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.
As of Wednesday, November 17, the Province of British Columbia has moved forward in introducing further legislation regarding Indigenous rights. In an effort to uphold its commitment to reconciliation and its implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (‘UNDRIP’), the Province introduced two bills concerning Indigenous peoples.
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.
North Cowichan (Municipality) v. 1909988 Ontario Limited, 2021 BCCA 414
A recent case from the B.C. Court of Appeal has reversed the previous B.C. Supreme Court decision in 1909988 Ontario Limited v. North Cowichan (Municipality), 2020 BCSC 1666. We previously provided a summary of the trial decision, which can be found here.
On October 21, 2021, in Nelson (City) v. Marchi, the Supreme Court of Canada has lifted the fog in an attempt to provide clarity over the differences between the core policy decisions, which are immune from liability in negligence, and operational decisions, which are reviewable by the courts on a reasonableness standard.
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
Court of Appeal Upholds Metro Vancouver’s Notice to End Tenancy Following a Change From “Residential Use” to “Non-Residential Use”
The Metro Vancouver Regional District is the owner of the Belcarra Regional Park located in Belcarra and Port Moody. Metro Vancouver leases a portion of park, including seven cabins and other structures to the Belcarra South Preservation Society. The cabins are used for residential purposes, with most of the residents being directors of the Society. The lease between Metro Vancouver and the Tenant is a one-year fixed term tenancy that began on March 1, 2006 and converted to a month-to-month tenancy on March 1, 2007.
The summer of 2021 has seen unprecedented flooding, wildfires, heat waves, heavy rainfall, and other alarming weather-related events. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently released its latest report (the “Report”) which confirms that much of the devastating weather events we have experienced this summer are the result of human-caused climate change.
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.