Company and Finance News:

Insurance Act Amendments – New Effective Dates?
Effective March 18, 2013, B.C. Reg. 276/2012 brought into force section 155 of the limited revision of the Insurance Act, SBC 2012, c. 37. However, section 155 was again brought into force by B.C. Reg. 207/2013 on September 27, 2013. This regulation, made under the authority of the act's new citation, Insurance Act, RSBC 2012, c. 1, also brought into force sections 156, 157 and 168. The new citation was issued as a result of amendments made to the Statute Revision Act and the Interpretation Act by the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2013 as of March 14, 2013, allowing limited revisions to be included as revised statutes in the annual volume of statutes and given an RSBC citation. We will keep you posted on the status of the effective date of section 155 should there be any new information.

Revised PST Bulletins
The following bulletins have been updated to reflect recent changes to the regulations.

• Bulletin PST 101, Farmers
• Bulletin PST 102, Commercial Fishers
• Bulletin PST 107, Telecommunication Services
• Bulletin PST 110, Production Machinery and Equipment Exemption
• Bulletin PST 111, Mining Industry
• Bulletin PST 112, Logging Industry
• Bulletin PST 126, Photographers, Videographers and Photofinishers
• Bulletin PST 128, Nurseries and Garden Stores
• Bulletin PST 203, Energy and Energy Conservation
• Bulletin PST 206, Grocery and Drug Stores
• Bulletin PST 207, Medical Supplies and Equipment
• Bulletin PST 314, Exemptions for First Nations

For more information and a list of other recent bulletins and notices, visit the BC Consumer Taxes website.

Energy and Mines News:

Liquefied Natural Gas a Taxing Puzzle for British Columbia
Victoria seeking "sweet spot" for a tax that doesn't hurt LNG projects, but swells proposed prosperity fund
When Christy Clark's Liberal government announced a new tax on liquefied natural gas in the run-up to last spring's provincial election, the reception from industry was far from warm. Industry observers, industry representatives and potential foreign customers warned the tax could harm the LNG export industry in British Columbia before it got started.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, which represents LNG project proponents with interests in BC, weighed in, as did Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc., a heavyweight global LNG buyer. Eech urged caution in proceeding with a new tax. But Clark's government argued that BC's LNG competitor, Australia, has a natural gas tax regime that charges as much as one third more than BC's existing system, which meant British Columbia could attract investment and compete while introducing a new tax on LNG. Read Vancouver Sun article.

Renewable Energy To Meet BC Premier's Objectives
The prospect of new mines, natural gas drilling and the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has the Province of British Columbia on the brink of a period of unprecedented growth in the energy and natural resources sector.

In May, the BC Liberal Party under the leadership of Premier Christy Clark was elected on a platform of jobs and the economy. But what might have been missed in all of the hoopla is the Premier's subtle yet impressive desire to achieve her objectives with the help of the Province's clean and renewable energy sector, as evidenced by her letters to her cabinet ministers.

Shortly after the Premier appointed the new cabinet in June, she sent out distinct mandate letters to each of her ministers which set out her priorities for government and listed specific initiatives for each Ministry. Read the full article by Warren Brazier with Clark Wilson LLP and published in their Megawatt Blog.

Panel Finds Flaws in Taseko's Revised New Prosperity Mine Proposal
Opponents of Taseko Mines Ltd.'s New Prosperity mine proposal are claiming victory, but the company is not conceding defeat, after a federal environmental review that concluded the project would have "significant adverse effects" on the environment and Aboriginal rights.

Ultimately, it is up to Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq to decide whether the project is likely to cause significant damage. And if she agrees with the review's findings, it will be up to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet to decide whether the mine's socio-economic benefits outweigh environmental concerns enough to justify approving the $1-billion copper-gold mine. Read Vancouver Sun article. Footnote: The Prosperity deposit is a gold-copper porphyry with a one billion tonne measured and indicated resource containing 5.3 billion pounds of copper and 13.3 million ounces of gold.

Family and Children News:

Practice Direction
Civil Marriage Act – Procedures for Divorce
(effective October 28, 2013)
Practice Direction - 43: Civil Marriage Act – Procedures for Divorce was recently issued by Associate Chief Justice Cullen. The Practice Direction sets out the procedural requirements for a non-resident same sex couple who married in British Columbia, to obtain a divorce under the Civil Marriage Act, S.C. 2005, c. 33, and should be read in conjunction with Part 2 of that Act. This Practice Direction does not apply to divorces granted under the Divorce Act.

