Company and Finance News:

New Societies Act Introduced
The new Societies Act [2015 Bill 24] was introduced on March 25, 2015. When the new Act comes into force it will repeal the current Society Act. It is expected that the new Act will come into force (by regulation) later this year, once the regulations have been drafted. Quickscribe's expert annotator Margaret Mason with Bull Housser LLP will be publishing annotations through this transition. The new Act will do the following:

• clarifies the limitations on distributions of the money or other property of societies, and clarifies directors' liability for unauthorized distributions;
• clarifies the requirements in relation to corporate record keeping and access to corporate records;
• provides default rules for the internal governance of societies, and allows the bylaws to provide different rules in specified cases;
• allows the alteration of previously unalterable provisions in the constitution of a society;
• provides that a majority of the directors of a society must not be employees or contractors, limits the circumstances in which a society may remunerate a director, and requires a society to disclose the remuneration paid to its directors and its most highly remunerated employees and contractors;
• provides qualifications for directors and senior managers, including providing that directors and senior managers must be at least 18 years of age or, if provided for in the regulations, 16 or 17 years of age, allows indemnification of directors and senior managers without court approval, and allows directors' resolutions to be passed without a meeting;
• allows voting members to pass a unanimous resolution instead of holding an annual general meeting, allows special resolutions of voting members by a 2/3 vote, and allows members to require their society to circulate to other members a proposal for consideration;
• provides for court remedies in cases of unfair treatment of members, contraventions of the Act or regulations or defects in the conduct of societies' activities or internal affairs, and allows for a member or director or other appropriate person to conduct litigation on behalf of a society;
• allows restoration of societies without court approval;
• requires corporations, without share capital, from other jurisdictions to register in order to carry on activities in British Columbia;
• provides for incorporation by one or more persons and enables electronic incorporations and other electronic corporate filings with the registrar;
• provides different rules regarding corporate governance, financial disclosure and distribution of money or other property on dissolution by societies that are not charities and do not receive public funding greater than an amount provided for in the regulations.

Amendments to Prospectus Exemptions and Additional
Obligations for Issuers and Brokers
On May 5, 2015, changes to National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus and Registration Exemptions ("NI 45-106") will come into force which will put additional responsibility on issuers and brokers to take "reasonable steps" to ensure investors who participate in a private placement and who represent themselves as accredited investor or friends and family are in fact eligible for those prospectus exemptions. In addition, the amendments include new documentation requirements for the accredited investor exemption and restrictions on the availability of the minimum amount exemption.

1. Issuers and Brokers Must Take Steps to Ensure the Status of Purchasers and Availability of Prospectus Exemptions
The Companion Policy to NI 45-106 ("45-106CP") sets out the requirements whereby issuers and brokers must take additional steps to ensure the status of an investor and the availability of prospectus exemptions:

Read the full article by Bernard Pinsky and Nafeesa Valli-Hasham with Clark Wilson LLP. 

Proposed Changes to Take-over Rules Aim to Level
Playing Field among Boards and Bidders
[On March 31st], the Canadian Securities Administrators published their eagerly anticipated proposed amendments to the Canadian take-over bid regime (the Proposed Amendments). Specifically, the Proposed Amendments will result in changes to the current rules governing take-over bids by extending the mandatory minimum deposit period and adding mechanisms to address the perceived coercive features of the current rules. The rules surrounding issuer bids will remain unchanged. The stated objectives of the Proposed Amendments include the facilitation of shareholders' ability to make voluntary, informed, and coordinated tender decisions while providing target boards with additional time to respond and seek out value-maximizing alternatives. The Proposed Amendments aim to achieve these objectives primarily through the following changes: Read the full article published on the Stikeman Elliott LLP website. 

BC Securities – Policies & Instruments
The following policies and instruments were published on the BCSC website in the month of March:

