2012-03-22Legal Updates
This review of the City of Prince Rupert’s decision to refuse to disclose records in relation to a severance agreement may provide some assistance to local governments considering similar issues. In this Order, the Adjudicator considered whether solicitor-client privilege applied to certain documents requested by the applicant, and also considered whether the release of the […]
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2012-03-22Legal Updates
The Court of Appeal has ruled on the question of the standard for determining consistency between Official Community Plans and Zoning Bylaws. The B.C. Supreme Court decision, in which the zoning bylaw was found not to be inconsistent with the Official Community Plan, was discussed in an article in Logo Notebook in the Spring of […]
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Looking at the Past and into the Future – A Message from Guy McDannold
2011-11-30Announcements
The Past In the late 1970s, I was a 23 year old law school graduate looking to start my legal career. I had just spent three years learning that most of the law was all about money and property; how to help people acquire more of it; secure it for them; and keep others from […]
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Summaries of 2008 Election Cases
2011-09-28Legal Updates
Patterson v. District of Kent, 2008 BCSC 352 Patterson v. District of Kent disproves the saying that if you throw enough mud against the wall, some of it will stick. The petitioner was unsuccessful in attempting to have a by-election set aside despite raising multiple possible deficiencies in the way the election was conducted. Her […]
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The Importance of Filing Post Election Paperwork
2011-09-28Legal Updates
There are relatively few Court decisions relating to the provisions of the Local Government Act as they apply to the filing requirements of election officials. A decision from the 2008 election, Alpha v. The Board of School Trustees of School District 61 (Greater Victoria) highlights the importance of making sure that proper paperwork is filed […]
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A Tale of Two Cabbies: Meeting the Threshold of Sufficient Reasons on Denial of a Chauffeur’s Permit
2011-08-09Legal Updates
Municipal councils are not courts. Their reasons should not be scrutinized with the same criteria as judicial reasons. Decisions by councils are made by a vote. The Votes take into account the public interest. They may reflect political considerations. 552197 B.C. Ltd. v. City of Abbotsford, 2007 BCCA 162 at para. 14 There have been […]
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Tendering and the Test for Material Compliance
2011-08-09Legal Updates
In the July 11, 2011 decision of Maple Reinders Inc. v. Cerco Developments Ltd., Madam Justice Fitzpatrick provides an informative discussion about the nature of “material compliance” in the tendering context. Maple Reinders was an unsuccessful bidder following a tender associated with the construction of an apartment building in Kelowna. Cerco was the tendering authority […]
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June 2011 – Important New Licensing Appeal Board Decision
2011-06-17Legal Updates
On June 13, 2011, the Community Care and Assisted Living Appeal Board released its decision in Coleman v. Fraser Health Authority; an important decision setting out how the Appeal Board will approach all future appeals brought before it. First of all, some background. In 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada gave its decision in Dunsmuir […]
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Can the Court of Appeal Suspend a Trial Order Setting Aside a Local Government Bylaw?
2011-06-03Legal Updates
The question of whether the British Columbia Court of Appeal has the jurisdiction and authority to suspend an order by the B.C. Supreme Court setting aside or quashing local government bylaws pending an appeal has not been expressly answered by the Court of Appeal until just recently.
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Local Government’s Duty to Consult with First Nations
2011-06-03Legal Updates
In its 2003 judgment in Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests), the Supreme Court of Canada held that the when the provincial and federal Crown contemplate conduct that may adversely affect aboriginal right or title, they have a duty to consult with first nations. This duty is apart from any statutory requirement, and […]
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