Company and Finance News:

Strengthened Securities Fraud Protections Include
Proposed Changes to Pension Attachment Rules
[On February 8], the BC Government introduced a bill that, if passed, would expand the exceptions to the Pension Benefits Standards Act's rule against attachment of pension benefits. Currently, the Pension Benefits Standards Act permits pension benefits to be attached by certain notices and orders made under the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act when a person defaults on their family maintenance obligations. Bill 4, Finance Statutes Amendment Act, 2023, would add another exception. This exception would permit pension benefits to be attached by preservation or forfeiture orders made under Part 18.1 of the Securities Act or in furtherance of any other process to enforce an order under the Securities Act. Such orders are made when a person contravenes securities law. Read the full article by Meghan Popp with Lawson Lundell LLp.

CSA Announces New Exemption from Proxy   
Requirements for Uncontested Director Elections
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has recently published an exemption for reporting issuers incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) from the form of proxy requirement for the uncontested director elections. As the council of securities regulators of Canada's provinces and territories, the CSA coordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets. The CSA chair and Alberta Securities Commission chief executive Stan Magidson explained that the exemption would address confusion in the recent amendments to the CBCA. Read the full article by Angelica Dino on Canadian Lawyer.

Trust Planning and the Notifiable Transaction Rules:
Where Do We Go from Here?
In 2022, the Department of Finance released draft legislation that includes, as part of a new regime of mandatory reporting rules, the notifiable transaction rules ("Rules"). The Rules are set to apply in a wide range of tax planning areas, including trust planning. If implemented in the form currently proposed, trust planning and compliance may be subject to yet another layer of complexity (keeping in mind that trust advisors already are grappling with draft legislation in respect of the still proposed "trust reporting rules"). The following is a closer look at the Rules, solely in a trust planning context. Read the full article by Andrew C. Bateman with Miller Thomson LLP.

Bousfield – Attacking Net-worth Assessments and
Other Alternative Assessment Techniques
Bousfield v. The King, 2022 TCC 169, is a recent decision of the Tax Court of Canada that addresses "alternative assessment techniques". The decision serves as a helpful guide to both the legal bases for such techniques and the methods by which taxpayers can attack them. The decision also includes instructive comments regarding the responsibility of the Crown (as the Respondent) to properly plead the assumptions of fact made by the Minister of National Revenue (the "Minister") in reassessing the taxpayer. Read the full article by Chris Canning & Morgan Watchorn with Thorsteinssons LLP.

The Significant Impact of Recent Changes to the Competition Act (Canada) on 
Your Franchise Agreement: You Need to Prepare before June 23, 2023
On June 23, 2022, significant changes were made to the Competition Act (Canada), two of which have a direct impact on many franchise agreements. These changes consist of the addition of the following two new criminal offences to section 45 of the Competition Act (Canada):

(1.1) Every person who is an employer commits an offence who, with another employer who is not affiliated with that person, conspires, agrees or arranges
(a) to fix, maintain, decrease or control salaries, wages or terms and conditions of employment; or
(b) to not solicit or hire each other's employees.

The penalty for these offences is found in subsection (2) of the same section which reads as follows: Read the full article by Jean H. Gagnon, AdE and Frederic P. Gilbert with Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP.

In the Courts: Investor Ordered to Give Evidence to
BC Securities Regulator after Latest Court Challenge
An investor has been ordered by BC's highest court to give evidence to the BC Securities Commission (BCSC) despite fears the information could lead to prosecution south of the border. Harish Tak is a client of the Vancouver brokerage firm Mackie Research Capital Corp. and the brother of one of the firm's brokers. The BCSC had been looking into Mackie Research's activities as part of an investigation into the trading and distribution of securities at NewGen Biopharm Corp. and Breathtec Biomedical Inc. Tak is not a target of the investigation, according to an earlier BC Supreme Court decision, which noted Tak had attended an interview with the BCSC in August 2017. Read the BIV article.