An Overview of the Intersect between the Family Law Act, Criminal Code
and the Ministry of Children and Family Development
This paper was prepared by Graham A. Kay of Webber Weiser McKinley & Kay, Kamloops, BC, for the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia. The paper provides an overview of how the Family Law Act addresses family violence, protections orders, enforcement provisions, and the intersect between the Family Law Act, the Criminal Code of Canada, and the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Lastly, there are recommendations for non-family lawyers who have clients who may be involved in a family law dispute or are experiencing family violence issues. Click here to view a PDF version of the paper on the CLE website.

No Right to "Know One's Past": The BCCA in Pratten v British Columbia (Attorney General)
– Adoption Act
In a decision released on November 27, 2012, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) in Pratten v British Columbia, 2012 BCCA 480, reversed the British Columbia Supreme Court's (BCSC) decision that provisions of the provincial Adoption Act are unconstitutional as a result of their failure to take into account the rights of people conceived using sperm from an anonymous donor ("donor offspring").

The challenge was brought by Olivia Pratten, who was conceived in 1982 using sperm from an anonymous donor. As per the rules of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, which allows records to be destroyed six years after the last entry, all records relating to the insemination procedure by which Ms. Pratten was conceived were destroyed.

Ms. Pratten argued that the Adoption Act, which contains mechanisms enabling adoptees to find their birth parents, violates section 15 of the Charter because it benefits only adoptees and not donor offspring. Additionally, Ms. Pratten claimed that the Legislature's failure to enact legislation to allow donor offspring to access biological information violates a "free-standing" positive right to "know one's past", as guaranteed by section 7 of the Charter. Read the full article by Nikita Rathwell and published on LawNow.

Forest and Environment News:

Environmental Appeal Board Decisions
A number of Environmental Appeal Board decisions were released in the month of October. These included the following:

• Wildlife Act – Darren DeLuca v. Regional Manager of Fish and Wildlife
• Environmental Management Act – Lynda Gagne; Emily Toews; Charles Henry Claus; Pamela Vollrath; Elisabeth Stannus; Skeena Wild Conservation Trust; Lakelse Watershed Stewards Society v. Director, Environmental Management Act
• Water Act – Robert Ackerman; Julie Nurse; Kenneth Hampson; Alix Macdonald and Dieter Haubold; Swissterra Land Corporation v. Assistant Regional Water Manager
• Water Act – John Vlchek, doing business as Cariboo Water Wells Ltd. v. Regional Water Manager
• Water Act – Ellen Weir, Greg Whynacht; D'Arcy Lubin, Ian R. Poyntz; Catherine Willows Woodrow; Michael Dix (on behalf of himself and the Cowichan Lake Recreational Community Inc.) v. Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights
• Water Act – Katrina Sigloch v. Assistant Regional Water Manager

The Proposed Water Sustainability Act
On October 18^th, the BC Government released its legislative proposal for the new Water Sustainability Act. The new act is to replace the existing Water Act. The intent behind the new legislation is modernize the Water Act by updating regulations concerning groundwater usage, water security and overall health of aquatic environments. For example, under the new Act, companies that extract groundwater will for the first time be required to pay a fee for this privilege (85 cents per million litres). For more information including the complete legislative proposal, visit the BC Water Sustainability Act website.

FLNRO – Two New Information Documents
FLNRO has recently published the following new information documents:

• Board of Scaling Examiners (BOSE) – Examination Standards – The purpose of BOSE is to ensure consistency and fairness in setting and conducting scaling examinations.
• Provincial Scale Site List

BC Sets Out New Regulations for Pesticide Use
The Province is proposing revisions to the Integrated Pest Management Regulation (IPMR) to ensure cosmetic pesticides are being used safely and responsibly. These revisions will require stricter control on the sale and use of pesticides in private landscaped areas, while at the same time simplify requirements for the sale and use of pesticides commonly considered safe. The proposed changes include the following requirements:

• A licence is required in order to apply most pesticides in private landscaped areas.
• Licence holders are required to employ trained pesticide applicators and practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
• Residents are to be notified when pesticides are used on private landscaped areas.
• A list of pesticides considered safe for use by untrained people will be developed. These pesticides may be sold and applied in a private landscaped area without a licence.

These proposed revisions are detailed in a document at the Ministry of Environment's website. Read government news release.

The New Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations
Under the Federal Fisheries Act
Each year, Canadian waters receive billions of litres of untreated wastewater. After a number of high profile prosecutions of a number of municipalities under the Fisheries Act for depositing these "deleterious substances", and after three years of consultation on national wastewater standards, the new Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations ("Regulations") under the federal Fisheries Act have come into operation.