• 81-101 – Implementation of the Third Stage of Point of Sale Disclosure for Mutual Funds – Pre-Sale Delivery of Fund Facts – Adoption of Amendments to National Instrument 81-101 Mutual Fund Prospectus Disclosure and its Companion Policy
  The amendments come into force on March 11, 2015 and May 30, 2016. The pre-sale delivery of fund facts requirement takes effect on May 30, 2016.
• CSA Staff Notice – 31-340 OBSI Joint Regulators Committee Annual Report for 2014
• CSA Staff Notice – 11-328 Notice of Local Amendments in Alberta and the Adoption of Multilateral Amendments in Yukon
• 32-301 – CSA Staff Notice 32-301 - Omnibus/Blanket Orders Exempting Certain U.S. Broker-Dealers and U.S. Advisers from the Requirement to Register in Respect of Trades and Advice for U.S. Resident Clients
  Effective March 26, 2015, the Commission exempts US broker-dealer firms and US adviser firms with employees in BC from the requirement to register for trades for and advice to US resident clients.
• BCN 2015/02 – Adoption of BC Instrument 51-512 Certain Private Placements
  The Commission is adopting, effective March 23, 2015, BC Instrument 51-512 Certain Private Placements to replace BC Instrument 51-511 Exemptions from Multilateral Instrument 51-105 Issuers Quoted in the U.S. Over-the-Counter Markets. This order provides certain exemptions from National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts and from Multilateral Instrument 51-105 Issuers Quoted in the U.S. Over-the-Counter Markets.

For more information visit the BC Securities website.

PST Bulletins
The following PST bulletins and notices were issued in the month of March:

• Bulletin PST 001, Registering to Collect PST
• Bulletin MFT 004, Fuel Tax Refund for Persons with Disabilities
• FIN 472, Application for Refund of Provincial Fuel Tax for Persons with Disabilities
• Bulletin PST 303, Warranties, Service Contracts and Maintenance Agreements

For more information, visit the Consumer Taxes website.

Energy and Mines News:

Oil & Gas Activities Act – Proposed Amendment
The new Bill 23, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2015, introduced on March 24^th, proposes a number of changes to the Act including an amendment to the definition of "oil and gas activity" by adding the following paragraphs to section 1 (2) of the Act:

(e.1) the construction or operation of a manufacturing plant designed to convert natural gas into other organic compounds,
(e.2) the construction or operation of a petroleum refinery,

New Requirements for Proposed Mines with
Tailings Ponds – Response to Mount Polley
On March 19, 2015, British Columbia's Environmental Assessment Office ("EAO") announced the EAO's response to the recommendations of the independent review panel appointed to investigate the breach of the tailings storage facility at the Mount Polley Mine on August 4, 2014. The review panel's recommendations were delivered on January 30, 2015. In response to the panel's recommendations, the EAO has established additional information requirements for proposed mines in British Columbia with tailings ponds. The EAO issued the new information requirements in separate letters to proponents who are currently undergoing environmental assessment in British Columbia and whose proposed projects include tailings ponds. The new information requirements set out in the EAO letters are identical, suggesting that the EAO will make these information requirements standard for all environmental assessment applications for mines with tailings ponds in British Columbia. Under the new information requirements, proponents will be required to provide a description and an assessment of alternative means for the proposed project with options for tailings management that consider technology, siting and water-balance management. The assessment must present and compare best practices and best available options for managing tailings. Read the full article published by the law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. 

Oil and Gas Health Risk Low says
BC Ministry of Health Study
A boom in oil and gas development in BC's northwest has some residents concerned about the health impacts on the air they breathe and the water they drink, but a new report commissioned by the BC Ministry of Health found the impact minimal – assuming everything goes according to plan. "We looked at a lot of different chemicals. We looked at all potential exposure pathways and then we found that the health risks were low to the residents of northeastern BC," said Bart Koppe, a senior environmental health scientist with Intrinsik Envrionmental and Health Science Consulting – the company hired to do the research. The research was only focused on regular, ongoing emissions, and didn't look at potential risks of emergencies, such as a gas leak. Read the CBC article. 

Petroleum and Natural Gas Act –
Proposed Amendments
The new Bill 23, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2015, introduced on March 24^th, proposes changes to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act. A new section in the act will allow the Province to enter into long-term royalty agreements with natural gas producers. These agreements will specify the royalty rates owed to the Province by a producer. With this certainty, industry can plan their operations over a longer period of time and commit capital to jobs and production needs. The Province will have guaranteed royalty revenue each year.

Comments Wanted for Proposed
GHG Reporting Regulation
The BC government is seeking comments from stakeholders, First Nations and the general public on a reporting regulation intentions paper for the new Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act. The act, which received royal assent on Nov. 27, 2014, will enable performance standards to be set for industrial facilities or sectors. The act also streamlines several aspects of existing greenhouse gas (GHG) legislation and regulation into a single legislative and regulatory system. To uphold the Province's commitment to having the cleanest liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations in the world, the new act includes a GHG emissions intensity benchmark for LNG facilities. Industrial operations have already been reporting GHG emissions since 2010 and that will continue. The proposed new reporting regulation adds requirements for LNG operations and improvements based on stakeholder input to date. Read the full government news release. 