BC Securities – Policies & Instruments
The following policies and instruments were recently published on the BCSC website:

• 21-332 – Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) Staff Notice 21-332 – Crypto Asset Trading Platforms: Pre-Registration Undertakings – Changes to Enhance Canadian Investor Protection
• BC Notice 2023/02 – Solicitation of Members for Corporate Finance Stakeholder Forum
• 23-330 – Order Protection Rule: Market Share Threshold for the period starting April 1, 2023
• 25-309 – Matters Relating to Cessation of CDOR and Expected Cessation of Bankers' Acceptances

Forest and Environment News:

• focusing on soil that exceeds a prescribed volume and originates from certain industrial or commercial sites in BC;
• establishing a solid and transparent notification system to track soil movement throughout the province to better ensure accountability on the part of those moving the soil; and
• introducing additional requirements for sites receiving high volumes of soil to prevent contamination of the environment, including groundwater.

Certain provisions of the Act repealed by this Bill continue to apply to the relocation of contaminated soil that is subject to an existing contaminated soil relocation agreement.

Changes to the Contaminated Sites Regulation, B.C. Reg. 375/96, were also made to support the amendments to the Act.

Park Act and Ecological Reserve Act
Amendments Introduced
Bill 3, the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2023, was introduced on February 8. Along with other various changes, this miscellaneous bill includes amendments to the Park Act and Ecological Reserve Act. If passed, these provisions will allow BC Parks to determine fines for violations of regulations in ecological reserves and parks. The bill includes related amendments to the Special Accounts Appropriation and Control Act to direct revenue from those fines to the Park Enhancement Fund. The fund is intended to pay for the costs of those offences and any remedies for environmental damage they may have caused.

Financial Assurance Requirements for Large
Industrial Projects in BC Under Review in
Public Interest Bonding Strategy
The BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (MoE) has now released two "What We Heard" reports that summarize the feedback received from industry, the public, and Indigenous peoples on the multi-year Public Interest Bonding Strategy initiative that is underway.

The MoE's Public Bonding Strategy is currently considering expanding financial assurance and closure plan requirements for "large industrial projects" governed by the Environmental Management Act, Mines Act, Forestry Act, and other BC environmental laws. Read the full article by Emily Chan with Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP.

B.C. Expands Old-Growth Logging Deferral to 2.1 Million
Hectares, Promises Greater First Nations Collaboration
New money coming for forest landscape planning and to help mills diversify
The British Columbia government announced new measures Wednesday it says will better protect old growth by working with First Nations while it ramps up investments to encourage innovation in an industry that has been plagued by job losses.

The province says it's expanding the logging deferral of old-growth forests to 2.1 million hectares, up from 1.7 million reported last spring, while bringing in new innovations to better care for forests. Read the CBC article.

B.C. Introduces New Measures on Old Growth,
Innovation, Forest Stewardship
The B.C. government is launching new measures to protect more old growth by fast-tracking innovation and co-developing new local plans with First Nations to better care for B.C.'s forests.

At the centre of the eight-point plan is $25 million for new Forest Landscape Planning (FLP) tables that will drive improved old-growth management while incorporating local knowledge and community priorities. Enabled by 2021 amendments to the Forest and Range Practices Act, forest landscape plans are a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to forest stewardship that will replace existing, industry-developed plans.

In response to requests from First Nations for more in-depth discussions about old growth, this funding will support eight new regional FLP tables with the participation of approximately 50 First Nations. Read the full government news release.

BC's Changing Regulatory Landscape: BC and Treaty 8
First Nations Negotiate Collaborative Approach to
Address Cumulative Effects of Resource Development
British Columbia has announced that, following 2021's Yahey v British Columbia decision, it has reached agreements with five Treaty 8 First Nations over the province's management of natural resources. The agreements, which have not yet been released, signal significant changes to how future resource development will occur in the province in both the near term and in the years ahead.

The essential background – 2021 British Columbia Supreme Court decision
The agreements are the result of negotiations arising from the 2021 British Columbia Supreme Court decision in which Blueberry River First Nation successfully sued British Columbia, a decision the province chose not to appeal.

Read the full article by Ray Chartier, Lindsay Bec, Oz Douglas and Ian Wylie with Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP.

