ICBC No Fault pre-election refunds funded by delaying payments to the disabled and Uber gets an injunction
This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: The ICBC no-fault system proposed by the NDP would save money by not providing compensation for the loss of future earning capacity. Currently, with our fault-based system, if someone is seriously injured by a careless driver, they would be entitled to be put back into the position they would have been in had they not been injured. This could include a lump sum payment based on the current value of their lost future earning capacity. ...
13 Helmi 202021min
Quarantine legislation in Canada and the BCNDP proposes no-fault car insurance
On the show this week: The Canadian Quarantine Act, and BC Public Health Act powers to quarantine people or order treatment in response to the Wuhan Coronavirus, as well as an analysis of the NDP government’s latest proposal for no-fault car insurance. The Canadian Quarantine Act and BC Public Health Act provide broad powers to control communicable diseases such as the Wuhan Coronavirus. These include the authority to prohibit entry into Canada by people who have been to a foreign country, or...
6 Helmi 202021min
Extinguishing the ICBC dumpster fire fairly
On the show this week: ICBC. The government-owned insurance company has run into financial difficulty as a result of both how the company has been operated, and political decisions to take money that it had been saved for the purpose of paying claims out of the company in order to balance the provincial budget. Currently, drivers who are at fault for an accident are responsible for it. In some circumstances, such as where a driver is convicted of impaired driving, dangerous driving, or fail...
31 Tammi 202022min
No appeal to the SCC over plastic bags and misleading statements by politicians concerning the Coastal GasLink Pipeline injunction
Topics discussed on the show this week include the Supreme Court of Canada refusing an application by the City of Victoria for leave to appeal a decision by the BC Court of Appeal that the city lacked jurisdiction to ban plastic bags. In addition, various politicians have mischaracterized the nature of an interim injunction prohibiting blockades, and other self-help remedies, by individuals opposed to the construction of a natural gas pipeline. A federal Green Party member of parliament sugge...
23 Tammi 202023min
Suing a municipality for poor snow clearing and a finding of "Family Violence" against a father for opposing hormone treatment for child with gender dysphoria overturned
Two new British Columbia Court of Appeal decisions are discussed on the show this week. When can you sue a municipality for an injury caused by poorly cleared snow? The Court of Appeal provided some clarity in a recent case against the City of Nelson. The plaintiff suffered a serious leg injury after stepping into a snowbank trying to get from an angled parking spot to the sidewalk. While a municipality is not liable for injuries caused by policy decisions, such as whether to clea...
16 Tammi 202021min
Distracted driving confusion, limits on liability for airlines, and the demonstration of smudging in school is permitted
The Motor Vehicle Act distracted driving provisions are in need of an update in order to both provide clarity, and to address technological changes that have taken place over the past ten years. As a result of the outdated, and confusing, legislative scheme even police officers who are charged with enforcing the scheme are having difficulty interpreting the provisions. Recent advice, offered by a senior police officer, concerning when and how electronic devices can be used was, unfortun...
10 Tammi 202022min
Jail for editing the DNA of embryos to prevent HIV and class actions against Shaw and the University of Victoria
Three Chinese scientists were sentenced to jail for editing the genes of three fetuses in an attempt to provide immunity from HIV. The scientist used CRISPR in an attempt to disable the gene that allows the HIV virus to enter a cell. The fathers of the children, who appear to be healthy, had HIV. Their mothers did not. The three scientists announced what they had done at a 2018 conference in Hong Kong and, shortly thereafter, disappeared. They had been in Chinese custody and were ...
3 Tammi 202021min
Canadian citizenship for the son of Russian Spies, US Super Bowl Commercials in Canada and a class action against Ticketmaster
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a man, born in Canada, to parents who were undercover Russian spies, is a Canadian citizen. This decision, and two others, including a finding that the CRTC does not have the power to require US Super Bowl ads to be shown in Canada, formed the basis of an effort to clarify how courts should deal with the review of administrative decisions. There are two standards of review when courts are asked to review administrative decisions. These standards a...
20 Joulu 201922min