Family and Children News:

Settling Family Matters
John-Paul Boyd shares his thought on the need to foster a "settlement-oriented legal culture", particularly with respect to family law matters. Perhaps the most interesting insight gleaned from his post is his suggestion that lawyers keep reminding clients of the option to settle a file, particularly once "time has worn away the sharp edges of the parties' emotions." He also tries to reconcile a lawyer's duty to advocate for a client with a settlement-oriented approach, pointing to the CBA's Code of Conduct: Read the CBA National magazine article. 

Forest And Range Practices Act Amendments
Bill 18, Administrative Tribunals Statutes Amendment Act, 2015, proposes a number of amendments to the Forest And Range Practices Act, including the addition of Part 8.1 – Forest Appeals Commission which continues the Forest Appeals Commission and establishes general provisions regarding jurisdiction, appointment and procedure. The Bill was introduced March 9^th.

It's "Buyer Beware" for Resource Developers when
It Comes to Crown Consultation
The duty to consult is a Crown responsibility. But what happens when the Crown's consultation is inadequate? Can a company that suffers losses as a result claim compensation from the Crown? A recent decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Moulton Contracting Ltd. v British Columbia, 2015 BCCA 89, indicates that it will be very difficult for companies to seek compensation from governments even where the Crown is found to have mishandled its consultation obligations.

Background
This decision arose from an appeal of a trial decision that ordered the Province of British Columbia (the "Province") to pay damages of $1,750,000 to the respondent, Moulton Contracting Ltd., ("Moulton") for breach of an implied term of a contract as well as liability in negligent misrepresentation. A contract was granted by the Province to Moulton on June 27, 2006, for the sale of two timber licences (the "TSLs") in the Fort Nelson Timber Supply Area. This part of British Columbia is covered by Treaty No. 8, to which the Fort Nelson First Nation ("FNFN") is a signatory. The TSLs granted Moulton the right to harvest timber in defined areas as well as the right to enter the timber harvest areas. The damages awarded at trial were a result of losses suffered by Moulton when it was prevented from logging under the TSLs due to a blockade erected by the respondents, George Behn and his family, most of whom were members of FNFN. About a month after the granting of the TSLs and unbeknownst to Moulton, George Behn informed an employee of the Province that he intended to "stop the logging". The Province did not inform Moulton of this threat until two months later, after Moulton had started logging. Almost immediately afterward, the blockade was erected and Moulton was unable to complete logging under the TSLs. Notably, Moulton was not involved in Crown consultation on the TSLs, as consultation was completed by the Province before it issued the TSLs.

Fish and Seafood Act to Replace Fisheries Act
On March 25^th, the government introduced Bill 21, Fish and Seafood Act. The new act will repeal and consolidate the current Fisheries Act and Fish Inspection Act into a single act when and if it comes into force by regulation. The intent of the new act is to to regulate the possession, rearing, growth, harvesting, processing, storage, transportation and distribution of fish and aquatic plants, and their products and byproducts, that are intended to be consumed by humans or that may enter the human food distribution system.

Occupational Health and Safety in the Forest Industry:
A Matter of Superordinate Importance
Those who work "on the ground" in the BC forest industry are required to manage occupational health and safety issues that are, for the most part, completely foreign to the rest of us. And the unique dangers of working in the woods have, unfortunately, resulted in tragedy from time to time over the years and subjected the forest industry's health and safety performance to intense media scrutiny. As someone who practises law in the forest industry (tucked safely behind a desk and computer monitor in my office), [Jeff Waatainen] would suggest that, in recent years, no single field of legal liability has come to concern those who work in the forest industry more than occupational health and safety. Much of the focus in the BC forest industry with respect to occupational health and safety is placed upon ‘prime contractors.' Under the Workers Compensation Act and Regulations (the "Act"), prime contractors must ensure that the health and safety activities of employers and workers at any ‘multiple-employer workplace' are coordinated, and must do everything reasonably practicable to establish and maintain systems or processes to ensure compliance with the occupational health and safety requirements of the Act. Read the full article by Jeff Waatainen with Davis LLP and published in "Legal Perspective" column in BC Forest Professional magazine. 