Sustainable and Clean Economy in Budget 2023
The provincial budget for 2023 was tabled on February 28, along with the Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2023. Some of the highlights for the new investments relation to sustainable and clean economy include the following (all of which represent three-year fiscal plan costs):

• $567 million in operating and capital funding for a cleaner economy and climate resiliency, including CleanBC enhancements, active transportation infrastructure, and $64 million in capital funding for the B.C. Wildfire Service over five years for firefighting equipment
• $21 million to support eight more Forest Landscape Planning tables in partnership with First Nations
• $77 million to help speed up natural resource permitting processes

Environmental Appeal Board Decisions
The following Environmental Appeal Board decisions were made recently:

Wildlife Act

• Bradley Bowden, Darren Linnell, Eldon McMann, Allan Tew and Stewart Fraser v. Director of Fish and Wildlife, Ministry of Forests [Preliminary Decision on Method of Hearing – Appeal to Proceed as Written Submissions]
• Millers Outdoors Ltd. v. Director of Fish and Wildlife, Ministry of Forests [Summary Dismissal - Granted]

Health News:

• $2.6 billion to help with growing demand and increasing costs for health services, including $270 million for the BC Cancer Care Plan
• $1 billion to support the new health workforce strategy
• $1.1 billion for the refreshed primary care strategy, including the new compensation model
• $867 million for mental health and addictions services
• $875 million in 2023/24 for ongoing COVID-19 health response measures

The Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2023, Bill 10, was also introduced in order to implement both the non-tax and tax measures in Budget 2023.

Update to Medical Assistance in
Dying Laws in Canada  
On March 17, 2021, changes to Canada's Criminal Code provisions on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) under Bill C-7 went into effect. These changes marked a significant milestone in Canada's MAiD laws, which have been under constant debate and criticism since the Supreme Court of Canada held in Carter v Canada (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 5, that the criminal laws prohibiting assistance in dying limited the rights to life, liberty and security of the person under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in a manner that was not demonstrably justified under section 1 of the Charter. Read the full article by Fiona Balaton with Carbert Waite LLP.

Medical Negligence Appeal Not Virtually Hopeless,
Securities for Cost Dismissed: BC Court of Appeal
The British Columbia Court of Appeal ruled on an application for security for costs on appeal and trial involving a dismissed medical negligence claim, ruling that while unlikely to succeed, it was not virtually hopeless. Bradley Focken was taken to the Royal Columbian Hospital in 2018 after vomiting blood and blood clots at home. He had throat cancer. The attending emergency room physician Dr. Brendan Wood examined him but did not notice any ongoing bleeding. Bradley was nevertheless admitted for more tests. Read the full article by Jason Tan on Canadian Lawyer.

BC and Ottawa Reach $27B 
Health Funding Agreement
The British Columbia government has agreed in principle to a $27.47-billion deal for health-care funding from the federal government. The agreement is a step toward completing a $196-billion, 10-year health-care funding proposal that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made with Canada's premiers last month. The money for BC includes an immediate $273 million to address urgent needs, especially in pediatric hospitals and emergency rooms and to address long wait times for surgeries. The federal government says in a news release that BC's priorities include access to high-quality health services when residents need them, especially in rural and remote areas; timely mental health and substance-use services; and allowing residents access to their own electronic health information. Read the CBC article.  

BC Takes Action to Reduce ER Wait Times for People in
Mental-health Crisis [Mental Health Act]
People in mental-health crises at hospital emergency rooms will have quicker access to care, as nurse practitioners (NPs) are now able to assess patients for involuntary admission under the Mental Health Act. BC is bringing into force changes to the Mental Health Act that have expanded authority for assessment from physicians to nurse practitioners. This means more people in a hospital emergency room will be able to respond to people presenting mental-health crises. Effective immediately, this will reduce wait times in emergency rooms and speed up access to care at a critical time. With these changes, the mental-health facility director will be able to admit a person to a designated mental-health facility for up to 48 hours, if a nurse practitioner or physician is of the opinion that the person has a mental disorder and requires involuntary treatment. A physician is required to examine the patient if they are to be held longer than 48 hours. Read the full government news release.

