On August 6, 2019, a Manitoba Queen’s Bench judged found the City of Winnipeg in contempt of a Court Order in 6165347 Manitoba Inc. et al. v. The City of Winnipeg et al. 2019 MBQB 121…
Articles & Publications
Article, Students | August 20, 2019 |
Local Government Decision-Making: A Reminder on the Duty of Procedural Fairness
The duty of procedural fairness concerns the processes that must be followed before, during, and after a decision is made. For local governments, this means ensuring that decisions are made within the scope of its authorizing legislation, acknowledging the role that the public participatory process serves in the ultimate decision that is to be made, and complying with conditions established in common law standards of procedural fairness. Courts may look at requirements such as: clear communication; timeliness; proper record-keeping; proper notice; clear reasons for the decision; and providing an opportunity for the applicant to be heard and present their case…
Article, Staff, Students | August 17, 2019 |
Court of Appeal Strikes City’s Ban of Plastic Checkout Bags
In recent years, the accumulation of plastic waste in marine environments has come to the public’s attention. All levels of government have shown an awareness and desire to address this issue in some way…
Article, Staff | June 27, 2019 |
Dealing with Climate Change: Can Natural Asset Management Reduce Liability Risk?
It has been widely acknowledged that climate change is impacting local governments and their infrastructure due to increased extreme weather events and rise in sea levels. The legal liability risks of climate change impacts include potential negligence claims, nuisance claims and regulatory liability…
Article, Staff | June 19, 2019 |
A Challenge to a Local Government’s Requirements for Property Rentals
In this May 14, 2019 decision, the owners of strata units in a hotel in Whistler and their real estate management companies commenced a judicial review challenging the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s (the “RMOW”) amendments to its Zoning and Business Licensing Bylaws as well as a s. 219 covenant registered on title to the strata lands in favour of the RMOW (the “Rental Pool Covenant”)…
Article, Staff | May 17, 2019 |
Social Procurement: From Origin to Implementation
For anyone involved with purchasing within a local government organization, talk of social procurement has unlikely gone unheard. It is a growing topic of discussion and interest, and we are seeing more and more communities embracing it and organizations taking steps to implement it into their purchasing policies. This article touches on the evolution of procurement that has led to the introduction of social impact purchasing, and discusses the approach that local governments may take to establish the practice within their own organization…
Article, Staff | April 15, 2019 |
Contract Negotiation and Performance – The Operating Principle of “Good Faith”
The obligation to either negotiate or perform in “good faith” is found in many commercial agreements. While these are “big picture” concepts, they can have very real implications when a dispute arises. In recent years, the Supreme Court of Canada and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice have issued judgments that provide guidance on what commercial behavior Canada’s common law courts may, or may not, find acceptable…
Article, Staff | April 14, 2019 |
Emergency Preparedness: Plan, Prepare & Practice
Like other jurisdictions across the country, British Columbia is at risk for numerous emergencies and disasters, including flooding, forest fires, severe water shortages, tsunamis, storm surges, landslides, avalanches, power outages, hazardous material spills and disease outbreaks. While emergency planning and response is a shared responsibility across all levels of government, citizens largely depend on and expect local governments to provide effective, coordinated response in local emergency situations…
Article, Staff | March 15, 2019 |
Can the SNC Lavalin Controversy Inform Local Governments?
If you are like me, you may have been following with interest the SNC Lavalin story. At the centre of the controversy is a legal issue that is often difficult to discern amongst the partisan rhetoric that usually accompanies political discourse…
Article, Staff | January 29, 2019 |
Wu v. Vancouver (City), 2019 BCCA 23
The release of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Wu v. Vancouver (City) has been highly anticipated by municipal lawyers. If denied, the appeal would have established a duty for municipal officials to make decisions on development permits within a reasonable time. The trial judge found that…