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Apr 23 2024

New Regulations for Strata Depreciation Reports

Amendments to the Strata Property Act in 2020 Bill 14, c. 16 will be brought into force on July 1, 2024 by B.C. Reg. 88/2024. These amendments authorize regulations that set out timing and other rules respecting depreciation reports. B.C. Reg. 88/2024 will also amend the Strata Property Regulation to require existing strata corporations with five or more strata lots to obtain a depreciation report every five years. Starting July 1, 2025, the report must be from a qualified professional as set out in the regulation, and for new stratas after July 1, 2027, owner-developers will be required to contribute to the contingency reserve fund for the first report.

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Apr 11 2024

Proposed Changes to Clean Energy Act and Utilities Commission Act

Bill 24, the Energy Statutes Amendment Act, 2024, was introduced on April 11. The Bill proposes amendments to two Acts. Changes to the Clean Energy Act would repeal provisions used to create the Standing Offer Program, which was suspended by the Province in 2019 as part of Phase 1 of the BC Hydro Comprehensive Review intended to reduce BC Hydro’s energy procurement costs.

In December 2022, the Province directed the BC Utilities Commission to temporarily suspend new electricity connections for cryptocurrency mining. The proposed amendments to the Utilities Commission Act would allow the creation of more permanent regulations with respect to public utilities providing electricity service to cryptocurrency miners, such as prohibiting, restricting or regulating service for cryptocurrency mining projects.

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Apr 10 2024

New Legislation to Ban Disruptive Protests Outside Schools

On April 10, 2024 the BC Government introduced Bill 22, Safe Access to Schools Act. The intent of the new law will be to provide police the authority to arrest or issue tickets to anyone found impeding access, disrupting educational activities or attempting to intimidate an individual within 20 metres (66 feet) of school grounds, K-to-12. 

Before establishing these "access zones" around a school, the new legislation requires the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council to have regard for several factors, including the importance of education, safety and well-being of the students, the importance of the health, safety and well-being of persons providing educational programs and the need to protect access to schools.

The Bill includes limited exemptions for students and for people who work in the schools. 

There are provisions in the legislation that permit lawful labour action such as strike, lockout and picketing.

Finally, the law will eventually be repealed on or before July 1, 2026 by regulation.

BC Attorney General Niki Sharma explained to reporters that "Access zones are not about restricting free speech" she said. "Just because you have the right to protest, doesn't mean you have the right to intimidate and harass".

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Recent Contributions From Our Experts

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...

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D. Michael Bain, K.C., Hamilton Howell Bain & Gould on WILLS, ESTATES AND SUCCESSION 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, i...

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Debby Cumberford, Deborah M. Cumberford on BUSINESS CORPORATIONS ACT

The theory of corporate identification attributes the intention of a company’s “directing mind” to the corporation for the purposes of establishing corporate mens rea. The doctrine is engaged where the action taken by the directing mind was: within the field ...

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Debby Cumberford, Deborah M. Cumberford on BUSINESS CORPORATIONS ACT

Section 35 is a "comprehensive code for the modification or cancellation of the interests in land identified in subsection (1)"(para. 40). It ousts the common law.

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Peter Roberts, Lawson Lundell LLP on PROPERTY LAW ACT

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.

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Dan Orsetti, Public Guardian And Trustee of British Columbia on WILLS, ESTATES AND SUCCESSION ACT

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Greg GEHLEN, GEHLEN DABBS CASH LLP on BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY ACT [FEDERAL]

 

The Province's guidance [linked here: Guidance on wage or salary information on job postings - Province of British Columbia (gov.bc.ca)] confirms that employers do not need to include commissions or bonus pay, overtime pay, tips, or benefits on job postings. ...

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Scott Marcinkow, Harper Grey LLP on PAY TRANSPARENCY ACT

In applying this section, the Court may consider the following: "First, what were the testator's intentions with regard to the issue for which rectification is sought? Second, does the Will as written fail to carry out those intentions? Third, is that failure a consequence of ...

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Stanley Rule, Sabey Rule LLP on WILLS, ESTATES AND SUCCESSION 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...

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Joel Morris, Harper Grey LLP on PUBLIC HEALTH 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...

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John-Paul Boyd QC, John-Paul E. Boyd Arbitration Chambers on FAMILY LAW ACT

In Cape Group Management Ltd. v. 0793231 B.C. Ltd., 2024 BCSC 493 (“Cape Group”), the defendants applied for an order to cancel a builders lien and a certificate of pending litigation (“CPL”) placed on title by the plaintiff. The plaintiff had filed the...