A First Step for BC in the Overdose Crisis
The province's three-year experiment on decriminalization of illicit drugs for personal use is under way. For it to succeed, governments, and possibly the courts, will have to tackle the issue of safe supply. "Nobody wanted to do it. Nobody still really wants to do it, but yet it's happening." That's how Kennedy Stewart, former mayor of Vancouver, describes how his city and British Columbia became just the second place in North America to decriminalize hard drugs. As of February, the province's residents can legally carry up to 2.5 grams of heroin, crack, cocaine, MDMA, or fentanyl. It is arguably the most significant legal change yet in Canada's effort to stem the rise in deaths from the opioid crisis. Stewart deserves credit for getting the ball rolling. As mayor, he submitted an application to Health Canada to have the city exempted under s.56(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — a mechanism designed to allow the federal health minister to decriminalize possession of small amounts of certain illicit substances for personal use, its application if she believes it to be "necessary for a medical purpose." Not long after, the government of British Columbia joined the effort. The federal government approved their application last year. Read the full article by Justin Ling on CBA National Magazine.

Labour and Employment News:

Years of Service Before Hiatus Did Not Count
Towards Employee's Years of Service
A recent decision from the BC Supreme Court highlights how a hiatus from working with an employer may impact an employee's entitlement to notice or pay in lieu thereof upon termination.

Facts
In Shultz v. Prococious Technology Inc., 2022 BCSC 1420, the plaintiff employee had a long-term association with the defendant employer in various capacities, as an independent contractor from 2006 to 2011, and as a technical sales employee from 2011 to February 2018 when she resigned. In April 2019, the employee started to work for the employer as a sales engineer, pursuant to a new written contract. In March 2021, the employee received a promotion to sales manager and signed a new employment contract, which limited her entitlement to notice or pay in lieu thereof to the minimum amounts required by the Employment Standards Act. The new contract did not contain an express term that recognized her previous employment with the employer before 2019.

Read the full article by Neal Parker with Harper Grey LLP.

Do Canadian Pension Plans Have a Legal Obligation
to Consider Climate Change When Investing?
These Global Heavyweights Think So
Group backed by pension giants makes case that investment law permits and in some cases requires sustainability to be considered
The concept of fiduciary duty has emerged as a major fault line in the debate over ESG investing, with some arguing it offers a legal foundation to compel institutional investors to take seriously the risks posed by climate change, and others using it to justify an approach focusing primarily on financial returns. Read the full article in the Financial Post [paywall].

Multiple Pay Equity Plans: First Decision Released
Granting (and Denying) an Employer Request
The Interim Federal Pay Equity Commissioner (the "Commissioner') has released her much anticipated first decision under the new Pay Equity Act in Canadian National Railway Company and Unifor, IBEW and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (the "CN Decision"), partially granting an employer's application for multiple pay equity plans. Read the full article by Jackie VanDerMeulen, Sophie Arseneault and Rebecca Rossi with Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP.

Non-Disclosure Agreements May Soon Be Prohibited
or More Difficult to Enforce in Canada
It is no secret that disputes ranging from human rights complaints to civil actions can arise between employers and employees. More often than not, these claims are settled prior to trial or a hearing. As a condition of these settlements, employers will often require a release. Many employers place significant value on a confidentiality clause within the release. Generally, the confidentiality clause is a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that places significant limitations on an employee's legal rights to discuss the facts of the settlement. For example, the employee may be limited in their right to discuss the circumstances of their settlement including the monetary amount and/or the underlying events/allegations (for example, the details of their allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace). Read the full article by Deanna Froese with Harper Grey LLP.

Zero Mitigation Efforts Reduces Notice Period by 20%
In Zoehner v. Algo Communication Products Ltd., 2023 BCSC 224 Justice Verhoevan had this to say about a 63 year old employee (and part owner of a family business) regarding his mitigation efforts: 1) He found that the employee had done nothing to find a comparable job as he was in full retirement mode. 2) However as the law also requires the defendant to show that if he had looked for a job he likely would have found one within the notice period, the Court found that the likelihood of this happening was basically zero for the following reasons. Read the full article by Barry Fisher, with Barry Fisher Arbitration & Mediation.

Ringing in 2023 with a Positive Decision
on Termination Clauses
The Supreme Court of British Columbia came out swinging in the first week of the new year with a decision on termination provisions in written employment agreements that is positive for employers.

In McMahon v Maximizer Services Inc., the plaintiff, who was employed for less than a year before her employment was terminated, challenged the enforceability of the termination clause in her employment agreement, seeking damages equivalent to six months' pay in lieu of notice. Read the full article by Chanelle Wong with Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP.

