BarTalk | May 1989

NEWSLETTER OF THE CANADIAN BAR ASSOCIATION, B.C. BRANCH

MAY, 1989 VOLUME1 NUMBER4

Law Week 1989 Several thousand British Columbians participated in Law Week '89 activities throughout the province in April.

Attendance was high as the Vancouver Law Courts held its seventh annual open house April 16, a five-hour event that included tours, displays, live presentations and mock trials.

Ten other B.C. communities also opened their Law Courts to the public.

Punjabi, Spanish and Vietnamese, as well as French and English.

Other features included a special Citizenship Ceremony for new Canadians and a live presentation of a National Parole Board Hearing.

In addition, to encourage increased understanding of native justice issues and involvement of the native community, a native dancing group performed in a presentation set around the tradition of the Pot-

In addition to Vancouver, open houses were held in Victoria, New Westminster, Kelowna, K~rnloops, Duncan, Courtenay, Pnnce George, Vernon, Williams Lake and Princeton.

Committee Chairman Winkler said he was grateful for the help of the many volunteers who ~articipated in Law Week, particularly court staff, the judiciary and the lawyers who visited schools throughout the province to speak on topics related to law.

In Vancouver, Solicitor General Angus Ree, President Jim Vilvang of the CBA's B.C. Branch and David Winkler, chairman of the B.C. Branch's Law Week Committee, officially opened the Law Courts and welcomed the public.

H IGHLIGHTS

ELECTIONS LAW WEEK LEGISLATIVE UPDATE BONITA I . THOMPSON

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL SECTIONTALK SJ-JCT.LEY BENTLEY

The Solicitor General spoke of the ~ecent work of the provincial Justice Reform Committee in the area of Access to Justice, the theme of Law Week.

The Law Day Committee received co-operation from n:an~ schools, community orgamzat.wns and individuals in offenng a full day of activities for the public.

"Hansel and Gretel" and "Marie Antoinette" were featured in mock trials to illustrate legal principles and involve the schools in the activities. Marie Antoinette was paraded through the Great Hall in full period costume before her trial.

Participation of the multicultural community was encouraged through tours of the facilities conducted in Cantonese,

LAw Wee~ Chai:rrzan. David Winkler introducing Solicitor General Angus Ree and Preszdent Jzm Vzlvang at the Open House at the Vancouver LAw Courts latch. This was followed by a presentation describing traditional native justice issues.

As part of Law Week activities 13 high school students from 1I B.C. communities participated in the provincial finals of an annual public speaking competition.

Suzanne Kennedy of Handsworth Secondary School of North Vancouver was judged the winner of the Law Cup, renamed the "Barry Sullivan Law Cup" this year following the recent death of Barry Sullivan, a prominent Vancouver lawyer who conducted a Royal Commission into education in the province.

Elections Before May 22nd the B.C. Branch office will be mailing ballots for the election of members to the National and Provincial Council of the CBA. The ballots will be mailed with the formal notice of the Annual Meeting of the Branch to be held on Friday, June 23, 1989.

Watch for this mailing as the return date for ballots will be Friday, June 16, 1989.

There are currently fifty elected members on Council and approximately 1/3 retire each

2

year. This year three seats are open on Council from Cariboo County, one seat is open for each of Kootenay, Nanaimo and Prince Rupert Counties, five seats are available in Vancouver County and two each for Victoria, Westminster and Yale Counties.

There will be no election this year in Nanaimo or Prince Rupert County.

In Nanaimo County Doug Cowling is the only nominee for the one seat available and Ed DeWalle is the only nominee for the one vacant seat in Prince Rupert County.

Michael Brecknell, Robert Leverman and Peter Warmer have been nominated for the three seats open in Cariboo County. There still must be an election in Cariboo as one seat is for a one year term and two for three year terms.

For the five seats available in Vancouver the nominees are: Ed ward Barnes; Russell Chamberlain; Eric Dolden; Gary Fitzpatrick; Thomas Gove; Richard Lindsay; John Mcintyre; Edward McWhinney; David Mossop; Glen Orris; Marina Pratchett; Mark Steven; Theresa Stowe; Geoffrey Thompson; Karl Warner; and Bruce Woolley.

