Articles & Publications

Publication, Staff | April 11, 2024 |

The Requirement for Reasonableness in Rezoning Decisions: Lessons for Local Governments and Builders in Fergus Creek Homes Ltd. v. City of Surrey

Land developers and builders will be familiar with the decision-making powers over land use that are conferred to British Columbia local governments under the Local Government Act as well as the required approvals that are needed from these public bodies where a proposed land development project requires an amendment to the official community plan or a rezoning of the lands prior to proceeding with the project. The recent decision of Fergus Creek Homes Ltd. v. Surrey 2024 BCSC 207 provides a recent example of how a judicial review can be used by land developers to challenge local government decisions over land use.

As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection April 2024 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.

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Publication, Staff | December 13, 2023 |

The Consequences of Building in Violation of Local Rules: A Case Comment on City of Surrey v. Sidhu 2023 BCSC 1837

Building a residence or structure without obtaining the necessary permits and where the construction contravenes local bylaws can be a costly lesson for property owners when they become the target of enforcement action by a regulator or local authority. The recent British Columbia Supreme Court decision in City of Surrey v. Sidhu 2023 BCSC 1837 (the “Petition Proceedings”) highlights the consequences of undertaking construction projects in flagrant violation of local building requirements and carrying on with such construction after a stop work order has been posted on the property.

As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection December 2023 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.

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Article, Publication, Staff | October 26, 2023 | Kai Hsieh

Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act: A Summary of Bill 35 – 2023

The Government of British Columbia has introduced Bill 35, which, if passed, would enact the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act. The Act is intended to regulate and curtail the listing of rentals of less than 90 days or as otherwise prescribed by regulation in communities throughout the province as part of its Homes for People Action Plan introduced in the spring of 2023. The Act aims to increase fines and strengthen enforcement tools for local governments, return short-term rentals to the long-term rental market, and establish provincial rules and enforcement.

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Publication, Staff | August 9, 2023 |

The Agricultural Land Reserve: Prohibitions and Limits on Land Development and Construction

In British Columbia, the Agricultural Land Reserve (“ALR”) designates 4.6 million hectares of land for priority use in agriculture. Intended to protect valuable agricultural land across the province, this designation restricts the scope of construction and development activities that are permitted on ALR land as set out in the Agricultural Land Commission Act SBC 2002 C. 36 (the “Act”) and the Agricultural Land Reserve Use Regulation B.C. Reg. 36/2022 (the “Regulation”). When acquiring, developing and building on land it is incumbent for a property owner to conduct due diligence investigations into the property’s zoning and any other designations that may prohibit or limit their development plans for the property.

As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection August 2023 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.

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Article, Staff | April 19, 2023 |

The British Columbia Arbitration Act & Construction Disputes – Questions of Law and Grounds for Appeal

Disputes and conflicts routinely arise between owners, builders, contractors and other parties during the planning, design, construction and post-construction phases of a construction project. Delays, unforeseen work or property damage are common grounds for such disputes, which can often result in one of the parties incurring unanticipated costs for which they may seek recovery from the other parties. To address the risks that such disputes may arise, dispute resolution provisions are routinely incorporated into construction contracts to establish a process whereby the parties to a dispute will be required to participate in mediation, arbitration or other alternative dispute resolution processes.

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Article, Staff | January 11, 2023 |

Modernizing BC’s Privacy Laws: Mandatory Breach Notification Requirements and Privacy Management Programs for Public Bodies

On February 1, 2023 two significant amendments to British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FOIPPA”) will come into force and which will have major impacts on public bodies handling and management of personal information:

  • The implementation of mandatory privacy breach notification requirements; and
  • The requirement for public bodies to implement a privacy management program.

To familiarize public bodies with these looming changes and to authorize their adoption into FOIPPA, the Government of British Columbia recently issued an order of the lieutenant governor in council and a ministerial direction from the Minister of Citizens’ Services, which outline the breach notification requirements and set out the necessary building blocks for the design of a privacy management program. These statutory changes are briefly summarized in this article.

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Publication, Staff | November 23, 2022 |

Regulatory Requirements for Municipal Utility Corporations: Recommendations from the British Columbia Utilities Commission

In recent decades local government utility corporations have proliferated in British Columbia and provided a mechanism through which municipalities and regional districts have been able to provide energy utility services to its residents through a legally distinct corporate entity owned and operated by the local government.

With local governments increasingly electing to exercise their statutory authority under section 185 of the Community Charter to incorporate local government corporations as a vehicle through which they can provide energy utility services to its residents, inquiries into whether such local government corporations may be regulated under the Utilities Commission Act (the “Act”) or are exempt from its statutory requirements became a priority for the British Columbia Utilities Commission (the “Commission”).

On November 10, 2022, the Commission released the stage 1 report (the “Report”) of the Inquiry into the Regulation of Municipal Energy Utilities. The Report addresses (1) whether a local government corporation wholly owned and operated by a local government and providing energy utility services exclusively within that local government’s boundaries, meets the municipal exclusion set out in the Act and (2), if not, whether the provision of such energy services should be regulated under the Act.

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Article, Staff | August 3, 2022 |

Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Transparency, Modernization and Risk Management

The British Columbia provincial government tabled a series of significant amendments to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the “Act”) that received royal assent on November 25, 2021 and which were intended to update this legislation to keep pace with technological and structural changes in the ways that public bodies in the province interact with and handle information.

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Publication, Staff | May 13, 2022 |

The Return of Compulsory Certification in the Trades: The Skilled Trades BC Act and Impacts to British Columbia’s Construction Industry

Big changes are on the horizon for trade professionals and the construction industry in British Columbia following the enactment of the Skilled Trades BC Act (the “Act”) on March 10, 2022. The Act will replace the current Industry Training Authority Act. The current legislation is responsible for creating the “Industry Training Authority”, which has been the Crown agency responsible for managing and supporting trade training and apprenticeships in the province since 2003. This Crown agency will be transformed into the “SkilledTradesBC” (the “Corporation”) by the new Act. The Corporation will be responsible for the creation of a compulsory skilled trades certification regime for a number of trade professions. 

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

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