The partners of Civic Legal LLP provide their summaries, views and insights of the legal issues that arose in 2021 and their impacts on the construction industry.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection January 2022 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.
UPDATE: Since this article was published, the amendments discussed received Royal Assent and are now the law. Please note, that this article focuses on amendments affecting the construction industry. For a more fulsome review of the amendments in Bill 26, please see here.
On November 3, 2021, Bill 26 received third reading by B.C.’s legislature. The Bill seeks to amend the Local Government Act by removing the default public hearing requirement for zoning amendment bylaws that are consistent with an official community plan and enabling local governments to delegate decisions on minor development variance permits. The purpose of the proposed legislative amendments is to give local governments more powers to simplify and accelerate their development approvals processes to increase the housing supply.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection December 2021 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.
The Province of British Columbia has recently released its amended plan, the CleanBC Roadmap, on how it will achieve the Paris emissions reduction targets for 2030 and be net-zero by 2050. The Province launched the CleanBC Roadmap in 2018, though it was recently revised to provide further direction and specificity on how these goals will be achieved. These changes will be accompanied by legislation which industry must comply with.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection November 2021 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New.
The Architectural Institute of British Columbia v. Langford (City), 2021 BCCA 261
This article is a follow-up to our previous commentary published in October of 2020, as the outcome of the appeal was subsequently released earlier this year
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection October 2021 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-New
You may be legally bound by your casual texts.
In the current times, the concept of “wet ink” writing is no longer the norm. With the proliferation of technology, the law tries to keep up and allows a broader interpretation to statutory and contractual requirements that a document be in writing to accommodate the reality of the modern means of communication.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection September 2021 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-News.
A recent decision by the British Columbia Supreme Court shows the importance for both contractors and owners to have a written contract, and the pitfalls that can result when parties proceed on a project without one.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection August 2021 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-News.
Delays of the completion of construction projects are quite common. Therefore, contracts for such projects often contemplate delays and may prohibit or allow for contractors to recover additional costs that may arise from delays. However, the recent case of Elite Construction Inc. v. Canada confirmed that strict compliance with contractual notice provisions is a prerequisite to claiming damages for delay.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection July 2021 Newsletter, and VICA’s e-News.
The recent case of Crosslinx v Ontario Infrastructure, arose out of the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the construction of the Eglington Crosstown Light Rapid Transit line in Toronto.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection June 2021 Newsletter, and VICA’s eNews.
Though construction contracts require projects to be completed within a specific time frame, many issues may arise during construction that cause delays in the work.
As published in the NRCA’s Northern Construction Connection May 2021 Newsletter, and VICA’s eNews.
At the end of last year, the Canadian Construction Documents Committee (“CCDC”) introduced an updated version of the CCDC 2 Stipulated Price Contract.
As published in the Northern Construction Connection April 2021 Newsletter