Land Act Amendments
Bill 25, Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Statutes Amendment Act, 2015, was introduced on March 25^th. The intent of the bill is to make it easier to regulate and manage low-impact community, recreational, industrial and commercial activity on Crown lands, streamline fees for transactions under the Land Title Act and allow non-Canadians to register as land surveyors. Proposed Land Act changes will streamline application processes and give government authority to identify low-impact activities – like camping, organized events and aggregate testing – that are exempt from the application process. This will result in approximately 125 fewer permits issued each year. As well, government will be able to close areas as required and create special application requirements for sensitive or high-use areas. Other changes include:

• Updates to the public notification guidelines to bring the legislation in line with current practice and better accommodate online technologies.
• New regulations that consolidate the amount for payment of fees, rents and royalties, making it easier for users to pay and government to collect.

Read the full government news release. 

Environmental Appeal Board Decisions
There were a number of Environmental Appeal Board decisions released in the month of March:

Environmental Management Act

• Seaspan ULC (formerly Seaspan International Ltd.) v. Director, Environmental Management Act [Application for Board Costs – Declined]
• Christina Harder and Karl Den Boer v. Director, Environmental Management Act [Preliminary Issue of Standing to Appeal – Appeal Dismissed]
• Shawnigan Residents Association; Cowichan Valley Regional District; John and Lois Hayes; Richard O. Sanders v. Director's Delegate, Environmental Management Act [Final Decision – Appeals Dismessed with Directions]

Visit the Environmental Appeal website for more information.

E-Cigarette Use Indoors, Sales to Minors Banned in BC
British Columbia is becoming the latest province to regulate electronic cigarettes, with legislation designed to prevent young people from using the devices or being exposed to their vapour. Health Minister Terry Lake introduced legislation [March 6] that would ban e-cigarette sales to people under 19 and prohibit their use in indoor public spaces and workplaces. He said the legislation, which will also ban e-cigarette smoking on school grounds and at health facilities, aims to limit children's exposure to potentially harmful e-cigarette vapours and smoking. "Our first goal is to protect BC young people from these products," Lake said as he introduced amendments to the Tobacco Control Act in the BC Legislature. Read The Globe and Mail article.

Insite Supervised Injection Site Receives Health Canada Exemption
Advocates fear new federal legislation will make it harder
to open safe injection sites in future
Canada's first supervised injection site has received a Health Canada exemption that allows it to continue to operate, days after passage of federal legislation that critics fear will make it harder to open new facilities. Vancouver Coastal Health is required to apply for an annual exemption to operate Insite. "We know Insite works," says Coastal Health chief medical health officer Dr. Patricia Daly, in a written statement. "Thousands of overdose deaths have been prevented, the spread of infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis C have been reduced, and clients can more easily connect to health services like detox and primary health care," she says. Read the CBC article. 

Cold-FX Users Were Misled about Top-Selling
Cold and Flu Remedy, Lawsuit Alleges
The makers of Canada's most successful natural-health product are battling a class action lawsuit alleging they fraudulently misled customers into thinking Cold-FX could quickly relieve cold symptoms – contrary to their own studies. The BC case is unusual among health-product class actions, charging not that the pills caused physical harm but that their benefits were misrepresented to the public. Previously confidential sales figures for Cold-FX, submitted as part of the case, indicate that more than $117 million worth of the ginseng-based product were sold in Canada as recently as 2011. Developed by an Alberta-based team, and marketed through endorsements by Don Cherry and other Canadian sports celebrities, the product has grown to be the best-selling cold and flu remedy in Canada. But much of those sales were built on false claims that the pills could bring "immediate relief" of cold and flu symptoms, alleges the lawsuit filed in BC Supreme Court. Read the CBA National magazine article. 

Employment and Assistance Act and Employment and Assistance for
Persons with Disabilities Act – Proposed Changes
The new Bill 23, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2015, (introduced on March 24th) proposes amendments to these Acts that are intended to eliminate periods of ineligibility for people who are convicted of fraudulently obtaining income or disability assistance. The amendments include a higher mandatory repayment amount to accelerate the recovery of any debt and will allow people currently ineligible due to fraud to apply for income and disability assistance.

