Legal Issues

New Court Reforms in British Columbia

Changes to court rules to improve access to court for British Columbians was announced by Attorney General Geoff Plant on March 30th, 2005, to be effective September 1st, 2005. This includes raising the financial limit for disputes in small claims court from the previous limit of $10,000 to $25,000. News Release Backgrounder

Upcoming Amendments to the Copyright Act

An announcement regarding upcoming amendments to Copyright legislation is here. Includes links to a backgrounder with highlights of the proposed legislation, a copy of the Joint Statement, and series of frequently asked questions.

Air India Ruling

The decision to acquit two Sikh men on charges of conspiracy and murder in the 1985 Air India bombing, R. v. Malik and Bagri is available from the Courts of British Columbia website here.

Recent SCC Decisions

Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests), 2004 SCC 73 November, 18 2004, No 29419 http://www.canlii.org/ca/cas/scc/2004/2004scc73.html Crown — Honour of Crown — Duty to consult and accommodate Aboriginal peoples — Whether the Crown has duty to consult and accommodate Aboriginal peoples prior to making decisions that might adversely affect their as yet unproven Aboriginal […]

Privacy & the USA Patriot Act

Privacy & the USA Patriot Act – Implications for British Columbia Public Sector Outsourcing http://www.oipcbc.org/sector_public/usa_patriot_act/patriot_act.htm Earlier this year the Information and Privacy Commissioner invited submissions on two questions relating to possible implications of the USA Patriot Act for outsourcing of public services by public bodies in British Columbia… On October 29, 2004, the Information and […]