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Christopher Hirst, Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP on BUILDERS LIEN ACT

Provisions in the Act which prohibit specific types of ipso facto clauses, such as this one, which invalidates clauses that grant an accelerated payment or forfeiture of term because of someone’s filing of a Notice of Intention, do not oust the general common law “anti-dep...

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Greg GEHLEN, GEHLEN DABBS CASH LLP on BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY ACT [FEDERAL]

By Order in Council No. 628, on November 27, 2023, the Lieutenant Governor in Council amended s. 5 of the Disbursements and Expert Evidence Regulation, BC Reg, 210/2020 ("Regulation"). Section 5 of the Regulation limits recovery of disbursements in motor vehicle litigation to ...

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OnPoint Legal Research, Onpoint Legal Research Law Corporation on B.C. Reg. 241/2023

In Klippenstein Development Corp. v. Van Den Brink, 2023 BCSC 961, there was security ($58,000) posted in place of a lien. At issue was whether the lien had been property filed, and whether it should be extinguished pursuant to s. 22 of the Builders Lien Act, and thus whether ...

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Christopher Hirst, Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP on BUILDERS LIEN ACT

In July 2022 the Ombudsperson’s Office released “Systemic Investigation Update: Report on the Implementation of Recommendations from Committed to Change: Protecting the Rights of Involuntary Patients under the Mental Health Act”, which considers whether ...

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Laura Johnston, Health Justice on MENTAL HEALTH REGULATION 233/99

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

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Peter Roberts, Lawson Lundell LLP on PROPERTY LAW ACT

 

In Northwest Copper Corp. 2023 BCSECCOM, the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) confirmed that 62-104 applies to proxy fights and is not restricted to take-over bids. The BCSC considered the decision in Genesis Land Development Corp. v. Smoothwater Capital C...

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Teresa Tomchak, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 62-104 TAKE-OVER BIDS AND ISSUER BIDS (B.C. Reg. 21/2008)

The Mental Health Act has no purpose or principles guiding statutory interpretation and application. In A.T. v. British Columbia (Mental Health Review Board), 2023 BCCA 283 at paras. 68-73 the Court summarized different purposes that can be found through jurisprudenc...

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Laura Johnston, Health Justice on MENTAL HEALTH ACT

In Helgason v. Rondeau, 2023 BCCA 339, the Court of Appeal overturned the trial judge’s decision that the respondent was not negligent when his vehicle collided with the appellant’s vehicle. The judge erred in failing to recognize that the standard of care expected...

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OnPoint Legal Research, Onpoint Legal Research Law Corporation on MOTOR VEHICLE 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...

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Teresa Tomchak, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 62-104 TAKE-OVER BIDS AND ISSUER BIDS (B.C. Reg. 21/2008)

Crisci v. Vancouver Island Health Authority, 2023 BCSC 1883: Section 51 encompasses not only the initial investigatory stage, but also the implementation stage of the complaint process. 

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Joel Morris, Harper Grey LLP on EVIDENCE ACT

This amendment removes "an architect, as defined in the Architects Act" in 31(a) but adds "an architect under the Professional Governance Act" in 31(f.1).  This is a consequential amendment after the Architects Act was repealed on February 10, 2023 and architects are now ...

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Scott Marcinkow, Harper Grey LLP on EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS REGULATION 396/95

The Director of Adjudication allowed the Ministry of Attorney General, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Health’s request that the commissioner grant certain remedies on the basis that an individual was abusing FIPPA’s review and inquiry process: the com...

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Karen Zimmer, Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP on FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PROTECTION OF PRIVACY 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...

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John-Paul Boyd QC, John-Paul E. Boyd Arbitration Chambers on FAMILY LAW 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...

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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.

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D. Michael Bain, K.C., Hamilton Howell Bain & Gould on WILLS, ESTATES AND SUCCESSION ACT

In Tom v. Tang, 2023 BCCA 221, the Court of Appeal clarified that the objective standard of a reasonable will-maker applies to the will-maker's reasons for the provisions made for adult children. Previous decisions should not be interpreted as applying a subjective standard wh...

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Stanley Rule, Sabey Rule LLP on WILLS, ESTATES AND SUCCESSION ACT

The class action privacy case, Ari v. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, 2022 BCSC 1475 involved a claim by individuals (and those who lived with them) whose personal information was improperly accessed without an apparent business purpose, by an ICBC adjuster. The adj...

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Karen Zimmer, Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP on PRIVACY 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.

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Melanie Harmer, McMillan LLP on JUDICIAL REVIEW PROCEDURE ACT

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