For the two seats open in Victoria County the members nominated are: Barry Browning; Mark Lindholm; David MacLeod; Martha McNeely; and Alan Peterson.

In Westminster County Therese Alexander; Gary Cohen; Craig Goebel; Ron Piters; and Wendy Young have been nominated for the two seats open in this county.

For the two vacant seats in Yale County Elaine Dixon; Glenn Einfeld; Glenn Henderson; Howard Pontious; and Gary Woitas have been nominated.

Neil Robertson and Richard Ellsay have been nominated for the one vacancy in Kootenay County.

On June 23rd Provincial Council will also elect the remaining officers of the B.C. Branch.

Provincial Council will elect a Vice-President, Secretary I Treasurer and four members-atlarge to the Branch Executive.

To be eligible candidates must either be elected members of Council or members elect.

All officers of the Branch and newly elected members of Council will take office on August 24th this year.

Provincial Council A survey shows that while court services facilities in British Columbia are generally better today than 10 years ago, older facilities need upgrading, the Provincial Council of the CBA' s B.C. Branch has been told.

Barry Davies of Kelowna told a council meeting April 8th that more than 700 responses were received from the legal profession in the survey, conducted by the Court Services Committee to identify the adequacy of court facilities in the province.

Davies said the survey showed female facilities are inadequate in some areas and non-€xistent in others.

He said the report is now in the hands of the Attorney General's ministry, which did not have an inventory.

Gordon Turriff of Vancouver, co-chairman of the joint committee on court services established by the B.C. Branch and the ministry, said the committee has been addressing complaints of delays in getting money out of the court system once it has been paid into court. Delays of six to eight weeks were not uncommon.

He said the responsibility for money paid into court registries will be transferred to the Attorney General's ministry from the finance ministry and

that should help solve the problem.

Turriff also said the committee has been working with court services on the subject of implementing French language trials in the province. He said 18 B.C. lawyers have expressed an interest in conducting trials in French.

In other business, Council decided to recommend to the Branch's Annual Meeting June 23rd that the Branch by-laws be amended to provide for ten additional elected members of Council.

Under national CBA by-laws, numbers of Council members vary with the number of lawyers in each province. The number of lawyers in B.C. is expected to surpass 7,000 in the next few months, qualifying the branch for 60 elected Council members compared with the current 50.

Among other matters, Council: • Nominated Russell Lusk , Vancouver as its candidate for President of the B.C. Branch.

• Took a "straw poll" in favour of Victoria as the site of next year's winter meeting. Branch President Jim Vilvang congratulated Barry Browning of Victoria and his committee for the high quality and success of this year's mee ting in Victoria, attended bv 286 members of the branch. Total attendance with families and guests exceeded 500.

• Heard from Parker MacCarthv of Nanaimo on the issue of p~ralegals. MacCarthy, who is working on committees at both the provincial and national levels, said the American Bar Association has been almost paralyzed on how to deal with the issue for two reasons- fear of anti-trust legislation, and fear of being seen as trying to protect "its own v · He said it is the "non-authm.dd intrusion into the practise of law" that's of concern.

Municipal Insurance Association of B.C.: An answer to local government liability?

system was also set up based on population given that the Association did not have any claims history.

The Municipal Insurance Association of B.C. was the result of a three point liability action program conceived by the Union of B.C. Municipalities (during 1985-86) when it became necessary for the Union to look at the prospect of self-insuring.

Richard Taylor, Secretary of the Union of B.C. Municipalities addressed Insurance Section members on the evolution of this undertaking.

Only recently are Canadian courts tackling the ethical concerns faced by counsel acting for both insurer and insured

The Reciprocal Insurance Exchange Agreement binds the members. The two main features of this Agreement are the minimum three year membership requirement and the stipulation that assessibility continue forever. Claims and policy handling is contracted out to Marsh McLennan.

