Mandatory E-Filing at the BC LTSA

Dye & Durham is pleased to announce the release of a complimentary white paper on the impacts of mandatory E-Filing requirements for BC law firms and notaries public:

“Mandatory E-Filing at the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia
Impacts for BC Law Firms and Notaries Public”
A Dye & Durham White Paper

The paper provides a general overview of upcoming changes to land title filing requirements at the BC LTSA , current adoption rates for the EFS, and the training challenges faced by BC lawyers. Other professionals impacted by these changes will include notaries, land surveyors, and legal support professionals such as paralegals, legal assistants, and registry agents.

A PDF copy of the white paper is available at www.mandatoryefiling.ca

Gathering of Librarians Interested in Government and Legal Information May 13

BC law librarians will be interested to know of the free Annual Gathering of Librarians Interested in Government and Legal Information, scheduled for Friday, May 13, 2011. Here’s some information:

On behalf of the BC Library Association Information Policy Committee and SFU Library, we are pleased to invite you to the Annual Gathering of Librarians Interested in Government and Legal Information, on Friday, May 13, at Simon Fraser University in downtown Vancouver (details below).

This event is free but registration is required. To register for this event, please send an email with your name and library affiliation to Sylvia Roberts, sroberts@sfu.ca, before May 2, 2011.

Annual Gathering of Librarians Interested in Government and Legal Information Friday, May 13th, 2011
8:45 am to 5 pm
Room 7000, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver
515 West Hastings Street

Topics and speakers include

• Chuck Eckman ; Dean of Library Services, Simon Fraser University, will discuss learnings about promoting global transparency through the experience of building the GATT Digital Library
• Ingrid Parent, University Librarian, University of British Columbia, will speak about globalized information policy trends
• Dr. Krishna Pendakur , Faculty of Economics, Simon Fraser University, and Co-Director of Metropolis British Columbia, <http://www.riim.metropolis.net> , will discuss changes to the 2011 Census and data alternatives
• Daniel Brendle-Moczuk, Geography Librarian, University of Victoria, will give a presentation on FOSS GIS & Open Access GeoSpatial Data
• Penny Swanson, Cataloguing Division Head, Simon Fraser University will speak about the BCCATS Marc Record service for BC government publications
• Update on BC Government Documents Digitization Initiative

Full details and registration information are available on the BC Library Association site. Thanks to the Vancouver Association of Law Libraries for the heads up.

Connie Fenyo nominated for the YWCA Women of Distinction Award

Dye & Durham Corporation is proud to announce that Connie Fenyo has been nominated for the YWCA Women of Distinction Award under the Business & Professions category.  Connie had the opportunity to participate in the Connecting the Community Program Award.  This Program, supported by Scotiabank, provides for a cash donation of $10,000 to a charity that is chosen by one of the Nominees.

Each nominee is asked to select from one of the following categories: Early Learning and Care; Reducing Child Poverty; Safe and Affordable Housing; Healthy Choices for Youth; Preventing Violence Against Women.

Connie has chosen the Reducing Child Poverty category, as this is a cause that is near and dear to her heart.

Each nominee is asking the public to vote for the charity that they have selected.  The nominee receiving the most votes receives the Connecting the Community Award and Scotiabank will donate $10,000 to the YWCA program area of the nominee’s choice.

Voting begins today, and runs through May 28^th.  You can place a vote every day throughout the voting period by going to http://www.ywcavan.org/content/Connecting_the_Community_Award/1147.

Please help the children of our community, you can make a difference!

 

BC Notaries Publishes Spring 2011 Issue of The Scrivener

BC Notaries has released the Spring 2011 issue of its publication The Scrivener. The issue focuses on the theme of mentoring: Mentoring is the Bridge. The Table of Contents of all the issue’s articles and authors is posted on the magazine’s web site.

Here’s just a small sampling of the articles:

• The Joy of Sharing Experience and Expertise by the Society’s President, John Eastwood
• A Keynote on Mentoring by Val Wilson
• Trevor Linden on Mentoring by Akash Sablok
• Mentoring and the British Columbia Law Institute by Jim Emmerton
• Mentorship: A Beacon of Hope in the Practice of Law by Trevor Todd

A PDF file of the entire issue can be downloaded from magazine’s site.

Clicklaw Launches New Site Design

Over the weekend Clicklaw, a site dedicated to providing legal information, education, and help to British Columbians, launched an updated site.

