In Reasons for Judgement issued January 8, 2021 in Allan v Froese, 2021 BCSC 28 [Allan], the BC Supreme Court upheld the long-standing principle that the acceptance of a campaign contribution from a developer to an elected local government official does not establish that the official has a monetary interest in that developer’s matters before council without evidence of “something more”.

Jeff Locke and Andrew Buckley of Stewart McDannold Stuart “vigorously defended” the mayor, two current councilors and one former councilor from the Township of Langley in the Allen matter and successfully argued that the fact that a developer’s development applications were “in-stream” before council at the time the contributions were received does not constitute that “something more”. As Justice Walker concluded at the end of his judgement: Click here to continue reading at sms.bc.ca

From all of the lawyers and support staff at Stewart McDannold Stuart, we wish you all the best for the holiday season, and a happy and prosperous New Year.

In lieu of sending greeting cards this year, we have made a donation support of Victoria’s Sandy Merriman House, which has been providing shelter and support for women in need since 1995.

The civic functions performed by many public authorities put their employees in routine contact with members of the public. As can be expected, their public-facing nature will consequently make these public bodies and their employees the target of some frivolous litigation. The finite time and financial resources available to address these nuisance claims are an unfortunate reality that strains the legal budgets of public authorities and acts as a drain on the use of limited court resources. Addressing and disposing of such claims in a time and cost-sensitive manner is in the best interest of the public authority so that these organizations and their legal counsel can focus their time and resources on more pressing legal matters. Click here to continue reading at sms.bc.ca

On November 19, 2020, pursuant to the province’s ongoing state of emergency relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, the provincial government announced new province-wide restrictions by order of the Provincial Health Officer, many of which affect employers, including local governments.

COVID-19 Safety Plans:

Most notably, employers are being asked to review their COVID-19 Safety Plans. We wrote about the requirement for all employers to develop and implement a COVID-19 Safety Plan in a previous blog post. WorkSafeBC has now provided a guide for employers for reviewing and updating their COVID-19 Safety Plans. The restrictions also emphasize that an employer must ensure that a worker attending the employer’s work site has done a daily health check for symptoms of COVID-19. Click here to continue reading at sms.bc.ca