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May 01 2024

Short-Term Rental Principal Residence Requirement - Now in Force (May 1st)

On May 1, 2024, the principal residence requirement in the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act came into force. This means that effective May 1st, short-term rental accommodation services may be offered only in a host's principal residence or, in some circumstances, one secondary suite or other accessory dwelling unit.

Some communities have opted out of the principal residence requirement if they have:

  • a population over 10,000 in the 2021 Census and a rental vacancy rate of 3% or more for each of the two previous years, or
  • a population less than 10,000 in 2021, but are within 15 km of a municipality that meets the first criteria.

Some communities that are already exempt from this requirement may be able to opt in, as specified in the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Regulations. The request to opt in must have been submitted by March 31, 2024 and will take effect November 1, 2024.

Some types of accommodation service providers that are exempt from the new legislation can be found here

For more information on the principal residence requirements, including a list of the communities where these requirements apply, visit the Ministry of Housing website.

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Apr 25 2024

New Police Act Amendments - Early Consolidation

Bill 17, the Police Amendment Act, 2024, partially came into force on April 25, 2024. The bill amends the Police Act to address three recommendations of the 2022 Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act, seven recommendations from the 2019 Special Committee to Review the Police Complaint Process and legislative changes requested by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner and the Ombudsperson.

The legislation makes changes to municipal police governance by:

  • requiring municipal councils to determine who their representative will be on their police board;
  • allowing police boards to elect their chair and vice-chair; and
  • introducing mandatory training, a new code of conduct and requirements for boards to develop policies for handling service and policy complaints.

The bill also includes changes with respect to police oversight to improve efficiency of police misconduct investigations and discipline to:

  • allow the Police Complaint Commissioner to call a public hearing earlier in misconduct investigations; and
  • strengthen the commissioner's authority to conduct systemic reviews and investigations into the causes and contributors of police complaints.

For your convenience, Quickscribe has published an early consolidation of the remainder of the changes in Bill 17 as they will read when they come into force by regulation at a future date.

 

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Apr 25 2024

Bill 16 - Housing Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 - Now in Force

On April 25th, the BC government passed Bill 16, the Housing Statutes Amendment Act, 2024, which supports the recent legislative changes intended to increase the supply of housing in BC. According to the government, this bill presents the second phase of this work by providing governments with new authorities that will allow them to continue to secure important outcomes outside of rezonings, increasing transparency and certainty in the development approval process. Some of the changes include:

  1. Establishing a new authority for inclusionary zoning that will let local governments require affordable housing and new developments, subject to appropriate financial analysis, consultation and guardrails to ensure homes get built.
  2. Providing municipalities with clear authorities to protect tenants who are evicted as a result of redevelopment, including financial assistance or help finding alternate housing.
  3. Expanding local government authorities to secure important site-level infrastructure like wider sidewalks, protected bike lanes and other infrastructure that is important to building complete communities.
  4. Establishing a density bonus framework to parallel the inclusionary zoning, with similar requirements for financial analysis, consultation and reporting.

UBCM has published an analysis of the proposed changes for local governments.

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Recent Contributions From Our Experts

 

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)

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 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

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

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 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

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

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

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 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

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

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]

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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)

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

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

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

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