March 29, 2021

Author: Sameer Kamboj

On February 17, 2021, the House of Commons overwhelmingly passed the second reading of Bill C-218[1], which seeks to decriminalize sports betting on single events, with 303 votes in favour of the bill and 15 opposed[2]. The current prohibition on single-event sports betting is pursuant to section 207(4)(b) of the Criminal Code of Canada[3], which prevents this type of “lottery scheme”. Bill C-218 is a private member’s bill that was introduced in February 2020 by Kevin Waugh, Conservative Member of Parliament for Saskatoon-Grasswood.

The current sports betting regime only allows Canadian entities to book…

March 23, 2021

Author: Georgia Barnard

New amendments to the federal Divorce Act, meant to come into force last July but pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have come into force this month.

These are the first substantial changes to the Divorce Act in more than 20 years.

The changes to the Divorce Act include updated provisions addressing family violence and relocation.

The Act defines family violence in a holistic sense. It does not solely cover physical violence. The definition includes harassment or stalking, neglect, psychological abuse, financial abuse, destruction of property, and specific threats. It also includes the direct or indirect exposure of a…

March 08, 2021

Author: Georgia Barnard

Happy International Women’s Day!

Last year the firm celebrated history-making women in law and highlighted women who inspired us. This year, we wanted to give back and fundraise to support women with experiences of domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence (“IPV”). IPV has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic[1] and women make up 80% of police-reported IPV victims in Canada[2].

To this end, the Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Involvement Committee raised funds to support the BC Society of Transition Houses (the “Society”). The Society is a “member-based, provincial umbrella organization that, through leadership, support and…

March 05, 2021

Author: Owen Bird

We are pleased to announce that Owen Bird Law Corporation has donated to the St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation Future Leaders – PIXEL Moments. PIXEL Moments is a large scale augmented reality art mural, to be painted by Andrea Wan, which will be above the London Drugs on Granville and Robson this spring.  It is a micro-donation campaign to raise funds and awareness for mental health programs at St. Paul’s Hospital.   More information on the project can be found at: https://pixelmoments.org/.

February 22, 2021

Author: Brian Cheng

and Taahaa Patel, Articled Student

The provincial government has announced that suspended limitation periods, or deadlines by which a claimant must commence court proceedings, will resume running on March 25, 2021.

Background

After the provincial government declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it suspended the running of limitation periods, which require that a party take certain steps, such as filing a claim, before a particular deadline.

The Ministerial Orders

Initially, under the Emergency Program Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 111 (the “EPA”), the government issued two Ministerial Orders (the “Orders”):

On March 26, 2020, the government suspended…