Articles & Publications

Publication, Students | December 7, 2022 |

Applications and Implications of the new Housing Supply Act

On November 24, the provincial government introduced into law the Housing Supply Act (the “Act”). Though it is not expected to come into effect until the spring of 2023, we write to provide an overview for readers that may be impacted.

In brief, the Act empowers the Minister of the soon-to-be-established Ministry of Housing to issue orders setting housing targets. The targets may be for the availability or affordability of housing, and they will apply to a specific municipality. The Act also sets out escalating steps that the Province may take against municipalities to enforce the housing targets applicable to such municipalities.

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

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Publication, Students | September 20, 2022 |

The Tale of Strict Compliance and Minor Technicalities in a Lien Claim

Lien legislation protects those parties that have contributed to an improvement and may not otherwise have recourse against the land owner due to a lack of contract or other legal entitlement. However, the protections afforded by the legislation must be obtained through exercising strict compliance with the law. As a recent Ontario case demonstrates, even seemingly minor technicalities can operate to bar a claimant from recovery.

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

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Publication, Students | July 8, 2022 |

The Future of Builder’s Lien Law

The BC Court of Appeal recently clarified builder’s lien law in JVD Installations.1 The court also hinted at ways the law may develop in the coming years. The decision has significant implications for both owners and builders. So, let’s dig into what the decision says. Then, let’s discuss what it means and how you can prepare.

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

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Article, Students | October 13, 2020 | Kelsey Stuckert

British Columbia’s New Arbitration Act

British Columbia’s arbitration legislation had not undergone major revisions in over 30 years. However, the new Arbitration Act1 (the ‘Act’) and Arbitration Regulation2 (the ‘Regulation’) came into force on September 1, 2020, at which time the previous act and regulation were repealed.

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Article, Students | July 17, 2020 | Kelsey Stuckert

Requesting ID – Bylaw Enforcement Officers’ Scope of Authority

At one time, it was widely believed in the local government bylaw enforcement community that bylaw enforcement officers did not have the power to require identification. Although identification is often necessary to issue a violation ticket, there remained uncertainty around whether individuals were obligated to provide such information. Refusals were commonplace. However, bylaw enforcement officers are in fact empowered to request identification and such refusals may be contrary to law. We discuss the scope of bylaw enforcement officers’ authority to request identification below…

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Article, Staff, Students | July 14, 2020 | Talya Peled Bar

0956375 B.C. Ltd. v. Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, 2020 BCSC 743

On May 13, 2020, the Supreme Court of British Columbia considered two actions against the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (“RDOS”) regarding a downzoning of a property on Osoyoos Lake (“Property”) to correct an error.

Mr. Grelish, a sophisticated land and property developer, was the directing mind of both corporate Plaintiffs. Since 2002, Mr. Grelish had made several fruitless attempts to have the zoning of the Property changed from Large Holdings (“LH”) to RM1, to increase the Property value. In 2005, an RDOS staff member accidentally entered the zoning designation for the Property into the database as RM1…

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