property and a determinati...
Peter Roberts, Lawson Lundell LLP on PROPERTY LAW ACT
In Insurance Corporation of British Columbia v. Ari, 2025 BCCA 131, the BC Court of Appeal upheld the judgment of the Honourable Mr. Justice N. Smith (2024 BCSC 964), to award aggregate damages of $15,000 per class member for a serious breach of privacy by a former employee of...
Karen Zimmer, Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP on PRIVACY ACT
The legislative intent in fashioning the derivative action leave provisions required that leave be obtained before such action is filed. The provision stipulates that a complainant may, with leave of the court, prosecute a legal proceeding. The corollar...
Debby Cumberford, Deborah M. Cumberford on BUSINESS CORPORATIONS ACT
The filing of a Notice of Dispute is a "proceeding" for the purpose of this section. After a Notice of Dispute is filed, the court may appoint an administrator pending legal proceedings. In Glendale v. Walker, 2024 BCSC 1947, the disputant successfully brought a petition to ap...
Stanley Rule, Sabey Rule LLP on WILLS, ESTATES AND SUCCESSION ACT
The policy considerations underlying section 60 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, together with the nature of constructive trusts was the subject of some debate in a series of articles published in The Advocate in 2022.
A healthy and respectful canvassing of p...
D. Michael Bain, K.C., Hamilton Howell Bain & Gould on WILLS, ESTATES AND SUCCESSION ACT
Re: Matter of E.L.K. & Application for Warrant s.28(3) Mental Health Act, 2023 BCPC 172 and Re: Matter of N.L. & Application for Warrant s. 28(3) Mental Health Act, 2025 BCPC 55 are two rare examples of published reasons for decision applying the statutory criteria to ...
Laura Johnston, Health Justice on MENTAL HEALTH ACT
Nesbitt v. College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, 2024 BCSC 1661: Section 24 of the Health Professions Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 183, provides a limited statutory immunity. The immunity applies to members of the College board and persons acting on behalf of ...
Joel Morris, Harper Grey LLP on HEALTH PROFESSIONS ACT
Maddock v. British Columbia, 2022 BCSC 1605: Section 54(h) empowers the Provincial Health Officer ("PHO") to decline the request of a person affected to reconsider (s. 43), review (s. 44), or reassess (s. 45) an order or a variance order during an emergency. This provision exi...
Joel Morris, Harper Grey LLP on PUBLIC HEALTH ACT
This section was drawn from section 2.1 of the Arbitration Act, RSBC 1996, c. 55, and is needlessly confusing. On the one hand it seems to say that people can agree to arbitration anything that "may be the subject of a family law dispute in the future," while on the other is s...
John-Paul Boyd QC, John-Paul E. Boyd Arbitration Chambers on FAMILY LAW ACT
One of the leading decisions on the phrase, "excessive hours" is BC EST # D071/10 Johnston. The employee worked 14 hours on an election day and argued that "excessive" should be interpreted to mean a shift in excess of 12 hours. The Director considered the ...
Scott Marcinkow, Harper Grey LLP on EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS ACT
In Singh v Singh, 2020 BCCA 21, the Court of Appeal restricts the nature of the "other factors" that may be argued in favour of reapoprtionment. Justice Garson reviews the specific factors identified in section 95(2) and, applying the principles of statutory interpretation, co...
John-Paul Boyd QC, John-Paul E. Boyd Arbitration Chambers on FAMILY LAW ACT
In Mithaq Canada Inc. 2024 ONCMT 9 the Ontario Capital Markets Tribunal (Tribunal) dismissed the application of Mithaq Capital SPC (Mithaq) to cease trade a private placement that Aimia Inc. (Aimia) completed in October 2023. Mithaq had asserted that the private placem...
Teresa Tomchak, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 62-104 TAKE-OVER BIDS AND ISSUER BIDS (B.C. Reg. 21/2008)
