Long-Term Care reform in Canada – Resource Round-up

Introduction The hardest hit population from COVID-19 has been older adults living in long-term care. This has led to great media attention on long-term care. Issues receiving media attention include the low staffing levels, poor compensation for health care workers, and issues monitoring quality of care. However, these issues are not occurring only because of COVID-19; they are ongoing issues. During this time of great media attention, it is important to have reliable and accurate Read more…

Federal government delays implementation of Divorce Act amendments

Citing “extraordinary circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the federal department of justice announced today that it is delaying the implementation of significant amendments to the Divorce Act. Bill C-78 was slated to come into force on 1 July 2020, but with today’s announcement “the coming into force date has been deferred until March 1, 2021.” As the department’s news release explained, Many courts across the country are currently hearing only urgent family law matters, Read more…

Spotlight on pension division: transitional provisions

BCLI is running a public consultation (closing date: 15 September 2020) on pension division. It is asking for public input into its proposed changes to part 6 of the Family Law Act and the Division of Pensions Regulation. For information on how to participate in the consultation please visit the Pension Division Review Project webpage. This post is part of a series that spotlights issues discussed in the Consultation Paper on Pension Division: A Review of Part Read more…

Ministerial orders allow electronic witnessing of wills and personal-planning documents in British Columbia

In a pair of ministerial orders dated 19 May 2020, the government of British Columbia has enabled electronic witnessing of wills, enduring powers of attorney, and representation agreements. The ministerial orders are temporary; they are set to expire when the COVID-19 pandemic state of emergency ends. The government explained the rationale for the orders in an information bulletin: The emergency orders address concerns raised by the legal community, including the regulatory bodies and representative associations Read more…

Strata Property Regulation amendments address insurance, general meetings during a state of emergency

Recent amendments (PDF) to the Strata Property Regulation are intended to address two pressing concerns for strata corporations: (1) paying for insurance in the face of a sharp rise in insurance premiums and (2) dealing with general meetings during a state of emergency. The first amendment sets out a definition of “prevent significant loss” for the purposes of section 98 of the Strata Property Act. Section 98 deals with “unapproved expenditures,” which are expenditures that Read more…