'Unique' Ruling of Employee Time Theft Another 'Arrow
in Arsenal' For Employer Counsel: Lawyer
British Columbia's Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered an employee to pay damages to her former boss for time theft after an electronic employee monitoring program revealed a discrepancy in her time logs. The employee had brought a claim against her employer to the BCCRT for wrongful dismissal and severance in lieu of notice.

The concept of time theft is not novel, but it is not something employers tend to rely on, says Jackie Laviolette, partner at Mathews Dinsdale & Clark LLP in Calgary. The tribunal's finding that electronic monitoring exposed a lack of productivity at face value, requiring her to repay wages for work she did not do, "is very unique from an employer perspective, and not something that we tend to see in court," she says. Read the full article by Aidan Macnab in the Canadian Lawyer.

Local Government News:

Local Government Act Amendments Introduced in the 
Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2023
Bill 3, the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2023, proposes amendments to the Local Government Act that require municipalities to serve notice to a property owner or mortgage holder of their intent to sell the property to recover unpaid taxes at a municipal tax sale auction. The notice must be delivered by mail or other means at least 60 days before the date of the tax sale auction and will serve as a warning to a property owner in advance of the event that their property will be offered at the auction unless the debts are paid.

Case Summary: BC Supreme Court Finds that If an Administrative Decision-maker
Is Going to Veer Off Its Typical Course in a Decision, It Needs to Provide
Sufficient Reasons to Explain and Justify Its Departure from the Norm
BC Supreme Court allows developer's petition for judicial review of a municipal land development decision, finding that the reasons for the decision were inadequate given how unusual the decision was.

Beedie (Keefer Street) Holdings Ltd. v. Vancouver (City), [2022] B.C.J. No. 2392, 2022 BCSC 2150, British Columbia Supreme Court, December 9, 2022, J. Brongers J.

Registration Opens for UBCM's Housing Summit
from UBCM
Premier David Eby and Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon are among the speakers who will be featured at UBCM's housing summit, Housing BC Together. The event, which runs April 4-5 at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, will bring together innovators from local government, industry, the not-for-profit and Indigenous housing sectors to identify solutions for improving housing affordability and attainability across our province. Registration is now open.

Community Safety and Health in Budget 2023
The provincial budget for 2023 was tabled on February 28, along with the Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2023. Some of the highlights for the new investments relation to community safety and health include the following (all of which represent three-year fiscal plan costs):

• $317 million for policing and enforcement programs
• $80 million to improve access to justice
• $65 million for other public safety initiatives including modernizing the Police Act, cannabis licensing and the decriminalization program
• $150 million for a local government Next Gen 911 Readiness Fund
• $450 million for Critical Community Infrastructure to support targeted projects located in each economic development region in B.C.

Motor Vehicle and Traffic News:

Upcoming Phase-Out Deadlines for Class 111
Tank Cars Used in Flammable Liquids Service
The purpose of this advisory is to advise industry stakeholders of upcoming deadlines regarding the phase-out of Class 111 tank cars in flammable liquids service in Canada.

As per the requirements of Transport Canada standard TP14877 [PDF, 2.67 MB], jacketed and unjacketed legacy Class 111 tank cars will no longer be permitted to be used to import, offer for transport, handle or transport the dangerous goods listed below as of May 1, 2023. Furthermore, unjacketed enhanced Class 111 tank cars (also known as unjacketed CPC-1232 tank cars) will no longer be permitted to be used to import, offer for transport, handle or transport the dangerous goods listed below as of July 1, 2023. Read the full advisory on the Transport Canada website.

B.C. Mayor Pushes for Added Safety Measures Following
Fatal Crashes Along Stretch of Highway 5
In the wake of two fatal crashes along Highway 5 north of Kamloops, B.C., the mayor of a local municipality wants the province to consider added safety measures such as reduced speed limits and mandatory dashboard cameras for commercial vehicles.

A driver was killed and a passenger taken to hospital on Feb. 9 following a collision on the highway near Louis Creek, B.C., involving two commercial vehicles and a pickup truck.

Almost exactly one week earlier, another driver was killed when two commercial vehicles collided on the same stretch of Highway 5, about 16 kilometres further south near McLure. Read the CBC article.