After one year of operation the Association has experienced 144 claims, 95% involving amounts less than $1,000. Although $26,000 has been paid out so far, this has not come from the Association. Eighty percent of B.C. Municipalities have become members of the Association at this point. Municipalities continue to enroll as their current insurance policies expire. The Association has been unable to attract Regional Districts or Municipalities who have selfinsured, such as the City of Vancouver and the Municipality of Burnaby.

Some of the main areas of concern for the Association are E. and O.E. coverage for building inspectors and fire suppression claims. The tiered loss allocation

Gordon Hilliker, J.J. Camp and Don Yule participated in a thought-provoking debate on the above topic in a recent joint meeting of the Construction and Insurance Law Sections. Mr. Hilliker expressed the view that the key to resolving most ethical issues faced by counsel for the insurer /insured is found in the answer to two questions: 1. Who is your client? and

2. What is the scope of your retainer?

First, in Mr. Hilliker's view, counsel is working for two clients; as a practical matter it is likely that counsel has an ongoing relationship with the insurer and, also, even though you are retained by the insurer to defend their insured, the insurer looks to counsel for legal advice and instructs in the conduct of the defence.

Second, the scope of counsel's retainer should be to jointly represent the insurer and the insured on the issues of whether the insured, as a defendant, is liable to the plaintiff and, if so, in what amount. Problems arise if counsel accepts a retainer that is broader than this.

New Attorney General providing new climate Ior Legal Aid Ace Henderson, former Legal Services Society Board Chairman, reported to Vancouver Criminal Justice Section members that the Legal Aid Task Force is encouraged by the levels of funding to be provided by the government. He indicated that the ultimate goal was to obtain a legal aid tariff which is 75% of the fees of an average lawyer appearing for an average client of modest means.

He hoped to achieve this level of remuneration in two to three years. Section members were called upon to provide support and data in order to set out the necessary limits to establish the 75% rule. He reported that criminal law tariffs were 27% below the target figure.

Mr. Henderson also noted a number of changes in the legal aid system and facilities. Legal aid is taking steps to pay lawyers' accounts within 30 days. Family law offices at Maple Ridge, Terrace and Cranbrook have recently reopened due to an influx of funding.

Chief Justice McLachlin and Mr. Justice Macdonald very positive about uses of Rule 18A In addressing Civil Litigation Section members Chief Justice McLachlin and Mr. Justice Macdonald reviewed some of the developing case law considering the use of Rule 18A. Mr. Justice Macdonald noted that a

4

recent computer search disclosed almost 300 written decisions involving Rule 18A applications during the last 20 months. However, he found that recently the tide had been turning in favour of the conservative approach toward the Rule which was first expounded in the dissent of Lambert, J.A. in Golden Gate Seafood v. Osborn (1986), 1 B.C.L.R. (2d) 145, namely "Summary Judgments should not be granted under Rule 18A unless it is clear that a trial in the usual way could not possibly make any difference to the outcome."

Mr. Justice Macdonald commented that, while the Golden and the LaFleur cases will provide plenty of excuse for a reluctant trial Judge to duck the application of Rule 18A in a given case, if the trial courts of this province are to cope with the current flood of litigation many different devices will have to be employed. Most of these devices will necessitate some derogation from the traditional litigation processes we have all come to know.

The courts will go to great lengths to attempt to carry out the wishes of the testator In the case of Re Cedar, unreported, B.C.S.C. (February, 1988), Victoria, the deceased's will was witnessed by a local credit union employee at the counter. The second witness signed the will in a separate office thirty feet away. His Honour Judge Hutchinson held that the will was validly executed because there was "tacit acknowledgment by the testator in the presence of the second witness that the first witness and the testator had earlier signed

the will." In addressing Victoria Wills and Estates Section members, Terry Swan commented on how the courts will make the best of a bad situation and attempt to carry out the wishes of a testator.

