New BC Franchises Act Implements BCLI Recommendations

Today the B.C. Legislative Assembly passed the Franchises Act (Bill 38), broadly supported on both Government and Opposition sides.  When brought into force, the Franchises Act will implement nearly all of the recommendations in the 2014 Report on a Franchise Act for British Columbia by the British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI). In the 2014 report, BCLI recommended that British Columbia join Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and P.E.I. in enacting franchise legislation modelled on the Read more…

BCLI welcomes reforms to rules on terminating a strata

Bill 40, which was introduced today in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, contains proposed amendments to the Strata Property Act that will improve the rules governing termination of a strata corporation. The proposed changes are based on recommendations found in BCLI’s Report on Terminating a Strata, which is the first report issued in BCLI’s Strata Property Law Project—Phase Two. “As strata buildings in British Columbia age,” said Patrick Williams, chair of BCLI’s Strata Property Read more…

BCLI welcomes three new members

The British Columbia Law Institute is pleased to welcome three recent appointees to its Board. They are: Margaret Mason, Partner, Bull Housser & Tupper LLP, appointee of the Law Society of British Columbia for a three year term commencing May 1, 2015. Dennis Pavlich, Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, appointee of the Dean of the Peter A Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia for September 21, 2015 to June Read more…

BCLI Starting New Project on Litigation Financing

The number of self-represented litigants in British Columbia’s courts has been steadily increasing. In her 2013 report, University of Windsor Faculty of Law professor Dr. Julie Macfarlane wrote that the inability to afford legal counsel is the most consistently-cited reason for self-representation and a lack of access to justice. In response, the British Columbia Law Institute is starting a new project on litigation financing to explore the public, private, and third-party funding opportunities used in Read more…

In Memoriam: Remembering the Hon. Flora MacDonald, O.C.

The British Columbia Law Institute and the Canadian Centre for Elder Law would like to express sympathy to the family, friends, and colleagues of the Honourable Flora MacDonald, O.C.. Flora MacDonald, who passed on July 26th, was a Distinguished Fellow at the Canadian Centre for Elder Law and a keynote speaker at the 2005 Canadian Conference on Elder Law. “Flora MacDonald’s legacy is one of selfless service,” said Executive Director Kathleen Cunningham. “Her commitment to Read more…