An Order to Remove a Seawall and a Refugee Charged $1.32 Million Property Speculation Tax

Starting in 2012, the Gabriola Island Local Trust started a legal effort to have an elderly couple remove a seawall that protects their waterfront property because it was less than 30 meters from the ocean. At a trial of the matter, the Gabriola Island Local Trust lost the case because the judge concluded there was a common-law right to protect property from erosion. The Island Trust didn't like that outcome and so appealed to the BC Court of Appel, which eventually overturned the first j...