A local government bylaw enforcement officer will be aware of many bylaw contraventions within their community. The responses from the community and the local government to these contraventions may differ widely. This paper addresses several questions that commonly arise with regard to when and how bylaw enforcement action should be taken.
Presented at the LGCEA Annual Conference on May 16, 2024.
This paper provides a review of the regulatory tools that municipalities and local governments use to protect urban forests and environmentally sensitive areas through tree protection bylaws and the regulation of development. Regulation depends on enforcement, and this paper discusses some strategies for achieving effective enforcement in relation to trees.
Presented at the LIBOA Annual Conference, June 1, 2023.
It can be difficult to distinguish the situations in which liability is a real legal concern from those in which claims of potential liability are overblown and used to scare local governments into prioritizing a particular enforcement action. This paper discusses the legal principles that relate to the duties and discretions of a local government in conducting bylaw enforcement and how the risk of a successful claim being proven in court in relation to ineffective enforcement can depend significantly on where the contravention occurs.
Presented at MIABC Risk Management Conference, April 6, 2023.
This paper will discuss current legal trends regarding notices, upset prices and post-redemption period court challenges to tax sales as each of these can have a significant impact on municipal liability. This paper assumes the reader has a general understanding of the mechanics of the tax sale process and is not intended to be a step-by-step guide.