Liberal MPs Decry Vancouver Port Authority
Truck Program in Letters to Minister
Four federal Liberal MPs have written to Transport Minister Omar Alghabra expressing frustration with a much-criticized program that aims to replace older trucks servicing the Port of Vancouver.

The MPs' letters come amid heavy criticism of the Rolling Truck Age Program, which aims to phase out trucks that are more than 12 years old to improve air quality and community health.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority put the onus on independent owners and operators to replace the vehicles. Truckers have raised concerns about steep costs, saying that existing vehicles already meet emissions standards and global supply-chain issues are making the transition more difficult. Read the BIV article.

Bill C-33: Canada's New Marine and Rail Transportation
Bill to Strengthen Supply Chain
The federal government recently began a process to address concerns related to supply chain efficiency. On Nov. 17, 2022, the Minister of Transport introduced Bill C-33, the Marine and Rail Transportation Modernization Act (MRTMA), in the House of Commons. MRTMA will cause amendments in five statutes related to transportation, including the (i) Railway Safety Act, (ii) Canada Marine Act, Canada Transportation Act, (iii) Marine Transportation Security Act, (iv) Customs Act and the (v) Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992. Read the full article by Robin Squires and Divyansh Dev with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

CVSE Bulletins & Notices
The following documents were posted recently by CVSE:

• NSC Bulletin 01-2022 – Publication of Carriers Cancelled for Cause
• NSC Bulletin 01-2023 – Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs in British Columbia)

For more information on these and other items, visit the CVSE website.

Passenger Transportation Board Bulletins
The following updates were recently published by the BC Passenger Transportation Board:

Industry Updates & Advisories

• New Passenger Transportation Board Mailing Address
  As of February 1, 2023, please direct any physically mailed correspondence to the Board's new mailing address:
  PO Box 9857 STN PROV GOVT, Victoria BC V8W 9T5
• Bill 40 Amendments
  Recent amendments to the Passenger Transportation Act clarify existing powers of the Board and streamline the way the Board makes application decisions. These amendments are now in effect and the Board has updated its rules, policies, application guides and other materials to reflect these changes. For further information, please read the Industry Advisory.
• Board to Conduct Follow-up Investigation on the
  Current State of COVID-19 recovery for BC
  Passenger Transportation Industry
  The Board will be undertaking a follow-up study to the 2021 COVID-19 investigation, to better understand the current economic landscape. For further information, please read the Industry Advisory and the Q&As.

Applications Received

• 16564-22 – Harjinder Singh Dhillon and Jaswinder Kaur Dhillon (Victoria Taxi)
• 16427-22 – Timeless Limousine Service Ltd.
• 16754-23 – Entourage Limousine Service Ltd.
• 16953-23 – Charanjit Singh Bhangu and Harvinder Kaur Bhangu (Victoria Taxi)

Application Decisions

• 16469-22 – Transfer from William Robertson Benzie and Anne Wilson (Big Mountain Little Shuttle, A Toast the Okanagan Wine Tour / Toast the Okanagan Wine Tours) to Russell Bertram Banister and Cheryl Anne Banister (Big Mountain Little Shuttle) [Approved]
• 15465-22 & 15466-22 Combined Decision – 1229652 BC Ltd. (Kitimat Taxi) [Approved]
• 16939-23 PS TOP – Vanride Shuttle Services Ltd [Approved]
• 15944-22 – Tunnel49 Adventure Inc. (Mountain High) [Approved in Part]
• 17023-23 PS TOP – Luxury Transport Inc. [Approved]
• 16997-23 TOP – Evergreen Taxi Ltd. [Approved]
• 16182-22 – Solomon Ena Urhodo (The LuxPorter) [Refused]
• 16431-22 – Mebin Thomas (Super Cabs) [Approved]
• 16564-22 – Harjinder Singh Dhillon and Jaswinder Kaur Dhillon (Victoria Taxi) [Approved]
• 16588-22 – Victoria Taxi Transportation Ltd. [Approved]
• 16597-22 – Charanjit Singh Bhangu (Victoria Taxi) [Approved]
• 17033-23 UPN – 7th Heaven International Ltd. [Approved]
• 17095-23 TOP – Current Taxi Ltd. [Approved]

Occupational Health & Safety News:

Overview of Bill 41 Amendments
Bill 41, Workers Compensation Amendment Act (No. 2), 2022, received royal assent on November 24, 2022. The new legislation introduced seven amendments to better support workers in British Columbia. Here's what you need to know.

