Ministerial order temporarily enables electronic meetings for all British Columbia companies, cooperatives, and societies

In an order issued earlier this week under the Emergency Program Act, the minister of public safety and solicitor general has enabled all British Columbia business corporations, cooperatives and societies to hold electronic meetings. The Electronic Attendance at Corporate Meetings (COVID-19) Order (PDF) overrides any provisions to the contrary found in the Business Corporations Act, the Cooperative Association Act, the Societies Act, or corporate articles, memorandums, bylaws, or rules, for the duration of the provincial Read more…

Law Library of Congress publishes research report on child-protection law and policy across sixteen countries

The U.S. Law Library of Congress has published a research report (PDF) on laws and policies protecting children from abuse and neglect. The report “briefly describes domestic U.S. federal law before turning to a comparative analysis of foreign law.” This comparative analysis consists of chapters on 16 countries. Each chapter begins by describing the country’s legal framework for child protection. There is a particular emphasis on criminal statutes that are designed to protect children from Read more…

Ministerial order clears the way for strata corporations to meet electronically

Late last week, the minister of public safety and solicitor general issued an order (PDF) under British Columbia’s Emergency Program Act enabling all strata corporations in the province to hold meetings electronically. The order applies to any “strata property meeting,” which is defined as “a meeting authorized or otherwise provided for under a strata property enactment [i.e., the Strata Property Act, a regulation made under that act, or a strata corporation’s bylaws], including, without limitation, Read more…

Child-protection committee examines selected protection issues at monthly meeting

At its April 2020 committee meeting, BCLI’s Child Protection Project Committee began consideration of a new topic: provisions in the Child, Family and Community Service Act concerning protection issues. The focus of the meeting was on the grounds for protection set out in section 13 of the act and on decisions relating to whether a child should remain in care. The committee began by tackling the ground for protection relating to emotional harm (“the child Read more…

Seniors Advocate Report on Funding of Contracted Long-Term Care

Introduction On February 4, 2020 the Office of the Seniors Advocate (OSA) released the report A Billion Reasons to Care: A Funding Review of Contracted Long-Term Care in B.C. This report examines the funding of contracted long-term care providers, both for-profit and non-profit. The OSA was concerned that the current funding model would create incentives that would compromise care standards and the welfare of long-term care residents. The report advocates for “…those who regulate and Read more…