The Regulations set the national baseline quality standards for effluent discharged from wastewater facilities and compliance will be phased in over a number of years. Operators of so called "high risk" facilities will have to achieve compliance (and upgrade their plants) by the end of 2020, while lower risk facilities by the end of 2030 and 2040, depending on the level of risk. View the full article by Tony Crossman with Miller Thomson LLP.

Health News:

New Medical Marijuana Rule about to Face Lawsuit
Longtime Fraser Valley marijuana crusader John Conroy is finalizing a lawsuit accusing Ottawa of infringing on the rights of medical pot users and growers.

He and a handful of other lawyers working on the lawsuit to be filed in Federal Court within weeks have reviewed more than 3,000 victim impact statements from across the country to pick the 15 best representatives.

Conroy says the new Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations recently adopted by Health Canada violate several sections of the constitution. In particular, he claims the radical changes introduced by Ottawa to end home-growing and designated production will unduly restrict the safe access by patients to their medication.

"The suit has taken longer to frame than expected," Conroy said. Read Vancouver Sun article.

BC Health-Care Workers Must Wear Mask or Have Flu Shot
BC arbitrator upholds provincial government policy
A BC policy requiring health-care workers to get a flu shot or wear a mask while caring for patients during flu season has been upheld.

Arbitrator Robert Diebolt dismissed the grievance brought by the BC Health Sciences Association, which represents about 16,000 health-care workers, against the government.

The disputed policy requires health-care workers to be vaccinated against flu each year, or to wear masks while caring for patients during flu season. Read the CBC article.

BC Government Orders Review of Fraser Health Authority
BC's minister of health has ordered a strategic and operational review of the Fraser Health Authority, one day after nurses in the region held a press conference to decry the "ongoing chaos" in Surrey's emergency rooms.

Minister Terry Lake said in a statement that the review "presents an opportunity to ensure the talented resources we have in our health-care system support Fraser Health's delivery of quality and sustainable health-care services."

The review is expected to be completed by next spring.

"I want to get information so I can make informed decisions about the future of Fraser Health. For me it's all about doing the diagnostic work before deciding what the way forward is." – Terry Lake, BC Health Minister.

The committee doing the review will be comprised of provincial health leaders appointed by Lake and will work with the Fraser Health board to examine the authority's "current operational practices and identify priority action areas to address service and fiscal challenges," according to the statement. Read the CBC article.

Labour and Employment News:

Employers Face Deadline on Anti-Bullying Rules
New WorkSafeBC regulations require companies to have policies in place, provide training
WorkSafeBC has accepted 40 mental disorder compensation claims where the illness was deemed to have been caused by bullying in the workplace since its mandate was broadened to include stress-related sickness in July of 2012.

Joe Pinto, a WorkSafe senior program manager, said claims have been coming in at the rate of 50 a month, although many are rejected because they don't fit current requirements.

In addition to the 40 claims approved under the bullying rule, Pinto said WorkSafe has accepted close to another 60 that were classified as traumatic occurrences.

However, Pinto won't be surprised if numbers climb after November 1, when WorkSafeBC's new bullying and harassment policies come into force and the agency's prevention officers head into the field to begin enforcement. Read more.

Miscellaneous News:

BC Hells Angels Challenge Forfeiture Law that
Allows Clubhouses to be Seized
The notorious biker gang filed a lawsuit on Oct. 8 in response to suits under the Civil Forfeiture Act to seize the Nanaimo, East End and Kelowna clubhouses
BC Hells Angels have filed a legal challenge of the government's civil forfeiture law, claiming it violates their constitutional rights.

A lawyer for seven men connected to the East End Chapter filed the suit Tuesday as a counterclaim to one by the director of civil forfeiture last fall to seize Hells Angels' clubhouses in East Vancouver and Kelowna.

Lawyer Joe Arvay said the government has been going after clubhouses owned by the notorious biker gang, even though they haven't been able to prove in a BC court that the Hells Angels is a criminal organization.

"Civil forfeiture laws allow the government to do indirectly what it cannot do directly – and that is to prove crimes without affording to those most directly affected all of the basic protections that the criminal law and process properly requires," Arvay said Tuesday. "In our view, this legislation is beyond the powers of the provincial legislature and contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

Since 2007, the government has used the Civil Forfeiture Act to go after Hells Angels' assets in Nanaimo, East Vancouver and Kelowna, including three clubhouses. Read the Vancouver Sun article.

Ian Mulgrew: Land Conservancy Founder Says
Creditor Protection Move "Appalling"
– Charitable Purposes Preservation Act
The move by TLC – The Land Conservancy of BC – to seek creditor protection threatens to do irreparable harm to charities and the land-trust movement, according to its founder Bill Turner.