Attorney General wishes to impleme; report of Hughes Justice Reform Commission in draft legislation by Spring 19E9

Authorities likely to rely increasingly on the ROwers of search inciaental to arrest to justify their searches Thomas Bums spoke to Vancouver Criminal Justice Section members on search incidental to arrest. In labelling the law in this area as a "growth industry", he commented that as counsel become increasingly aware of possible ways to restrict police search powers, the authorities are likely to rely more heavily on the powers of search incidental to arrest to justify their searches. He predicted that courts may require a threshold test of reasonableness before allowing an officer to search a third party because the intrusion on its face appears to be more draconian. However, he did not foresee that the courts will require any belief by the officer that the person arrested has access to weapons or destructible evidence as a prerequisite of a full search incidental to a lawful arrest, because of the inability of individuals to adequately predict violence by arrested persons. In short, the risk to the officer is so great that it justifies the momentary inconvenience of a search incidental to an arrest. Consequently, Mr. Bums anticipated that officers will be given broad powers to search for weapons on the accused person or within his or her immediate area and on third parties. Reasonableness will limit only the manner in which the search is conducted.

.

The Hughes Commission made 53 recommendations respecting family law. Some are as follows: The B.C.S.C. should have exclusive jurisdiction over all Family Relations Act and Divorce Act, 1985 matters. Provincial Court Judges should be appointed Masters of the B.C.S.C. and in that capacity should continue to hear the types of cases they now hear. There should, however, be no permanent specialization of Supreme Court Judges in the area of family law. Masters should hear procedural pre-trial applications in Supreme Court family law matters and should conduct settlement conferences where appropriate. Suprerr Court Rules should incorpo a set of procedural rules for application in designated registries of the B.C.S.C. They should be standard across the province. Trial dates should be assigned without the need for appearance by the parties. There should be programs in place to provide legal counsel to participants in family Jaw proceedings who qualify financially. Brenda McCourt, Secretary of the Vancouver Family Law Section reminded members that now that the Hughes Commission is functus the best way to respond to the recommendations is through the subsection, and as soon as possible.

5

President-Elect

Russell Lusk At the AprilS, 1989 meeting of Provincial Council Russell Lusk was nominated by Council to the office of President of the B.C. Branch for 1989/90 year. As the deadline for filing alternate nominations for the office of President has expired Lusk can now be declared President-elect of the B.C. Branch and will take office on August 24th this year.

Lusk is a partner with the Vancouver law firm of Ladner Downs and has served in many capacities in the Canadian Bar Association.

Lusk has chaired the Provincial Civil Litigation Section, served as an elected member on the National and Provincial Council and has undertaken numerous committee appointments on behalf of both the Branch and the National Association.

He was elected member-at-large of the Branch Executive in 1986, as Secretary /Treasurer in 1987 and Vice-President in 1988.

Lusk served also on the National Executive of the CBA for the 1987/88 year.

BarTalk "A rose is a rose, is a rose .. ."

The name BarTalk was chosen for this publication because: • it avoided confusion with earlier Branch newsletters and those of other legal and Bar publications

• it is intended to be informative, but informal • it is easy to remember and distinctive • it is not intended to be a law review, nor conflict with either The Advocate or The National • it is for the B.C. Bar and by the B.C. Bar However, we obviously can't please everybody. One senior member of the Bar has suggested that the name is offensive and should be changed because he feels that there is nothing useful about bar talk and, therefore, the name is not appropriate.

If you have any definite views on the matter, please let us have them by writing the editor at the B.C. Branch office.

Legislative update Private Bills Upon occasion you may be asked to ad vise a person or association on how to have legislation enacted which is meant to affect the affairs of that person or association only, as opposed to the general public. Or you may be asked to act on behalf of a person or association wishing to raise objections to a Private Bill.

The procedure for Private Bills is set out clearly in the "Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly" (last amended March, 1987). This document is available in court house libraries, the Queen's Printer in Victoria or the Clerk of the House, Parliament Buildings, Victoria. Standing Orders applicable to Private Bills are located in Part II, 97-115. An excellent reference document explaining the Standing Orders is "Parliamentary Practice in British Columbia", Second Edition, 1987, by E. George MacMinn.

There are certain legal requirements and administrative reviews which must be satisfied

before a Private Bill can be introduced for First Reading.

Within 14 days after the opening of a Session, a petition in a prescribed form, 200 copies of the Bill, a fee of $500, a copy of the pre-published notice of the nature and objects of the proposed Bill, the authority of the agent or attorney of the applicant and the name of the member of the legislature sponsoring the introduction of the Bill must be filed with the Clerk of the House. It is the responsibility of the applicant to find a member who will sponsor introduction.