The new design features a clean yet compact look, with easier and more intuitive navigation. The new design conveys the site’s purpose and contents at a quick glance and gives a direct link from the front page to the Clicklaw Blog. Here’s a look:

 

BC Public Guardian and Trustee Releases Annual Report

The Public Guardian and Trustee of BC released its 2009/2010 report on child and youth guardianship services last week. As the announcement explains, the Child and Youth Guardianship Services Report 2009/2010 “describes its work on behalf of children in continuing care, including details of critical incident reports and offers key recommendations for improvements to BC child protection and guardianship systems.”

The news release accompanying the report and the full report itself are both available on the Public Guardian website.

More HST Referendum Details From AG

The Ministry of the Attorney General of BC released more details about the voting process for the upcoming HST referendum. Here’s what British Columbians need to know about the timeline, procedure, and requirements:

Key Dates:

• Monday, June 13 – Elections BC starts mailing out referendum ballots for the HST to all registered voters.
• Friday, June 24 – Majority of British Columbians have received the ballot.
• Friday, July 8 – Last day for unregistered voters to request a ballot from Elections BC.
• Friday, July 22, 4:30 p.m. (local time) – Completed ballots must be received by mail by Elections BC or in person by a Service BC centre.

Elections BC, a non-partisan office of the legislature, will conduct the referendum.

British Columbians who are not registered voters for a provincial election, or who have moved since the last election and have not updated their voter record, will need to request a ballot from Elections BC.

Again, the question voters will be asked is framed as follows:

“Are you in favour of extinguishing the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) and reinstating the PST (Provincial Sales Tax) in conjunction with the GST (Goods and Services Tax)? Yes/No.”

For more details, background, and contact information for inquiries, please see the AG’s news release.

 

Special BCSC Sitting for The Hon. Brenner Available Via Video Link

The BC Supreme Court announced that the forthcoming Vancouver Special Sitting scheduled April 29 to honour the late Honourable Donald I. Brenner, Q.C. also will be available in three other courthouses by video link:

Victoria – Courtroom 401

Prince George – Courtroom 307

Kelowna – Courtroom 1

Again, the Special Sitting will begin at 4:15 p.m. on Friday, April 29, 2011. Members of the public and profession may attend in person the Great Hall of the Vancouver Law Courts or by video link from the Victoria, Prince George, or Kelowna courtrooms noted.

New Procedure for Obtaining BCCA Oral Reasons for Judgment

This week the BC Court of Appeal issued a Practice Note detailing a new practice regarding oral reasons for judgment:

The Court will no longer mail oral Court reasons for judgment to counsel or self-represented litigants. Parties wishing to obtain oral reasons for judgment should follow the instructions set out in this Practice Note.

This excerpt from the Practice Note explains the new procedure for oral Court reasons for judgment [as contrasted with Chambers reasons for judgment:

Starting 4 April 2011 the judgment typist will no longer mail out Court oral reasons for judgment. As of this date, once the oral Court reasons for judgment are signed they will be placed on the website. If counsel or a party wish to obtain a copy of the oral Court reasons for judgment, they may either obtain them from the Court’s website; send an e-mail to the judgment typist office at CA-orals@courts.gov.bc.ca; or contact the judgment typist by telephone at 604-660-2729.

Parties may continue to request copies of oral Chambers reasons for judgment from the judgment typist using the same contact information above.

Also, parties of record may obtain the reasons for judgment at no cost, but all other requests will be at the usual photocopying charge of $1.00 per page.

2011-2012 CBA Young Lawyers International Program Deadline Approaching

The CBA received funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for a three-year program that offers exciting opportunity for young lawyers interested in working in legal human rights and legal development organizations overseas. Pursuant to CIDA guidelines, applicants must be 30 years old or younger.

The program was established to run for three eight-month terms from 2010 to 2013, and the deadline is approaching soon for the second of the remaining two terms. The closing date for applications to The CBA Young Lawyers International Program for 2011-2012 is April 18, 2011.

The internships are for 8 months each, from August 1 to March 31 of the following year. The first month is spent in Canada preparing, and there is a two-week holiday half-way through the placement.

Living and accommodation expenses are paid by the program, as well as travel costs to the overseas placement.

The program information page gives details of the program, full eligibility information, a list of the placement opportunities available, and a video report from a previous participant.

Special BCSC Sitting in Memory of The Hon. Donald Brenner

The CBABC announced that the BC Supreme Court will hold a special sitting in memory of The Honourable Donald I. Brenner, Q.C., who passed away in March. The sitting will be held on Friday, April 29 at the Law Courts in Vancouver:

A special sitting of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in honour and in memory of The Honourable Donald I Brenner, QC will be held on Friday, April 29, 2011 at 4:15 pm in the Great Hall at the Vancouver Law Courts, Fourth Floor, 800 Smithe Street, Vancouver.