Client Bulletins 2020
December 2020
2020
Ministry of Health Not Required to Disclose Location of COVID Cases
A decision last week by BC’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Michael McEvoy, confirms that the positive duty to disclose information...
November 2020
2020
Mandatory Face Coverings in Indoor Public Spaces
On November 24, 2020, the Province passed Ministerial Order No. M425/2020 requiring face coverings to be worn in “indoor public spaces” as...
October 2020
2020
Approving Officer Liability
The B.C. Supreme Court has recently confirmed (Goy v. Sechelt (District) 2020 BCSC 1242) that a subdivision approving officer exercising...
July 2020
2020
Variance Application Process under the Employment Standards Act Streamlined for Extensions to COVID-19 Temporary Layoffs
In our previous bulletins dated June 26, 2020 and July 2, 2020, we addressed the provincial government’s extension to the permissible...
2020
City of Surrey Appoints Ethics Commissioner
The City of Surrey has taken the bold move of creating an Office of Ethics Commissioner for the benefit of its Mayor and Council, and its...
2020
COVID-19 Related Temporary Layoffs Extended - Update
In our recent blog post entitled “COVID-19 Related Temporary Layoffs Extended”, we discussed the provincial government’s June 25, 2020...
June 2020
2020
COVID-19 Related Temporary Layoffs Extended
On June 25, 2020, the provincial government announced that temporary layoffs related to COVID-19 can now extend to a maximum of 24 weeks,...
2020
Province Narrows Previous Relaxations To Local Government Meeting Requirements
On June 17, 2020, the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General made Local Government Meetings and Bylaw Process (COVID-19) Order No....
2020
Labour Board Clarifies Temporary Layoff Notice Obligations
Does an employer breach s. 54 of the Labour Code when it temporarily lays off bargaining unit employees? Under s. 54, an employer must...
2020
Minimum Wage Increased to $14.60
As of June 1, 2020, the hourly minimum wage rate in British Columbia was increased to $14.60 per hour. All local government employees must...
2020
Pam Costanzo joins Young, Anderson
We are very excited to announce that Pam Costanzo has joined Young, Anderson effective June 1, 2020. Pam attended law school after...
May 2020
2020
Province Announces Municipal Financing and Tax Collection Measures in Response to Covid-19 Pandemic
On May 15, 2020, the Province issued Ministerial Order 0159 to assist local governments and ratepayers who may be facing financial...
2020
WorkSafeBC Directs All Employers to Prepare a COVID-19 Safety Plan
As BC makes its first tentative steps to reopen parts of the economy, and to establish the new normal in light of COVID-19, WorkSafeBC has...
2020
Vavilov and Municipalities: There Really is a New Boss
After the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, the standard of...
2020
Working from Home – Employer Responsibilities
Although the province has announced plans to reopen businesses in a phased approach, many local government employees will be working from...
2020
Presumption for COVID-19 WorkSafeBC Claims
WorkSafeBC announced on April 30th that COVID-19 will be added to the list of “occupational diseases” in Schedule 1 of the Workers...
2020
Benefits Available For Laid Off Local Government Employees
With so many employees out of work during this COVID-19 pandemic, the availability of benefits and financial programs are continuously...
2020
New Extension to COVID-19 Related Temporary Layoffs
On May 4, 2020, the provincial government passed Order in Council No. 219, which adds an “Exclusions during COVID-19 emergency” section to...
2020
Electronic Public Hearings, The Islands Trust and Improvement Districts
On May 1, 2020, the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General issued Ministerial Order M139...
April 2020
2020
Cyberattacks on the rise with COVID-19
Cybercrime is on the rise as we all grapple with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and local governments are not immune to this...
2020
Chief Justice Of BC Now Granted Discretion To Modify Court Rules
Ministerial Order 121/2020, the latest order of Minister Mike Farnworth made under s. 10(1) of the Emergency Program Act, grants the Chief...
2020
Bylaw Enforcement Officers Now Authorized to Issue Tickets for the Unauthorized Resale of Essential Goods and Supplies and Price “Gouging”
This update is to provide local governments with information on recently granted novel powers to enforce provincial orders under the...
2020
Electronic Attendance at Corporate Meetings
On April 21, 2020 the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General issued an order under section 10 (1) of the Emergency Program Act...
2020
Ministerial Order M094 – Protection of Liability
On April 2, 2020, the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General issued an order under section 10 of the Emergency Program Act...
2020
Property Assessment Appeal Board Extends Appeal Deadline to June 1
On April 2, 2020, the Property Assessment Appeal Board (PAAB) exercised its jurisdiction under Ministerial Order M086 to extend the...
2020
Province Issues Guidance Document for Enforcement of Public Health Orders
Many local governments continue to seek clarity around enforcing the Province’s social distancing recommendations in the face of the...
March 2020
2020
Province suspends limitation periods for court actions and more
In the latest response to legal implications of the pandemic emergency, the BC government has suspended all limitation periods for court...
2020
Ministerial Order M084: Part 2
Yesterday, the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General made several orders under section 10 of the Emergency Program Act that...
2020
Province allows disclosure of personal information outside Canada so local governments can continue operations during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency
Local governments can now temporarily use remote working tools such as video conferencing services to help maintain their operations during...
2020
Province Clarifies Role Of Bylaws Enforcement Officers During COVID-19 Emergency
On March 26, 2020 the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General made several orders under section 10 of the Emergency Program Act...
2020
Province Suspends Local States of Emergency
In an effort to ensure coordination between all levels of government in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Province’s Minister of...
2020
Relaxation Of Meeting Rules During COVID-19 Pandemic
Today the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General made three orders under section 10 of the Emergency Program Act that affect local...
2020
Ministerial Orders Under the Emergency Program Act
All local governments should be aware of the following three Ministerial Orders made by the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General...
2020
Changes to the Employment Standards Act in response to the Covid-19 Crisis
On Monday March 23, 2020, the provincial government held an emergency sitting of the legislature in response to the COVID-19 public health...
2020
COVID-19 - Provincial Options For Modifying Meeting Rules
Pandemics and the need for “social distancing” were not at top of mind when the meeting rules in the Local Government Act and Community...
2020
Revenue Anticipation Borrowing - Being Prepared
This is generally the time when local governments are busy finalizing consultation with the public in relation to their financial plan and...
2020
Extension of Time for Responding to Freedom of Information Requests
The public health emergency in British Columbia has prompted clients to ask us about their responsibility under the Freedom of Information...
2020
Here To Serve You - Young, Anderson Response to COVID-19
Young, Anderson is committed to ensuring the health and safety of every member of our team, their families and our clients. We want to...