New Policy Guidelines for Police Information
Checks in British Columbia
In the past, when employers in British Columbia requested police information checks on prospective employees, there were no clear guidelines on the type of information that would be provided. It was common for police information checks to include information about mental health issues relating to the prospective employee, including such information as details related to suicide attempts. Police information checks also routinely included information about "adverse police contact" despite the fact that the individual may never have been charged or convicted of any offence with respect to the "adverse police contact". As a result of concerns raised by the British Columbia Information and Privacy Commissioner with respect to the type of information being disclosed, the BC government has issued a policy providing guidelines to all police forces in British Columbia with respect to the type of information that may be disclosed in a police information check. The policy guidelines were revised in January 2015. The policy guidelines now differentiate between police information checks that are related to people who are applying to work or volunteer with "vulnerable" persons as opposed to prospective employees who are not. Vulnerable persons are those who are in a position of dependence on others or at greater risk than the general population of being harmed by a person in a position of authority/trust as a result of their age, disability, or other circumstances. Read the full article by Larry Page with Davis LLP. 

BC Indexes Minimum Wage to Provincial CPI
The B.C. government is indexing increases in the general minimum hourly wage and liquor server wage to BC's Consumer Price Index (CPI), Minister for Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, and Minister Responsible for Labour, Shirley Bond announced [March 12]. The government is committed to reasonable and predictable yearly minimum wage increases linked to BC CPI. Going forward, from 2016 onward, the minimum wage will be determined using a formula calculated upon the percentage the BC Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased in the previous calendar year. In years where there is a negative CPI change, the minimum wage would stay the same. In addition, this indexing formula is being applied to the period since the last minimum wage increase in 2012. Effective Sept. 15, 2015, the general minimum hourly wage will increase from $10.25 to $10.45 and the liquor server wage from $9.00 to $9.20 per hour. Read the Government news release. 

Local Government News:

Rural Advisory Council Announced
Fourteen individuals from across the province have been appointed to the Province's new Rural Advisory Council. Four of the representatives are local elected officials: Director Grace McGregor, Regional District of Kootenay Boundary; Mayor Gerry Thiessen, Vanderhoof; Councillor Sylvia Pranger, Kent; and Mayor Chris Pieper, Armstrong. The mandate of the council is to provide input to government policy decisions related to rural communities. The initial focus for the council will be to provide advice on rural economic development, including rural access to capital and business development support for rural entrepreneurs and businesses. Read the full article on the UBCM website. 

Municipal Zoning Restrictions Apply to Moorage and
Public Interest Special Costs Awards Limited
The August 2013 ruling of the BC Supreme Court that a local government's zoning power can extend to the regulation of long-term moorage was recently affirmed by the BC Court of Appeal's judgment in District of West Kelowna v. Newcomb. Newcomb, a houseboat owner, had argued that the District's W1 Water Use (Recreational) zone restrictions on moorage were unconstitutional as being, in pith and substance, a matter falling within the federal head of power over navigation and shipping. The lower court judge concluded that zoning regulations prohibiting long-term moorage related to property and civil rights or matters of a merely local or private nature, both heads of jurisdiction assigned to the provinces under the Constitution Act, 1867. However, the lower court judge read the bylaw down under the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity, as the prohibition of temporary moorage trenched on the protected "core" of the federal navigation and shipping power. As "read down" by the lower court, the W1 provisions thus allowed for temporary moorage directly incidental and related to active navigational use of vessels, but not long-term storage or moorage. Read the full article by Barry Williamson with Young Anderson LLP and published in the firm's newsletter. 

Local Government Act – Proposed Changes
The new Bill 23, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2015, introduced on March 24^th, proposes a number of changes to the Local Government Act. Among the proposed changes is an amendment to section 18, that provides the Lieutenant Governor in Council with discretion to reclassify a municipality into another classification if it is in the public interest to do so. Bill 23 also proposes amendments to the Municipalities Enabling and Validating Act (No. 4) (MEVA) that will enable the District of Port Edward and Pacific Northwest LNG (PNW) to enter into a municipal property tax agreement regarding the property tax revenue to be generated from the proposed PNW LNG facility on Lelu Island. Amendments to MEVA also validate Maple Ridge's recent reclassification as a city and actions taken by the City of Maple Ridge since its reclassification.

BC's Municipal Auditor General Vows
to Seek Review of her Firing
The BC government fired embattled municipal auditor general Basia Ruta [recently], saying her attempts to obstruct a review of her office created an "intolerable situation." Community Minister Coralee Oakes said cabinet dispatched Ruta without severance because the audit council, which oversees the office, determined "that there is cause." Oakes said Ruta's attempts to interfere with the review of her office by former deputy minister Chris Trumpy compounded "the unstable work environment and lack of performance from that office." "I believe removing the auditor general is necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the office," Oakes said. Ruta responded by announcing that she will seek a judicial review of her dismissal. "The manner of removing me from office occurred without adherence to basic principles of procedural fairness," she said in a statement released by her lawyer. Read the Times Colonist article. 

