January 8, 2014Legal Updates
In the recent decision Ktunaxa Nation Council v. (British Columbia) Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, 2013 BCSC 1921, Jumbo Glacier Mountain Resort Municipality (the “Municipality”) applied to be joined as a party to an action in which the Ktunaxa was seeking injunctive relief, amongst other things, against the Province. In making its decision, the […]
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Who Should Pay for Public Interest Litigation?
January 8, 2014Legal Updates
From time to time, local governments become involved in litigation that may be considered “public interest law”; that is, the answer to the legal question in dispute is unclear and the determination of the matter will serve the public interest in some way. If an important and complicated case should go to court but one […]
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Case Comment: Bradshaw v. Victoria (City)
October 1, 2013Legal Updates
The recent case of Bradshaw v. Victoria (City), 2013 BCSC 1710 provides a discussion of sections 879 and 929 of the Local Government Act.
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October 1, 2013Legal Updates
There are times when a local government is compelled to commence a court action to protect public safety. Dangerous dog destruction applications, made pursuant to section 49 of the Community Charter, often fit into this category. Such applications can be hard fought and drawn out by appeal, the result of which can be expensive for […]
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Higgins v. Quesnel (City) – Consistency Revisited (Again)
October 1, 2013Legal Updates
If anyone thought that the 2012 decision in Sevin v. Prince George (see LoGo Notebook, Fall 2012) might signal a return by the courts to greater judicial oversight on the question of consistency between an Official Community Plan and a bylaw subsequently adopted by a Board or Council, the recent decision in Higgins v. Quesnel […]
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“Regulating” and “Prohibiting” – What’s the Difference?
October 1, 2013Legal Updates
There are many legal issues that local governments have had to wrestle with in the 25 years since this firm was established. One issue that continues to arise is the difference between the power to prohibit and the power to regulate. A recent decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal illustrates the difficulties that […]
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The Shifting Tides of Constitutional Law in British Columbia
October 1, 2013Legal Updates
The recent decision of the B.C. Supreme Court in West Kelowna (District) v. Newcombe, 2013 BCSC 1411 (“West Kelowna”), in which the court has upheld a zoning bylaw provision regulating the moorage of boats on Okanagan Lake, provides an occasion to look at the ebb and flow of constitutional law in British Columbia, particularly as […]
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Regional Districts – Looking Back Over 25 Years (Plus) of Regional Government Services
October 1, 2013Legal Updates
In 1964, the year the Beatles released “A Hard Day’s Night”, the Municipal Act of British Columbia was amended to authorize the incorporation of regional districts to enable a form of local government for persons living outside municipal boundaries who wished to have a mechanism to establish services and to allow for land use control […]
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25 Years of Local Government Statutes: The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same
October 1, 2013Legal Updates
As Stewart McDannold Stuart celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, we thought it might be interesting to take a look back at the “evolution” of local government legislation. In 1988, our founding partner Galt Wilson had a paper bound version of the Municipal Act R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 290 on his desk, published by the Queen’s […]
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A Local Government’s Discretion to Cancel a Tender
June 12, 2013Legal Updates
What should a local government do when errors in a tendering process are made, or new information comes to light that should have been included in the tender documents? A recent Ontario case, Glenview Iron & Metal Ltd. v. Smiths Falls (Town), 2012 ONSC 5378, discussed the circumstances in which a local government may cancel […]
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