New Anti-Spam Legislation in Force July 1, 2014
June 23, 2014Legal Updates
Key provisions of the government of Canada’s new legislation: An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic […]
Read Article
Court Casts Doubt on Right of Way Clauses
May 8, 2014Legal Updates
The B.C Supreme Court recently released its judgment in the case of Atco Lumber Ltd. v. Kootenay Boundary (Regional District), 2014 BCSC 524, and the Court’s decision should prompt every local government in the province to examine its standard statutory right of way documents.
Read Article
When Is An Aerodrome Not An Aerodrome?
May 5, 2014Legal Updates
A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Seguin (Municipality) v. Bak, 2013 ONSC 5788, represents both a win for local government, and a sound application of common sense by the court. The municipality sought an injunction requiring a landowner to demolish a structure built at and over the edge of a lake. […]
Read Article
A Blues-Singing Busker Gets No Satisfaction From The B.C. Supreme Court
May 5, 2014Legal Updates
In Regehr v. North Vancouver (City), 2014 BCSC 513, the Supreme Court of British Columbia considered a constitutional challenge to bylaw notices issued to a blues-singing busker for contraventions of the City of North Vancouver’s noise bylaw. The Petitioner, Megan Regehr, is a singer known as “Babe Coal” who performs in a North Vancouver civic […]
Read Article
Local Elections Campaign Financing Act
May 5, 2014Legal Updates
The Local Elections Campaign Financing Act has been introduced in the Legislature. When it receives Royal Assent, the Act will impact the manner in which candidates record and report their election expenses. It will also create new reporting requirements for sponsors of election advertising, and give increased powers to BC Elections to monitor and enforce […]
Read Article
May 5, 2014Legal Updates
Two recent decisions of the BC Supreme Court have raised questions about the purpose and effect of regional growth strategies and the extent to which they actually will serve as a legally enforceable framework for regional planning goals in the face of municipal decision-making.
Read Article
Bill 17 – Land Use Contracts (The Final Chapter)
May 5, 2014Legal Updates
The statutory authority for land use contracts (as previously authorized under section 702A of the Municipal Act, RSBC 1960, c.255) was repealed by the Municipal Amendment Act, 1977. However, many land use contracts entered into before the repeal of section 702A continue in force, subject to the authority of a local government to amend or […]
Read Article
The Cull of the Wild: Suman v. Invermere (District)
January 8, 2014Legal Updates
Many wildlife species, including deer, are attracted to urban areas because of the bountiful food resources we humans make available to them. And while some of us enjoy the sight of a deer or two happily grazing in our back yard, there are concerns in many communities about conflicts between the growing urban deer population […]
Read Article
My Way or the Highway? Two New Cases on Section 42 Roads
January 8, 2014Legal Updates
Take a drive around any municipality in British Columbia, and in all likelihood you will come across at least one stretch of highway that has never been formally dedicated, whether by subdivision plan, notice in the BC Gazette, or otherwise – but you may not realize it. From behind the windshield, all roads look more […]
Read Article
January 8, 2014Legal Updates
The recent BC Supreme Court decision Society of Fort Langley Residents for Sustainable Development v. Langley (Township), 2013 BCSC 2273 (“Langley”), addresses the issue of how the word “density” is to be interpreted in the land use provisions of the Local Government Act.
Read Article