There are very specific prepublication requirements for the notice which must be complied with. (Standing Order 98) Counsel should pay special attention to these requirements.

If some requirement of the Standing Orders has not been met, Standing Order 104(2) gives authority to waive the requirements.

A copy of the Bill will be forwarded to Legislative Counsel who will review the Bill and make comments on the drafting style of the Bill or any implications arising from the Bill which may affect public acts. The applicant must pay the cost of the printing of the Private Bill by the Queen's Printer.

Standing Order 103 provides that a person who objects to a Private Bill and whose interest or property may be affected bt; it may be permitted to appear before the Select Standing Committee on Standing Orders, Private Bills and Members' Services provided that the applicant and the Committee shall first have received in writing at least three days' notice of the nature of such objection. This Committee of the House is selected at the commencement of each Session of the Legislative Assembly.

As counsel representing an objector, it is important to monitor the introduction of the Private Bill for First Reading and to monitor the notices posted for

6

the sitting of this Committee in order that the necessary three day notice might be given. Five days' notice of the Select Standing Committee's meeting will be posted in the lobbies of the House by the Clerk of the House and will be printed in the Votes and Proceedings of the day of the posting and in Orders of the Day until the day after such meeting. "Votes and Proceedings" and "Orders of the Day" are official publications of the House recording the business of the House on a daily basis. If you are concerned about missing a notice, it may be wise to telephone the Clerk of the House or his Law Clerk to advise of your client's interest and to request that you be notified immediately of any meeting date. You will find the Clerk of the House and his Law Clerks to be very helpful in explaining the process.

The Select Standing Committee will hear submissions from the applicant and objectors at their meeting. Counsel are allowed to represent their clients at this meeting. The members will often ask questions to clarify the positions of the parties. You can probably expect the applicant and objector to be encouraged by the Committee to try to reach some consensus or agreement on contentious issues in the proposed Bill. The Committee's job is to report back to the House on its findings- with a favourable or unfavourable report- and in the former case, with or without amendments. All decisions are by a majority of votes including that of the Chairman. If the report is favourable, the Bill will be placed on the Orders of the Day for Second Reading. From that point forward the procedure is the same as for Public Bills.

Regulations to Note Assessment Authority Act, B.C. Reg. 497/77, s. 4 is repealed and replaced with the setting of new relationships between rates on different classes of property. (see also s. 15 of the Act) See

also British Columbia Transit Act, B.C. Reg. 51/80, s. 19(1) and (2); Hospital District Act, B.C. Reg. 406 / 82, s. 2; Municipal Finance Authority Act, B.C. Reg. 63 I 84, s. 1. effective March 10, 1989

British Columbia Transit Act, B.C. Reg. 75/89, respecting taxes referred to in ss. 11.1,12 and 14 of the Act. effective March 31 and April1, 1989

Forest Act, B.C. Reg. 356/ 87, s. 2 is amended by repealing and replacing the Table in the Royalty Rate Regulation. effective April1, 1989

Guaranteed Available Income for Need Act, Schedule E of B.C. Reg. 479/76, s. 5 is repealed and replaced with the following: 5. Administering authorities may authorize payment of special subsidies for day care services for children with special needs. effective March 6, 1989

B.C. Reg. 479/76, Schedule A is amended varying allowances and assistance rates. effective April1, 1989

Hospital Insurance Act, B.C. Reg. 25/61, is amended ins. 5.22 by excluding from the definition of medical services covered under the Act, the reversal of previous sterilization procedures unless the sterilization was originally caused by trauma. effective March 1, 1989

Liquor Control and Licensing Act, B.C. Reg. 608/76, s. 17(7)(c) is extended to provide that a "G license" store may only sell beer, wine, cider or coolers produced in British Columbia or wine, cider or coolers produced outside Canada. effective April1, 1989

Motor Vehicle Act, B.C. Reg. 26/58, is amended in Schedule 1 respecting signs for maximum speed. effective March 10, 1989

B.C. Reg. 26/58, is amended with miscellaneous changes

respecting the road safety of vehicles. effective April1, 1989

Petroleum and Natural Gas Act, B.C. Reg. 222/88, is amended providing, inter alia, for approval of exemptions from payment of royalties and B.C. Reg. 628/76, the Drilling and Production Regulation, is amended. effective April1, 1989

Railway Act, B.C. Reg. 463/59, is repealed; Regulations adopted

by Ministerial Certificates 1097 and 3914 are repealed and Part XII Storage, Handling and Transportation of Dangerous Goods by Railway is enacted.