Motor Cycle Parking
Bill 15, Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2015, introduces a number of amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act, and also proposes changes that will permit municipalities to regulate motorcycle parking to within six metres of intersections with traffic control signs or signals. This will mean that motorcycles can use space more efficiently.

Miscellaneous News:

BC Aboriginal Band Enacts Laws after Court Win
British Columbia aboriginal nation granted rights and title by Canada's high court has introduced its own laws governing its territory and resources within the area. The Tsilhqot'in National Government has enacted the so-called Nemiah Declaration that prevents mining and commercial logging, stops commercial road building and requires visitors to get permission before entering the land. The Tsilhqot'in Nation, located west of Williams Lake in the BC Interior, was granted 1,750 square kilometres of land in a Supreme Court of Canada decision last June. The nation first created the declaration in 1989 in response to the threat of widespread clearcut logging, prompting years of negotiations that culminated in the high court's ruling. Read the full article on the GlobalNews webstite. 

BC Government Broadens its Power over School Boards
Legislative changes would allow minister to set
professional development standards for teachers
New legislation – Bill 11, the Education Statutes Amendment Act, 2015, introduced [March 26^th] would give the BC government more power over individual school boards and teachers' professional development. B.C. Teachers' Federation president Jim Iker said the legislation is complex and will take time to properly analyze. "Parts of the legislation ... will expand the minister of education's power to issue directives to school boards and replace those democratically elected bodies with an appointee if they don't comply," Iker said. "This is absolutely about the government's underfunding and 2015 budget that is forcing $54 million more in cuts to school districts. It's just a matter of time before we see the government order directives to close schools, cut important programs, or force layoffs." For the past eight years, the minister has had the authority to appoint an official trustee where the board fails to comply with an administrative directive. Read The Vancouver Sun article. 

Election Act Amendments Provide
Increased Voter Accessibility
Bill 20, the Election Amendment Act, 2015, was introduced to the House [March 24^th] by Attorney General and Minister of Justice Suzanne Anton. If passed, the amendments would provide for increased voter accessibility and participation as well as addressing other financial, administrative and communications processes that have been identified by government and by the province's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). The amendments introduced that respond to the recommendations of the CEO include:

• Removing the requirement for a leadership contestant who is acclaimed and who has neither raised nor spent any funds to file a financing report.
• Permitting constituency associations to incur election expenses on behalf of a candidate throughout the campaign period, rather than being restricted to the first 10 days of a campaign period as the act currently requires.
• Making consistent identification requirements for all individuals who vouch for another person who applies to register to vote in conjunction with voting. Currently, family members of applicants are not required to produce identity documents.
• Requiring election officials to provide voter turnout information to candidates during advance voting and general voting. Currently, candidate representatives can observe voting proceedings at polling places and track voter turnout. However, there is no authority for election officials to provide this information directly to candidates.

Read the government news release. 

Motor Vehicle Act Amendments
Bill 15, Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2015, introduces a number of amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act. Among the changes is the addition of section 151.1 which provides that a vehicle must exit the leftmost lane of a laned roadway when it is safe to do so on the approach of another vehicle where the speed limit is at least 80 km/h and the actual speed of traffic is at least 50 km/h, except when passing, allowing traffic to merge, preparing for a left hand turn or passing an official vehicle stopped on the side of or on the roadway. Bill 15 also proposes changes that will permit municipalities to regulate motorcycle parking to within six metres of intersections with traffic control signs or signals. This will mean that motorcycles can use space more efficiently. Another proposed change of note is intended to protect road users by streamlining the remedial referral and reconsideration process and preserving the IRP program's integrity. They respond to recent court decisions and enhance the fairness of the administrative review process by, for example, giving the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles the authority to revoke an IRP upon review when a sworn report has not been provided by police. The proposed changes will also create mandatory requirements for drivers, whose driving records meet certain criteria that demonstrate unsafe driving behaviour, to participate in the Province's remedial driving programs. This will further strengthen the life-saving legislation, introduced in September 2010. Since that time, BC has led the way nationally on tackling drinking and driving, with an estimated 238 lives saved and a 52% reduction in alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities.

