Articles & Publications

Publication, Staff | |

Loss of Profit Claims and Cost Estimates: Clarification on How Future Losses are Proven

The planning and approval process, manpower, equipment, insurance, materials, and other associated costs related to building make construction projects a costly undertaking. Whether the owners are a public organization, private corporation, or individuals they will have some varying sensitivity to unanticipated changes in cost related to their project. As a result, disputes related to construction costs are a common cause of relationship breakdowns between owners and contractors and can serve as a catalyst for legal action.

As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection March 2022 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.

Read Full Article

Article, Staff | |

Bill 26: Significant Implications for Local Governments

On November 3, 2021, Bill 26 received third reading by B.C.’s legislature and portions of Bill 26 relating to public hearings and delegating to staff the authority to issue development variance permits came into force on November 25, 2021. By an Order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council dated January 31, 2022, most of the remaining amendments in Bill 26 became law on February 28, 2022.

 

Read Full Article

Article, Staff | |

Be Sure To “Notice” The Notice Provisions In Your Construction Contracts

Typical construction contracts contain various provisions with respect to the contractor providing notice relating to time and/or price, for example, events or circumstances surrounding potential losses or claims for realized losses. The purposes of the provisions are to minimize such losses as much as practicably possible. Notice provisions are applicable to sub-contractors as well, depending on the language included in their respective contracts. Such provisions usually require that the provision of notice is the first necessary step in order to make a claim.

As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection February 2022 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.

Read Full Article

Publication, Staff | |

2021 In Review

The partners of Civic Legal LLP provide their summaries, views and insights of the legal issues that arose in 2021 and their impacts on the construction industry.

As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection January 2022 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.

Read Full Article

Publication, Staff | |

The Province Proposes to Simplify and Accelerate Municipal Development Approvals

UPDATE: Since this article was published, the amendments discussed received Royal Assent and are now the law. Please note, that this article focuses on amendments affecting the construction industry. For a more fulsome review of the amendments in Bill 26, please see here.

On November 3, 2021, Bill 26 received third reading by B.C.’s legislature. The Bill seeks to amend the Local Government Act by removing the default public hearing requirement for zoning amendment bylaws that are consistent with an official community plan and enabling local governments to delegate decisions on minor development variance permits. The purpose of the proposed legislative amendments is to give local governments more powers to simplify and accelerate their development approvals processes to increase the housing supply.

As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection December 2021 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.

Read Full Article

Article, Staff | |

An Update to British Columbia’s Commitment to UNDRIP

As of Wednesday, November 17, the Province of British Columbia has moved forward in introducing further legislation regarding Indigenous rights. In an effort to uphold its commitment to reconciliation and its implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (‘UNDRIP’), the Province introduced two bills concerning Indigenous peoples.

 

Read Full Article

Publication, Staff | |

“Cleaning” Up Construction: An Overview of the CleanBC Roadmap

The Province of British Columbia has recently released its amended plan, the CleanBC Roadmap, on how it will achieve the Paris emissions reduction targets for 2030 and be net-zero by 2050. The Province launched the CleanBC Roadmap in 2018, though it was recently revised to provide further direction and specificity on how these goals will be achieved. These changes will be accompanied by legislation which industry must comply with.

As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection November 2021 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.

Read Full Article

Article, Staff | |

Municipal Liability: The Supreme Court of Canada Seeks to Clarify the Fine Line Between Policy and Operational Decisions

On October 21, 2021, in Nelson (City) v. Marchi, the Supreme Court of Canada has lifted the fog in an attempt to provide clarity over the differences between the core policy decisions, which are immune from liability in negligence, and operational decisions, which are reviewable by the courts on a reasonableness standard.

Read Full Article

Publication, Staff | |

The BC Court of Appeal Makes it Clear That Safety Requirements in Architect Act Apply to Local Governments’ Issuance of Building Permits

The Architectural Institute of British Columbia v. Langford (City), 2021 BCCA 261

This article is a follow-up to our previous commentary published in October of 2020, as the outcome of the appeal was subsequently released earlier this year

As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection October 2021 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New

Read Full Article