Strata corporations required to report material changes in insurance coverage to strata-lot owners

Earlier this month, an amendment to the Strata Property Act came into force, requiring strata corporations to “inform owners and tenants as soon as feasible of any material change in the strata corporation’s insurance coverage, including any increase in an insurance deductible.” This amendment implements one of the 11 recommendations found in BCLI’s Report on Insurance Issues for Stratas. The amendment came into force on 14 August 2020, which was the date on which Bill 14 Read more…

Changes to BC’s COVID-19 Long-Term Care Visitor Policy

Introduction On June 30, 2020 the BC government announced that the visitor policy for long-term care and assisted living would be changing. In the new policy residents can have one designated visitor for social visits. Prior to this policy change, only essential visitors were allowed in long-term care and assisted living (discussed below). This new policy can take effect as soon as individual facilities have plans in place and have implemented the changes required. As Read more…

Spotlight on pension division: administrative fees

This post is part of a series that spotlights issues discussed in the Consultation Paper on Pension Division: A Review of Part 6 of the Family Law Act. To read other posts in the series please click here. Brief description of the issue The existence of administrative fees raises the possibility that those fees could pose a barrier for some spouses to carrying out a division of pension benefits. Section 140 of the Family Law Read more…

BCLI Announces New Executive Director

The British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI) is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Executive Director, Karen Campbell, effective September 8, 2020. Karen Campbell brings over 20 years of experience practicing public interest law in British Columbia – most of which has involved law reform and advocacy for strengthened legal tools. Her work has consistently been designed to address access to justice issues, using both Indigenous and Crown legal frameworks. In her previous positions, Ms. Read more…

Spotlight on pension division: LIRAs and LIFs

This post is part of a series that spotlights issues discussed in the Consultation Paper on Pension Division: A Review of Part 6 of the Family Law Act. To read other posts in the series please click here. Brief description of the issue Since the advent of the Family Law Act, case law has consistently held that locked-in retirement accounts and life income funds should be divided under part 5 of the act. Should the Read more…