What do these amendments relate to?
The seven amendments relate to a variety of sections of the Workers Compensation Act (the Act). 

Which amendments are already in effect?
Three of the amendments took effect on November 24, 2022. These amendments change how workers' compensation benefits are indexed for inflation each year, allow WorkSafeBC to increase the maximum compensation for non-traumatic hearing loss, and expand WorkSafeBC's ability to prohibit employers from suppressing workers' compensation claims.

Read the full article by Gillian Burnett in the Spring 2023 issue of WorkSafe Magazine.

"Transformational Change" in Mining Safety -   
Why Electric Vehicles Pose New Hazards
"This is a big transformational change in the mining industry," says Brandon Vance, as he talks about the shift to battery powered electric vehicles in underground mines. He's a health and safety and environment consultant with NORCAT, a not-for-profit technology and innovation centre headquartered in Sudbury, Ontario. Read the full article by Shane Mercer, published by Canadian Occupational Health and Safety. 

Safety for Roadside Workers Flagged
In BC, 12 roadside workers were killed by motor vehicles and another 221 workers were injured between 2012 and 2021.  Some of the more common workplace injuries experienced by traffic control persons include twisted ankles, being struck by a rock kicked up by a vehicle's tire, and impact from a vehicle's side-view mirror or another part of the vehicle. On December 1, 2021, updates to Part 18, Traffic Control, of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation came into effect. These updates introduced new traffic control safety measures for different types of work, including requirements for employers to carry out a risk assessment to create a traffic control plan, apply control measures in order of effectiveness, and ensure adequate supervision.  Read the full article by Sarah Ripplinger in the Spring 2023 issue of WorkSafe Magazine.

Asbestos Certification and Licensing Update
The provincial government has amended the Workers Compensation Act to require asbestos abatement contractors be licensed to operate in British Columbia. Also, workers who perform this work must complete mandatory safety training and obtain certificates. This update summarizes the activities from the past quarter (Q4, 2022) in implementing these requirements and upcoming opportunities for input from workers, employers, and other stakeholders. Training and certification WorkSafeBC has developed a framework for the training and certification program that identifies practical and theoretical training competencies workers will be required to demonstrate before receiving a certificate. To be approved as a training provider for asbestos abatement, training providers will be required to offer curriculum that covers these core competencies. Read the full article in the Spring 2023 issue of WorkSafe Magazine.

OHS Policies/Guidelines – Updates

The following amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation are effective March 1, 2023 [B.C. Reg. 223/2022].

• Part 14 – Crane and Hoists
  • 14.16.1 Certification following misadventure (amended)
  • 14.39 Contact with loads and structures (repealed)
  • 14.49.1 Communication between equipment operators (amended)
  • 14.84.1 Overlapping operating zones (amended)
• Part 16 – Mobile Equipment
  • 16.43 Lift trucks (amended)
• Part 19 – Electrical Safety
  • 19.24.1 Minimum approach distance when working close to exposed electrical equipment and conductors (amended)

Strikethrough versions of the amendments with explanatory notes are available: Parts 14 and 19, Inconsistent Crane Misadventure and Zone-Limiting Devices in Tower Cranes

OHS Policies – Occupational Health and Safety Regulation

Housekeeping changes were made to the following policy item to reflect amendments to the OHS Regulation:

• R19.24-1 Working Close to Energized High Voltage Equipment and Conductors

Guidelines – Occupational Health and Safety Regulation

The following guideline was revised, consequential to the March 1 amendments to the OHS Regulation:

• Part 19 Electrical Safety
  • G19.24.1 Minimum approach distance

Property and Real Estate News:

Bill 8, the Real Estate Services Amendment Act, 2023 Tabled   
Amendments to the Real Estate Services Act were introduced in Bill 8, the Real Estate Services Amendment Act, 2023, on February 16. Changes to the Act would remove the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia as a government reporting entity and restore the foundations previous arm's-length relationship to government.

