Articles & Publications

Article, Staff | |

Encampments, Trespass Orders, and the Mitigation of Harms: Matsqui-Abbotsford Impact Society v. Abbotsford (City), 2024 BCSC 1902

In a decision not to grant an injunction to prevent clearance of a homeless encampment, the Supreme Court of British Columbia gave tacit approval to the City’s use of a trespass notice under the Trespass Act. Nonetheless, in light of the Charter infringements alleged by the petitioner, the Court imposed demanding conditions on how the City must carry out the removal to mitigate impacts on individuals with disabilities and substance abuse disorders.

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Article, Staff | |

BC Fire Safety Act Comes Into Force

As of August 1st, 2024, the new Fire Safety Act is in force, replacing the former Fire Services Act. The Fire Safety Act received royal assent in 2016 but was not brought into force until now due to concerns about regional districts’ capacity to take on fire inspection duties. Local governments will be interested in several features of the legislation.

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Article, Staff | |

Court of Appeal Rules Class Action Plaintiffs Can Pursue Claim for Careless Safeguarding of Personal Information

Local governments, take note: your exposure to liability arising from a data breach might be greater than you think. In G.D. v. South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, 2024 BCCA 252, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia held that an application to certify a class proceeding against a public body whose computer system had been penetrated by hackers should not have been struck for failure to disclose a cause of action. In so doing, the Court recognized that data custodians’ obligation to protect personal information they hold is not limited to that set out in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”).

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Article, Staff | |

Legal Issues in Municipal Tax Sales – 2024

Tax sales have been a municipal collection remedy in British Columbia for over a century. More recently, tax sales of property in Penticton, Spallumcheen and Pemberton have attracted media attention and revealed the significant financial and emotional risk to owners, and the significant liability risk to municipalities, that can arise from misunderstanding or being unaware that a property has been sold for municipal tax sales. When conducting a tax sale, a collector’s first reference should always be to the procedures set out in the Local Government Act, RSBC 2015, c 1 and the Community Charter, SBC 2003, c 26 .1 The intention of this paper is to provide supplementary commentary on legal issues that arise from matters not expressly covered in the statute.

Presented at the GFOABC Annual Conference in Kamloops, BC on June 4, 2024.

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Article, Staff | |

Questions of Duty, Discretion and Liability: When Every Bylaw Cannot be Effectively Enforced Everywhere All at Once

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.

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Article, Publication, Staff | |

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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Article, Staff | |

Tree Protection: Trees, Unlike Dogs, are All Bark and No Bite

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.

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Article, Staff | |

Legal Issues in Municipal Tax Sales

Tax sales have been a municipal collection remedy in British Columbia for over a century. More recently, tax sales of property in Penticton, Spallumcheen and Pemberton have attracted media attention and revealed the significant financial and emotional risk to owners, and the significant liability risk to municipalities, that can arise from misunderstanding or being unaware that a property has been sold for municipal tax sales. When conducting a tax sale, a collector’s first reference should always be to the procedures set out in the Local Government Act and the Community Charter. The intention of this paper is to provide supplementary commentary on legal issues that arise from matters not expressly covered in the statute.

Presented at the GFOABC Annual Conference, May 30, 2023.

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Article, Staff | |

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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