From CVSE (Circular): British Columbia Out of
Province Vehicle Inspection Exemption
Currently, privately owned vehicles that are imported into British Columbia are subject to a mandatory one-time mechanical vehicle inspection to ensure compliance with mechanical safety standards and Motor Vehicle Act Regulations (MVAR). This inspection requirement is defined in MVAR Division 25.24:

25.24 (1)	This Part applies to a motor vehicle that
	(a)	is registered, titled or licensed, or was previously registered, titled or licensed, at a place outside British Columbia,
	(b)	is presented to the corporation for registration, and
	(c)	has a net vehicle weight of not more than 3 500 kg,
	but does not include a motor vehicle described in Schedule 2 to this Division.

Issue: As part of the New West Partnership (NWP) Agreement, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan regulators have agreed to a formal exemption to this requirement (NWP item 60) for some privately owned vehicles that may be imported from a NWP jurisdiction under specific conditions. Read the full bulletin on the CVSE website.

Electric Car Buyers get $5K Rebate under
New BC Government Incentive
People who buy a clean energy vehicle – including some electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles – after April 1, 2015 will be eligible for a rebate of up to $6,000, the BC government announced Monday. The incentive program will provide BC residents with up to $5,000 off the pre-tax sticker price for new battery electric, fuel-cell electric, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and up to $6,000 for a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, said a release from the New Car Dealers Association of British Columbia. The announcement expands on a rebate program that expired last year, and comes one week after Scrap-It, a non-profit society, offered British Columbians a $3,250 rebate to trade in old vehicles for electric cars. Read the CBC article. 

Property and Real Estate News:

Strata Property Act Amendments – Guide Dogs (Bylaws)
As a result of the recently introduced Bill 17, Guide Dog and Service Dog Act, section 23 of the Strata Property Act dealing with limits to pet and age bylaws will be amended by adding the following subsections:

(1.01)	A bylaw that prohibits a pet or other animal or that restricts the access of a pet or other animal to a strata lot or common property does not apply to
	(a)	a guide dog or service dog, or
	(b)	a dog that is a member of a retired guide or service dog team if the person who is a member of the team is an owner, tenant or occupant.
(1.02)	In subsection (1.01), "guide dog", "retired guide or service dog team" and "service dog" have the same meaning as in the Guide Dog and Service Dog Act.

Vancouver Mayor Urges Overhaul of BC Rental Legislation
Vancouver's mayor wants the provincial government to overhaul rental legislation as the city grapples with an affordable housing crisis, low vacancy rates and renovictions. Gregor Robertson has put forward a motion to council to review the Residential Tenancy Act and identify potential changes to increase resources and strengthen protections for renters and low-income earners. Renters make up more than half of all Vancouver households, according to the motion, and a lack of new rental housing built in the 1990s and 2000s has left aging buildings as the main source of affordable housing in Vancouver. This has been leading to renovations and the dislocation of renters. Also known as renovictions, this is a shady tactic used by a few landlords to kick out renters under the guise of renovating the suites so they can raise the rent. The trend began in 2007 in the West End, with landlords claiming they needed to refit the whole building with carpet or lighting fixtures to force out long-term tenants. Read The Vancouver Sun article. 

Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters Act – Proposed Amendments
The new Bill 23, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2015, introduced on March 24^th, proposes amendments to the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters Act. The Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters Act sets out the guidelines for rental assistance for seniors. The amendment is an administrative change, ensuring that all payments have been properly authorized. Repealing this act eliminates unnecessary red tape, making it easier to manage the Shelter Assistance for the Elderly Renters program. The changes do not affect the benefits for seniors or how the program is operated – benefits will continue to be calculated through regulation.

The British Columbia Building Act:
Modernizing the BC Building Code
Earlier this year the BC Government introduced Bill 3-2015, the Building Act in an attempt to establish more consistent and standardized building requirements throughout the Province (with the exception of buildings located in the City of Vancouver and in or on mines). The BC Government has explained that the Building Act proposes to:

• Streamline Building Requirements – ensuring building requirements are the same throughout BC by establishing the Province as the sole authority to create building requirements.
• Establish Mandatory Qualifications for Local Building Officials – improving the interpretation, application and enforcement of the BC Building Code by making sure building officials have standard qualifications.
• Expand Provincial Review – furthering the Province's ability to review innovative building proposals (such as the Wood Innovation Design Centre in Prince George).

