Category: Legislation
Resources on BC’s new Family Law Act – Bill 16, 2011
Courthouse Libraries BC has assembled an “Asked and Answered” page that provides a wealth of information on the proposed new Family Law Act, which had Second Reading on November 17th. Details include: Access to current status, transitional provisions, and coming into force information Links to commentary Family… more »
CBA BC Members Sound Off on New Civil Rules
Courthouse Libraries BC notes that the CBA-BC Branch has released the results of its member survey on the new Supreme Court civil rules. Members were surveyed for their thoughts in eight areas. The 32-page results document includes charts of the responses as well as comments from the… more »
New Family Law Legislation Introduced
Monday marked the introduction of a new Family Law Act for BC. The proposed legislation would replace the Family Relations Act. According to JP Boyd (see links below), the legislation addresses issues such as children & child support, mobility, spousal support, division of property and of debt, and court… more »
Changes to BC’s Power of Attorney Legislation
As expected, on September 1, 2011, new provincial power of attorney legislation came into effect. Here are a few resources that support the new legislation: It’s Your Choice: Personal Planning Tools (a guide from the Public Guardian & Trustee) Incapacity Planning Agreements (forms and directives from… more »
BC Articling Students May Now Provide Some Legal Services
A new Law Society of BC rule permits articled students to provide some legal services to the public, provided that they are supervised by a lawyer. According to a post at Legal Feeds, Law Society president Gavin Hume says the rule change aimed to improve access to… more »
BCCA Practice Directives & Notes to be Replaced
The BC Court of Appeal announced it would repeal current Practice Directives and Practice Notes and replace them with new and clearer ones, effective September 19, 2011. A few key changes: Practice Directives will be divided into three categories: Civil, Criminal, and Civil & Criminal Practice Notes will… more »
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… more »
HST Referendum Date Moved Up
Late last week the Attorney General announced that the referendum on the HST has been rescheduled to an earlier date than was previously set. An order-in-council will finalize details, but the government expects the referendum to take place June 24. The text of the… more »
CanLII Upgrades Legislation Navigation
Thanks to Courthouse Libraries BC for the heads-up about CanLII upgrades to help users find and link to legislation. As they did a few months ago for a few jurisdictions including BC, CanLII has added tables of contents and linking capability for other jurisdictions. From the Courthouse… more »
Incapacity Legislative Provisions in Force September 2011
Attorney General Barry Penner recently announced that new legislative provisions dealing with incapacity planning options will come into force this September. These provisions are part of the phased-in implementation of the Adult Guardianship and Planning Statutes Amendment Act, 2007: Incapacity (or personal) planning provisions are part of the… more »
HST Information and Referendum Updates from BC Government
The BC government recently issued two news items of note about the HST. The HST Information Office launched a new HST website “designed to put more factual information on the HST in the hands of British Columbians” prior to the upcoming referendum. The government also appointed an… more »
BC Corporate Income Tax Rate Reduced Effective Jan. 1
The provincial corporate income tax rate was reduced from 10.5 per cent to 10 per cent, effective January 1, 2011, as noted in a Ministry of Finance news release. The reduction flows from the February 2009 budget, which “reduced the general corporate income tax rate to 10.5 per cent… more »
Implementation of BC Criminal Records Review Act Amendments Begins Jan 1
The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General will begin implementation of amendments to the Criminal Records Review Act in the new year. The implementation of the amendments, which will make BC “the first province in Canada to require a thorough investigation of individuals working with vulnerable adults”,
Draft HST Referendum Question Text Released
Attorney General Michael de Jong, QC, recently announced that he has now received a draft version of the HST initiative question as prepared and delivered by Acting Chief Electoral Officer Craig James. The announcement recites the text of the question, which will be the subject of a vote… more »
Law Society Proposes Changes to Legal Profession Act
The Benchers of the Law Society of BC recently approved in principle a request for changes to the Legal Profession Act. According to the announcement of September 17, the purpose of the proposed changes is to “enhance the ability of the society to regulate in the public… more »
About Dye & Durham
Founded in 1874, Dye & Durham Corporation (D&D) has been a reliable purveyor of timely and accurate information for well over a century. With a staffing complement of 150 and 5 locations, we are also the largest, most comprehensive provider of legal support services in British Columbia… more »