British Columbia Government Proposes Changes to the Class Proceedings Act

On April 23rd, the provincial government introduced Bill 21, Class Proceedings Amendment Act, 2018. The purpose of Bill 21 is twofold, namely to amend BC’s Class Proceedings Act to facilitate certification and management of multi-jurisdictional class proceedings, and to enhance participation in class proceedings for both residents and non-residents of British Columbia. The amendments are modeled after provisions of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada’s (ULCC) Uniform Class Proceedings Act (Amendment) 2006. If the proposed Read more…

Building an Intergenerational Workplace and Avoiding Age Discrimination

“People don’t want to hire you. Because you are older they think you’re going to get sick and cost them money, or you are too old to learn new technologies. There is a lot of ageism.”1 Older Women’s Dialogue Project Consultation participant I imagine we have all heard the expression: You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. There is no research to support this idiom as a literal statement of the abilities of older Read more…

BC Court of Appeal allows strata-lot owners’ appeal, sets aside arbitration award due to reasonable apprehension of bias

Hunt v The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 2556, 2018 BCCA 159, is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute that arose from a miscommunication over approval to install an air-conditioning unit on a limited-common-property balcony. Even though that miscommunication was corrected (there was no approval and, so, the HVAC unit was never installed), the owners of a neighboring strata lot had nevertheless commenced arbitration proceedings against the strata corporation. Those proceedings have produced an arbitration Read more…

CRT Roundup—bylaw enforcement, pets, smoking, short-term accommodation, and more

This post is part of a monthly series summarizing the Civil Resolution Tribunal’s strata-property decisions. There have been 18 new decisions since the last post. Bylaws—enforcement—discretion—conflict of interest In Curtain v The Owners, Strata Plan VIS 4673, 2018 BCCRT 100, the applicant strata-lot owner claimed that “the strata refuses to enforce its bylaws” and asked the tribunal for “orders that the strata issue fines for continuing bylaw contraventions and that it remove footings or foundations on parts Read more…

Spotlight on strata governance: Should the Strata Property Act limit the number of proxy appointments that a person may hold?

BCLI is running a public consultation on governance issues for stratas. It is asking for public input into its proposed changes to the Strata Property Act, Strata Property Regulation, and Schedule of Standard Bylaws. For information on how to participate in the consultation please visit the Strata Property Law Project—Phase Two webpage. This post is part of a series that spotlights issues discussed in the Consultation Paper on Governance Issues for Stratas. To read other Read more…