Regulation of Land May Result in Liability for Constructive Taking

Written by: Jeff Locke

2022-10-28Legal Updates
Annapolis Group Inc. v. Halifax Regional Municipality, 2022 SCC 36 The Supreme Court of Canada has issued a decision coming out of the province of Nova Scotia which broadens the basis upon which a local government may be held liable for “constructive taking” of private lands.
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Public Law Duties ≠ Private Law Duties of Care

Written by: Andrew Buckley

2022-09-20Legal Updates
Local governments, like other public bodies and officials, are required by legislation to perform specific public duties and responsibilities. If these “public law duties” are not conducted correctly, this may be grounds for finding that the decision or action was improper, and a court may send the matter back for reconsideration. However, it does not […]
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Amendments to Sign Bylaw Leads to Constitutional Challenge and Allegations of Bad Faith

Written by: Jessica Eastwood

2022-09-19Legal Updates
Kaps v City of Surrey, 2022 BCSC 1191 (“Kaps“) is a recent decision of the BC Supreme Court which highlights the importance of ensuring that prohibitions in a sign bylaw are clear and concise in meaning so as to avoid infringing the constitutional protection for  freedom of expression. The Kaps decision also reiterated the evidentiary […]
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Reasons for Reconsideration Refusals: BC Supreme Court Reviews the Sufficiency of Reasons in the Context of a Reconsideration of a Business Licence Refusal

Written by: Paige Gibson

2022-06-28Legal Updates
The BC Supreme Court recently added to the volume of caselaw regarding the procedural fairness requirements that are applied in reviewing decisions of municipal governments.
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SMS: Legal Bulletin

Written by: SMS Lawyers

2022-06-28Legal Updates
SMS was pleased to attend and present at the 2022 LGMA Conference in Penticton. Please see our special edition SMS Newsletter that we prepared for the conference.
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2022 LGMA Annual Conference

Written by: SMS Lawyers

2022-06-21Announcements
Ryan Bortolin and Heidi Boudreau will be presenting at the upcoming LGMA conference being held in Penticton from June 21 to June 23, 2022.  They will be presenting a Legal Update presentation on June 23.
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Surprise, You’re Ostracized!: The Necessity of Procedural Fairness in the Discipline of Elected Officials

Written by: Michael Hargraves

2022-06-21Legal Updates
How should a council or board respond when one of its members has engaged in inappropriate or undesirable conduct? What sort of process is required? Controversial social media posts by the mayor, public fallout, and the disciplinary steps council attempted to take in response, are at the heart of the BC Supreme Court’s recent ruling […]
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Pacific Business and Law Institute – Local Government 2022

Written by: SMS Lawyers

2022-03-17Announcements
The Pacific Business and Law Institute’s annual local government law program is scheduled for April 8. Peter Johnson will be presenting on the subject of Climate Change and Emergency Measures. More information about the conference is available here: https://www.pbli.com/locgov22
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Time Limit Imposed on “Emergencies” under the Emergency Program Act

Written by: Amy Coad

2022-01-20Legal Updates
In the recent decision of Rosewall v. Sechelt (District of), 2022 BCSC 20, Justice Gomery of the BC Supreme Court has found the Province liable in nuisance arising from circumstances related to the exercise of statutory authority contained in the Emergency Program Act (“EPA“). In his decision, Justice Gomery concluded that the EPA contemplates an emergency as […]
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Stewart McDannold Stuart – Holiday Hours

Written by: SMS Lawyers

2021-12-23Announcements
Our office will be closed December 24, 27, and 28. We will be open December 29, 30 and 31.
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