Season’s Greetings from Stewart McDannold Stuart
2021-12-23Announcements
From all the lawyers and support staff at Stewart McDannold Stuart, we wish you all the best for the holiday season and a happy and prosperous New Year. In lieu of sending greeting cards this year, we have made a donation to Cool Aid Society on behalf of Sandy Merriman House.
Read Article
Reasonableness Review: A Case Study of Anderson v Strathcona Regional District
2021-11-16Legal Updates
The BC Supreme Court has released reasons in Anderson v Strathcona Regional District, 2021 BCSC 1800 [Anderson] which provides an excellent example of the Court applying the reasonableness standard of review, as recently re-articulated by the Supreme Court of Canada in Vavilov, to decisions of a local government.
Read Article
Josh Krusell Joins Partnership of Stewart McDannold Stuart
2021-11-10Announcements
Stewart McDannold Stuart is pleased to announce that Josh Krusell will become a partner of the firm as of January 1, 2022. Josh attended law school at UVic, and started his legal career in Ontario with a large national firm before joining SMS as an associate early in 2018. Josh has a proven track record […]
Read Article
2021-10-29Legal Updates
This month the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its judgment in Nelson (City) v Marchi, 2021 SCC 4. The decision provides greater clarity on how to identify and assess “core policy decisions” of local governments. This is an important decision impacting on the availability of the “policy immunity defence”, of which all local governments […]
Read Article
2021 LGMA Corporate Officers Virtual Forum
2021-10-26Announcements
Kathryn Stuart will be presenting at the LGMA Corporate Officers Virtual Forum. On October 29th, she will be presenting a session on “The Ins and Outs of Committees and Commissions.”
Read Article
Recent Decisions from the Court of Appeal with Respect to Restrictive Covenants
2021-10-18Legal Updates
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has issued two recent decisions which provide important insight into the ways local governments may utilize restrictive covenants to manage risk and regulate specific uses of land.
Read Article
British Columbia Court of Appeal Rules Approving Officer Insulated from Negligence Claims
2021-10-18Legal Updates
In Held v. Sechelt (District), 2021 BCCA 350 the British Columbia Court of Appeal affirmed that an approving officer could not be held personally liable in negligence while acting in the course of his duties related to the review, consideration and approval of a subdivision and development within a municipality.
Read Article
2021-08-31Bulletins
Changes to the authority for local governments to hold electronic board and council meetings are afoot. After the current authority under the COVID Related Measures Act/Ministerial Order M192 to hold electronic meetings expires on September 28, fully electronic regular council, board, and committee meetings will only be possible if council or the board has […]
Read Article
2021-08-19Legal Updates
A recent court decision confirms that the interest or bias that is required to prove an elected official has a conflict of interest is one that relates to the distinct interest of the elected official in the particular case and is not merely some financial interest possessed by that elected official that she or he […]
Read Article
2021-08-04Announcements
On June 9, 2021, the British Columbia Court of Appeal released reasons for judgment in Yu v. Richmond (City), 2021 BCCA 226. In this court action the City of Richmond (the “City”) appealed a judicial review decision of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in which it was held that pre-building soil densification measures that […]
Read Article