Regulations made by the Canadian Transportation Commission are adopted by Reference.

\

effective April 7, 1989

Social Service Tax Act, B.C. Reg. 84/58, s. 3.14 (Transfers between parent and subsidiary corporation), s. 3.14.1 (purchase by new corporations) and s. 3.14.2 (Barrier to exemptior are amended. effective March 6, 1989

Waste Management Act, B.C. Reg. 67/89, is enacted respecting the Sulphur Content of Fuel and establishing an offence for contravention. effective March 21, 1989

The following fee schedules were amended effective April1, 1989:

Commodity Contract Act, B.C. Reg. 350/85, s. 2 is amended respecting fees to be paid under the Act. Health Emergency Act, B.C. Reg. 471/74, Table ins. 2 is repealed and replaced respecting travel charges.

Marriage Act, B.C. Reg. 516/81, s. 2 is amended by increasing fees under the Act. Motor Vehicle Act, B.C. Reg. 483/83, s. 11 is amender'providing a new fee schedul, vehicle inspections.

--1

7

Securities Act, B.C. Reg. 270/86, s. 183 is amended respecting fees charged under the Act.

Legislation to Note Family Relations Amendment Act, S.B.C. 1988, c. 36, is brought into force respecting child paternity and support matters. [Note: Child Paternity and Support Act repealed.]

serving on the Branch Executive.

One of his last major assignments at the national level was to chair the CBA Committee on Judicial Appointments. Camp is also chairing the Planning Committee for the National Convention of CBA to be held in Vancouver, August 20-24th at the new Trade and Convention Centre.

effective April1, 1989

Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, S.B.C. 1986, c. 19, s. 4 is brought into force which increases the automatic prohibition against driving, when convicted of certain offences, from 6 months to 12 months.

Madame Justice Beverley McLachlin

National Treasurer Madame Justice Beverley McLachlin

Former Branch President J.J. Camp is Treasurer-elect of the National Association and will take office on August 24th this year. Camp was the successful candidate winning out over Allan Cantor, a past President of the Manitoba Branch of the CBA. The National Treasurer is elected by the National Council.

The National Treasurer of the CBA serves one year in office and in the normal course would run for the position of National Vice-President. The National Vice-President becomes the President-elect of the CBA. J.J. Camp is well known to the organized Bar in this province.

He has served on countless committees, both at the Branch and National levels in addition to being a Provincial and National Section Chairman, elected member of Council and

The Branch has appointed a small committee to provide input in drafting the position paper which will then be distributed to the profession for comment.

The initial plan at this stage is to see that the paper is distributed to all the Local and County Bar Associations, the forty-two Sections of the B.C. Branch and members of the Branch Council.

During the summer months, comments on the paper will be requested from the profession.

The position paper and response from the profession will be the subject of a major debate for the September meeting of the Provincial Council.

effective April1, 1989

J.J. Camp

nology for court records and court reporting.

The appointment of the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia to the Supreme Court of Canada was universally acclaimed by the organized Bar in B.C. Madame Justice McLachlin was sworn in as a member of the Supreme Court of Canada on April15, 1989.

Prior to her departure to Ottawa tribute was paid to McLachlin at an informal reception organized by the Law Society on Tuesday, Aprilll, 1989. At the reception Branch President Jim Vilvang spoke on behalf of the CBA and noted the open and frank liaison that was quickly established by Madame Justice McLachlin during her brief tenure as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Court reporting and records The Court Services Division of the Ministry of Attorney General will be issuing a position paper sometime in June this year, which will outline all the various options of using modern tech-

Computer assisted legal research The B.C. Courthouse Library Society now has available for searching MEDLINE and a database containing whiplash awards.

