Federal government appeals decision striking down limits on charities’ political activities, promises new legislation in the fall

In a decision handed down last month, Canada Without Poverty v Canada (AG), 2018 ONSC 4147, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice struck provisions of the Income Tax Act which “define the extent to which a registered charity may devote its resources to ‘political activities.’ ”Specifically, the court held that limits on charities’ political activities were unenforceable, while those pertaining to partisan activity remained in force: The interpretation and enforcement by CRA of the “substantially all” requirement in Read more…

Strata corporation’s bylaws, lien against strata lot set aside due to failure to give notice of meetings and to accept proxy appointment

The Owners, Strata Plan NW499 v Kirk, 2018 BCSC 1249, is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute between a White Rock strata corporation and one of its residents, the beneficial owner of a strata lot. In a decision issued late in 2016, the BC Court of Appeal allowed the owner’s appeal on the issue of whether the owner would be entitled to relief under section 163 of the Strata Property Act. This latest decision considered Read more…

Highlights from the Spring 2018 Legislative Session

On May 31st, 2018, the 41st Parliament of the British Columbia Legislature completed its 3rd Session. The Legislative Assembly passed 33 bills. This blog presents a summary of the laws that were enacted. The full list of bills passed by the Legislative Assembly during the most recent session includes the following (for a summary of each bill, please see below): the Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2018; the Tla’amin Final Agreement Amendment Act, 2018; the British Read more…

CRT Roundup—unit entitlement, expense allocation, bylaw enforcement, and more

This post is part of a monthly series summarizing the Civil Resolution Tribunal’s strata-property decisions. There have been 15 new decisions since the last post. Fundamental changes—changes to strata lot—amending Schedule of Unit Entitlement—loft—bylaws—enforcement—validity—significant unfairness Hassan v The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 2854, 2018 BCCRT 303, featured a dispute that came about due to alterations to a strata lot: This dispute arises because the applicants have made alterations to the unit that increased the unit’s square footage. Read more…

Strata Property Regulation amended to increase fines for breaches of short-term accommodation bylaws

The ministry of municipal affairs and housing has announced today that the Strata Property Regulation has been amended to increase the maximum fines that may be applied to a breach of a strata corporation’s short-term accommodation bylaws. The amended regulation (PDF) will set the maximum fine at “$1 000 for each contravention” of “a bylaw that prohibits or limits use of all or part of a residential strata lot for remuneration as vacation, travel or temporary accommodation.” Read more…