The man who led the TLC for most of its life before leaving in 2012 to set up a similar organization, Turner says the legal manoeuvre "is an appalling attempt to change the rules" and the government should intervene.

The conservancy, Turner insisted, is asking BC Supreme Court to override provisions of the Charitable Purposes Preservation Act, a provincial law enacted in 2007 to protect charitable property from being seized by third parties. Read the Vancouver Sun article.

Motor Vehicle and Traffic News:

Drivers Face Double Standard With Drug-Related Suspensions – Motor Vehicle Act
BC's Superintendent of Motor Vehicles is looking to change the province's laws so drivers allegedly impaired by drugs can appeal 24-hour roadside suspensions.

Both alcohol and drug-related 24-hour suspensions are issued under different parts of Section 215 of the Motor Vehicle Act.

While drivers allegedly impaired by alcohol have the right to a review, drivers suspended for drug use either have to convince the ticketing officer to reconsider or file a petition in BC Supreme Court for a judicial review.

It's an issue flagged by the director of Simon Fraser University's School of Criminology, Neil Boyd, in a recent report on the enforcement of marijuana-related offences in BC. Read the full article published by CBC.

CVSE Notice – Pacific Gateway – OS-OW Vehicle Envelopes
The Commercial Transport Department has issued a notice that is intended to illustrate current capabilities for the movement of oversize-overweight cargo from the Lower Mainland (Metro Vancouver) and Prince Rupert to the BC-AB Border (i.e., through the Pacific Gateway) under what is considered to be a standard permit approval request. View the notice: CT Notice 09-13.

Property and Real Estate News:

Surrey Trailer Park Residents Push for Stricter Laws
– Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act
People living in a trouble-plagued trailer park in Surrey, BC, want the province to beef up its laws to better protect their homes.

The tenants at King George Mobile and RV Park say public buildings are crumbling, amenities are closed and the landlord keeps raising the rent.

They've formed a homeowners society and started a petition to have the provincial government change the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act so that specific rent money is set aside for the general maintenance and upkeep of the park.

Elaine Lafontaine, a teacher who's lived in the park for ten years, calls it much-needed affordable housing at just over 700 dollars a month, but claims that prostitution, drug dealing and decay are dragging it down and blames the landlord for not making vital repairs to buildings and pipes. Read the CBC article.

Surrey Problem Condo Owner Appeals Forced Sale of Her Unit
– Strata Property Act
Strata council sought legal intervention after more than 1,000 complaints against owner and son
Residents of a Surrey condo complex were so paranoid about fractious exchanges with neighbour Rose Jordison and her son Jordy that lawyer Phil Dougan said some of them started wearing video cameras to record their conflicts.

With more than 1,100 complaints dating back to 2006, the strata council of the development in the 15200-block of Guildford Drive went to court to force Jordison to sell. While Jordison and her son Jordy obeyed a court injunction to move out, she appealed a BC Supreme Court decision forcing her to put her unit on the market – which would be the first such sale in BC.

Residents alleged the Jordisons contravened the strata bylaws with excessive noise, abusive language, threats and harassment. Jordison also refused to pay $20,000 in fines.

Dougan, who is representing the strata council, said residents want the unit to be sold so there is no chance the Jordisons could somehow return.

"It's totally irrational," said Dougan of the situation. "It doesn't make any sense at all." Read the article in the Vancouver Sun.

Wills and Estates News:

QS Publishes Early Consolidation of WESA!
Quickscribe is pleased to announce that we have decided to publish an early PDF consolidation of the new Wills, Estates and Succession Act as it will appear when it comes into law on March 31, 2014. Sections not yet in force on that date include those addressing Nisga'a and treaty lands as well as small estates left by Nisga'a citizens and treaty first nation members. Effective on the same date, the following related acts are set to be repealed: the Estate Administration Act, Probate Recognition Act, Wills Act, and Wills Variation Act.

The Forgotten Will on Spousal Separation
One of the unfortunate realities of marriage breakdown is that the spouses often do not promptly update their estate plans to reflect the dramatic changes in circumstances. If one of the spouses passes away leaving an outdated Will, the legal representative of the deceased spouse faces the daunting challenge of attempting to correct the provisions of this Will.

This article will briefly comment on what kind of relief can be found in the Wills Act, Wills Variation Act and the Wills, Estates and Succession Act ("WESA"), which is scheduled to become operational on March 31, 2014, and the effect of a Separation Agreement on an outdated Will. View the full article by Douglas Howard with Clark Wilson LLP.