If the Building Act becomes law, it will not replace the existing BC Building Code 2012 (the "Building Code"), but will instead streamline how the Building Code is used. The Building Code is a provincial regulation that is based on the 2010 edition of the model National Building Code, and establishes minimum standards for safety, health, accessibility, fire and structural protection of buildings. The Building Code applies to the construction of new buildings and the alteration, repair or demolition of existing buildings throughout British Columbia, with the exception of the City of Vancouver and certain federal lands. Read the full article by Stephanie Redding of Lawson Lundell LLP, published on the Real Estate Blog.

Bill 19 – Small Claims Court Goes Digital with the
Civil Resolution Tribunal Act
In recent years, the Provincial Court has been seeking solutions to deal with the challenge of a high volume of court actions and an increasing number of self-represented litigants. The legislature seems to think the solution lies in creating alternate streams of dispute resolution procedures outside the formal court system. In May of 2012 the Province passed Bill 44, the Civil Resolution Tribunal Act. The Act is not yet in force, but is anticipated to become law later this year. Earlier this week, the legislature introduced some tweaks and changes to the proposed Act with Bill 19. Local governments may find themselves parties to the dispute resolution process under the Act. The general idea behind the Civil Resolution Tribunal (the "CRT") is to create a user-friendly accessible alternative to Small Claims Court. An excerpt from the Civil Resolution Tribunal website, at http://www.civilresolutionbc.ca, sums it up like this: "A legal question or problem is one more thing in your already busy life. We want to make resolving your problem something that fits into your schedule, whether you are an early bird or a night owl. By using the CRT to resolve your dispute, you can avoid the time, cost, and stress of going to court." Read the full article by Kristen Morley with Stewart McDannold Stuart LLP. 

Wills and Estates News:

Major Changes to the Income Tax Act:
Time to Update Your Estate Plan
Back in 2013, the Department of Finance proposed some changes to the Income Tax Act and asked for public input on those proposed changes. The proposed changes largely related to how estates and trusts created on the death of an individual would be taxed, including that trusts created on death would be taxed at the highest marginal rate instead of the marginal rates that individuals have the benefit of (you can read more about this in [the] article entitled Department Of Finance Consults On Proposed Changes To Taxation of Trusts). Despite the numerous well-written and well-reasoned arguments that were submitted to the Department of Finance against the blanket changes that were proposed, the Department of Finance carried on with the proposed changes, and draft legislation to implement the changes was released in the fall of 2014. But the draft legislation did not end there. It made additional, and very significant, changes to many other elements of the taxation of estates and trusts; changes that were not previously proposed and that could seriously and negatively impact existing estate plans. Read the full article by Melodie Lind with Pushor Mitchell LLP. 

The First Appointment
New Practice Point Paper from CLEBC
In this paper from Wills and Estate Planning Basics 2015 (January 2015), Kate S. Marples, of Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers, outlines the key considerations and suggested procedures to follow before, during, and after the first appointment with an estate planning client. Click here to view a PDF version of the paper.

Garner v. Garner – Can You Obtain a Court Ordered
Visitation Schedule with an Elderly Parent?
Several years ago, the BC Court of Appeal, in Temoin v. Martin, 2012 BCCA 250 [Temoin] discussed the application of a time-honoured principle that English and subsequently Canadian courts had established and which became known as the Court's parens patriae jurisdiction. Historically, the parens patriae doctrine (which literally means "parent of the country") vested the Court with the authority to make orders in the best interests of children that were in need of protection. Temoin clarified that the Court's powers under the parens patriae jurisdiction can also be invoked to make orders necessary for the protection of elderly individuals that have not been formally declared incompetent or incapable of managing their affairs. In Temoin, the Court held that in appropriate circumstances it could make an order compelling an elderly individual to submit to a medical capacity assessment. A detailed discussion of the factual background and the Court's decision in Temoin [is provided] in the 2012 blog post discussing "Court Ordered Examinations to Determine Incapacity in British Columbia". Since 2012, the Temoin decision has received very little judicial consideration. However, a recent decision of the BC Supreme Court, Garner v. Garner, 2015 BCSC 109 [Garner], provides an interesting illustration of how lawyers, relying on the Temoin decision, may seek to expand even further the circumstances in which the Court's protective powers may be invoked in relation to elderly individuals. Read the full article by Mark Weintraub with Clark Wilson LLP.