CHOA - Condo Smarts: New Regulations Coming into Effect  
Dear Tony: Our annual meeting was Saturday and there was a lot of confusion around our annual budget and ourcontribution to our reserve fund. The new changes to the Act that were announced last week, appear to keepthe minimum contribution to 10%, which we have faithfully applied in our 22 years. At the meeting, severalowners including a realtor raised the issue that we were now required to also replenish funds spent in theprevious year in addition to the 10% minimum. In the end the budget was approved and 10% of our annualoperating budget was approved to the contingency. Could you please explain the regulations approved insimple language to help us clear up the confusion.

Dear Karen: There were no changes to the Strata Property Act, these were changes to the Regulations, which can be confusing if you do not read all provisionspassed and when they come into effect. Immediately into effect were the regulation changes to the Strata Property Act that applied to age and rental bylaws.

Read the full bulletin by Tony Gioventu published in the CHOA 2023 Condo Smarts.

Construction Litigation: How a Negligence Claim
Can Fail if Parties Allocate Risk by Contract
A summary of Centurion Apartment Properties Limited Partnership v Loco Investments Inc, 2022 BCSC 2273
In settling the terms of a contract, parties often address how liability will be handled in the event of a loss, whether through limitation of liability clauses, indemnity clauses, or otherwise. In some cases, parties may also wish to seek redress outside of the terms of the contract through claims of negligence. As discussed in this article, however, such a claim may not always be successful. Read the full article by Kai Hsieh with Civic Legal LLP.

Corporate Directors May Be Liable for Property Sales
Misrepresentation, but not Realtors: BC Court
The BC Supreme Court has ruled that a cause of action exists against the corporation directors, but not the realtors, who allegedly committed fraudulent misrepresentation during the sale of properties in Chilliwack, BC. In Bridal Falls Development Corp. v Bridal Falls RV Park Inc., 2023 BCSC 156, Infinite Expansion's shareholder Joe Duminuco claimed that realtor Don Munro approached him regarding an opportunity to purchase properties at Bridal Falls, Chilliwack, for development purposes. Infinite offered to buy the properties for $8 million from the seller, Bridal Falls RV Park Inc. Read the full article by Angelica Dino on Canadian Lawyer.

Does Canada's New Foreign Buyer Ban
Prohibit Your Commercial Transaction?
Last year the federal government enacted the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act (the Act), which imposed a two-year ban on any direct or indirect purchase of residential property by a non-Canadian commencing on January 1, 2023. The government recently published the accompanying Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Regulations (the Regulations). These Regulations have greatly expanded the original scope of the Act, including who is considered to be a "non-Canadian" for the purpose of the Act, what constitutes a "residential property" and what is considered to be a "purchase." Pending further clarification from the government, it appears that, as a result of the Regulations, the Act may now effectively prohibit a broad range of commercial transactions by corporations and other entities which have a degree of foreign ownership or control. Read the full article on Dentons website.

Housing Commitments in Budget 2023
The provincial budget for 2023 was tabled on February 28, along with the Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2023, Bill 10. Some of the highlights for the new investments relation to housing include the following (all of which represent three-year fiscal plan costs):

• $1.7 billion in operating and capital funding for BC Builds and Building BC programs
• $57 million to unlock new homes through new residential zoning measures
• $230 million to renew BC Housing aging rental stock
• $91 million for a pilot project that will provide financing incentives to encourage homeowners to develop new secondary suites
• $500 million for the Renters Protection Fund
• $11 million to implement legislation, including the Housing Supply Act
• Over $1.5 billion in operating and capital funding to help reduce homelessness

Rent is on the Rise: How to Increase Your Rental Income
The average rent for an apartment in Greater Vancouver is on the rise, and if you are a developer or landlord, it is important to know what opportunities and limitations are present when increasing your rent. Developers and landlords of residential properties in BC may raise their rent once every 12 months, starting from the start of the term or since the last rent increase. This maximum allowable rent increase is set out in sections 22 and 22.1 of the Residential Tenancy Regulation. The BC government has set the new annual limit for these rent increases to 2% for 2023. Read the full article by Karen Ngan and Alex Bogdan.