MEDLINE, the major medical database produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, indexes over 3,000 medical journals from 1966 and covers a wide range of topics such as dentistry, pharmacology, psychiatry, cardiology, pediatrics, orthopedics, etc.

MEDLINE is very useful for research in medical malpractice or personal injury actions.

The Whiplash Database contains B.C. cases indexed by judge, quantum and severity of whiplash. A case profile containing cause, judge, date, court, registry number, general damages, age, sex and occupation of the plaintiff, whiplash severity and recovery period is provided for each case. This database is made available free of charge through the Vancouver Court

l

8

House Library by the expert systems team of the Law and Computers Project at the University of British Columbia.

Any lawyer throughout the province may request a MEDLINE or whiplash search or a search on any legal database by contacting the Vancouver Court House Library at 6602841.

New Branch Sections Provincial Council approved the formation of a new Real Property Section for the Okanagan Valley and a section for Alternate Dispute Resolutions. This brings the total of Branch Sections to 42.

Members interested in the Real Property Section for the Okanagan Valley should get in touch with Howard Berge, Berge, Thiessen & Company, P.O. Box 730, Kelowna, B.C., V1 Y 7P4, (604) 762-4222.

Bonita Thompson will organize the Alternate Dispute Resolution Section and members who would like to join this new section should get in touch with Bonita at Singleton, Urquhart, 1200- 1125 Howe Street, Vancouver, B.C., V6Z 2K8, (604) 682-7474.

In early July the B.C. Branch office will do a general mailing to all members requesting that they register for sections of their choice. Watch for this mailing as there will be a deadline for registering. Members who do not register by the end of August this year will find their names automatically dropped from section mailing lists.

It is estimated that over 2,700

members of the Branch participate in one or more sections.

Section activities are without a doubt one of the major priorities and resources available to the practicing bar.

Branch Annual Meeting An advance notice has been mailed to the profession with some preliminary details of the Annual Meetings of both the B.C. Branch and the Law Society of B.C. scheduled for the same day, Friday, June 23, 1989.

More information will be mailed to the membership from the B.C. Branch office towards the end of May. For the first time both the Law Society and the B.C. Branch will hold their respective Annual Meetings on the same day. The Annual Meeting of the Branch will be held during the morning and will terminate no later than 12:00 noon.

The Law Society will host a luncheon for its Annual Meeting at the noon hour.

In the afternoon the Provincial Council of the B.C. Branch will meet after the Law Society Annual Meeting has terminated.

Members may attend the Annual Meetings without the payment of any registration fee.

All meetings will be held at the Meridien Hotel in Vancouver and a block of rooms has been set aside for members requiring hotel accommodations.

Members must make their own reservations at the hotel but advise the hotel that yau are attending the Annual Meetings as a special rate has been negotiated.

Branch By-laws The Annual Meeting of the B.C. Branch on June 23, 1989 will be asked to give approval to extensive revisions to the By-laws of the B.C. Branch.

The major change is to increase the size of the Provincial Council by adding ten more elected members. Under the By-laws of

the National Association, the B.C. Branch will automatically be entitled to 60 elected members on Council compared with the current SO when the Branch membership reaches 7,000. It is expected that the membership will reach this level by the end of the year.

The other changes in the By-laws are more of a housekeeping nature to bring the Branch Bylaws into conformity with the changes made in the National By-laws over the past few years.

New Appointments At the request of the Curriculum Division of the Ministry of Education in Victoria the Branch Executive has appointed KerriLynne Ferris to serve as the Branch representative on the Advisory Committee for the Law 12 program in the secondary school system.

B.C. Dates Unless otherwise indicated, the contact is the B.C. Branch office.

June 23, 1989 B.C. Branch, CBA Annual Meeting Meridien Hotel Vancouver June 23, 1989 B.C. Branch, CBA Provincial Council Meridien Hotel Vancouver June 23, 1989 Law Society of B.C. Annual Meeting Meridien Hotel Vancouver Contact Law Society at 669-2533