Civil Resolution Tribunal planning early intake for strata-property disputes

BCLI is engaged in a project to reform aspects of strata-property law. But it isn’t the only organization in British Columbia that is working on reforms in this area. Another significant initiative involves the resolution of strata-property disputes. On this front, the planned Civil Resolution Tribunal is taking steps toward launching its online dispute-resolution service. The tribunal has just announced that it is gearing up for early intake of strata-property disputes, starting in summer 2016. As the Read more…

New Societies Transitional Interim Regulation

Late last month, the Executive Council for British Columbia promulgated a new Societies Transitional Interim Regulation. This short regulation deals with three transitional matters for societies: it clarifies that a special resolution may include a special resolution as defined in section 1 of the old Society Act—this is significant in light of the change coming in the new act to the default voting threshold for special resolutions; it establishes how a society can vary that new Read more…

Manitoba Law Reform Commission publishes issue paper on land titles and trusts

The Manitoba Law Reform Commission is studying the effect that certain kinds of trusts have on the operation of Manitoba’s land-title system. In its just-published Issue Paper on Indefeasibility of Title and Resulting and Constructive Trusts (PDF) the commission is taking on the following topics: the paper explores the issue of whether the fact that someone’s name appears on a certificate of title as an owner of a piece of land constitutes conclusive proof that he Read more…

Elder Abuse in Chinese and South Asian Communities— A Recent CCEL Collaboration

By Jenny Ruan, Pro Bono Students Canada volunteer Gao came to Canada five years ago. She was sponsored by her son, Henry. He and his wife May had twin baby girls. Gao was excited to meet her first grandchildren and welcomed the opportunity to care for them when her daughter-in-law returned to work. Consistent with immigration policy, Gao’s son signed an undertaking with the government of Canada to be financially responsible for his mother for Read more…

Strata corporation’s counterclaim against owner-developer barred by Limitation Act

In Zaidi v The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 3464, 2016 BCSC 731, a recent decision on an application to dismiss a counterclaim and third-party notice, the BC Supreme Court considered the effect of a disclosure statement under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act in relation to the discoverability rules for limitation periods. The application turned on a larger dispute involving the designation of amenity spaces and parking spots as limited common property. The case concerned a strata property consisting Read more…