Archive for the ‘Business Law’ Category
Effective September 30, 2023, many of the COVID-related measures implemented by the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia will be retired.
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As of October 1, 2020, private companies in British Columbia have been required to comply with disclosure requirements regarding their company’s beneficial ownership and control with the purpose of increasing corporate transparency to end hidden ownership.
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Pushor Mitchell partner Keith Inman is pleased to announce that he has been appointed to the board of directors of VR Resources Ltd.
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If you have a corporation governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act, there are proposed increased transparency requirements that you should be aware of.
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The Canadian Securities Exchange (the “CSE”) has adopted significant amendments to its policies, as well as additional clarity, which should prove useful to management of listed issuers.
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The British Columbia Small Business Venture Capital Act creates two programs designed to encourage investment in early-stage companies in emerging industries in British Columbia: the Venture Capital Corporation program and the Eligible Business Corporation program.
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The Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, S.C. 2022, c. 10, s. 235 (the “Act”) was passed and came into effect on January 1, 2023.
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Further clarifications released for Canada's Foreign Home Buyer Ban and the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act.
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Beginning January 1, 2023, the federal government’s Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act (the “Act”) will come into effect across Canada, resulting in what is being referred to as the foreign home buyer ban.
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The Canada Business Corporations Act (“CBCA”) was amended effective August 31, 2022 to require shareholders of a public company governed by such legislation to vote “for” or “against” directors at annual meetings of shareholders.
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Anyone who is contemplating selling their business should start the planning process early in order to maximize the value that a third party will pay.
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Over 80% of businesses around the world are family-owned businesses. Specifically, Canada’s family businesses employ 4.7 million full-time employees, and the total annual sales of Canadian family businesses is $1.3 trillion.
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There is a new publicly searchable registry in British Columbia – the Land Owner Transparency Registry. This Registry has been around for almost a year, but there is an upcoming deadline.
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For a host of reasons, folks often enter contracts through verbal agreement either not fully appreciating that they are entering into a binding contractual relationship or because one or more parties has refused to agree to reduce the contract to writing.
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Intra-company disputes often involve two broad categories of remedies: oppression: where a minority shareholder claims they are being disadvantaged by the majority in some fashion and seek to have the court exercise its broad statutory discretion to correct the issue; and derivative actions: where a shareholder or director seeks to have the court compel a […]
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It is a common question: when you lend someone money, they use that money to purchase land and the money is not paid back, can you somehow secure repayment by encumbering title to the land?
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The B.C. government is taking over the running of the provincial homeowner grant from municipalities.
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In 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada in Bhasin v. Hrynew affirmed the existence of a duty of honest contractual performance.
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In my earlier article, Defamation, the Protection of Public Participation Act and Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, I wrote about the Protection of Public Participation Act (the “PPPA”), a piece of legislation aimed at combating strategy lawsuits against public participation (“SLAPPs”).
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As discussed in my previous article, COVID-19, Builders Liens and Limitation Periods, since March 26, 2020, limitation periods in BC were suspended. This suspension was listed as of April 15, 2020 for builders lien issues.
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As discussed in my previous articles, the Builders Lien Act creates extraordinary remedies and, as such, requires extraordinary attention be paid to complying with its requirements.
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Corporate interest holders in British Columbia are now likely familiar with the recently introduced disclosure requirements implemented by the province for companies.
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Over the past few months there has been a substantial increase in real estate activity.
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When looking a buying a business, buyers will often request that the sellers refrain from competing with the business for a period of time after completion of the sale.
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Employees can be an organization’s greatest asset but also – in the circumstances of a corporate transaction – its greatest liability.
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Often times parties to a contract have a less than clear understanding of many of the principles of contractual law.
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COVID-19 has posed great challenges for employers who are facing an interruption, modification, or perhaps even a closure of their businesses.
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Recent changes under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) as of June 30, 2020 have resulted in the formation of a new type of company know as a “benefit company”.
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On January 21, 2014, Mr. and Ms. Schellenberg suffered losses when a building on their property was damaged by a fire.
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As was discussed in my previous article, Property, Parties, Price – How Far the Court Will Go to Insert the 3 P’s of Real Estate into a Contract, it is critical that parties to a contract of purchase and sale for real property take the time to properly document the terms of their contract.
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On March 17, 2020, Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer, declared a public health emergency. The following day, March 18, 2020, Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, declared a provincial state of emergency to support a province wide response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This signaled the closing of many BC business and the resulting layoff of employees.
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As the court observed in its recent decision, All Out Contracting Ltd. v Gourlay, 2020 BCSC 481 (CanLII) (“All Out”), construction work begins before the owner(s) and contractor properly define their contractual relationship, if they ever do so
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The BC Government has announced its phased approach to reopening businesses. The BC Government has partnered with WorkSafeBC to develop resources and general guides to assist in the transition from virus-related lockdown to carefully restarting social and commercial life.
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Unprecedented times have called for unprecedented measures. Now, we see a flicker of light at the end of tunnel as BC has released its plan for easing the restrictions.
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In our March edition of our Legal Alert, I wrote about the new disclosure requirements for BC companies to provide information regarding their beneficial ownership and control.
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All British Columbia and federal corporations in Canada are required to complete annual filings with their respective corporate registry.
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I have received numerous questions from clients worried about how and when to hold their annual general meetings.
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Though these are challenging times for business owners, Pushor Mitchell’s lawyers are here to help. We strive to offer you suggestions and practical legal advice to keep you on track.
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As part of a multinational commitment to end hidden ownership of companies, there are new requirements under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the “Act”) regarding beneficial ownership and control of companies which comes into effect May 1, 2020.
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Pre-judgment garnishment is a powerful remedy that allows a creditor to secure their claims by garnishing funds owed to a debtor and holding them in court pending a further order or agreement of the parties.
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When would-be homeowners obtain home inspections, they place a great deal of reliance on the inspection report they receive.
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COVID-19 has resulted in a number of issues which put the performance of purchase contracts for real property at risk.
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Until COVID-19, many business people had not heard about or given much consideration to force majeure clauses in their business contracts.
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On March 25, 2019, the Protection of Public Participation Act was assented to bringing into force legislation aimed at combating strategy lawsuits against public participation.
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Getting a judgment isn’t the only challenging aspect of a legal dispute; collecting on a judgment can present a whole new set of challenges.
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As you may be aware, as part of a multinational initiative to combat money laundering and tax evasion, there are new requirements under the Canada Business Corporations Act regarding beneficial ownership of federal corporations.
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There are innumerable reasons that parties may find themselves co-owning real property with friends, family or business partners and just as many reasons why that co-ownership relationship may turn sour.
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In even the most well-thought out construction contracts, there is almost always the need for parties to deviate in some way from the timelines and scope of work.
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While a contract can be formed by any combination of communications and oral and verbal agreements, it remains the most prudent course of action to reduce a contract to writing to avoid any ambiguities about what has or has not been agreed to.
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One of the more difficult issues in contractual disputes is sorting out what rights and obligations continue to exist when a party to a contract breaches the terms of the contract.
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When a builders’ lien is filed, it can cause all manner of disruptions to financial, contractual and business relations
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In my previous article, Builders Liens: Strict Compliance or Lose Your Lien, I explored how a family company lost its lien rights by making the mistake of pursuing its lien in the name of its principal rather than the company.
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In a number of previous articles, I have explored some of the difficulties encountered where parties fail to properly set out the contractual terms that dictate the rights and responsibilities between them.
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Often times parties will turn to friends, family, acquaintances or business relations to seek funds to borrow rather than a bank or other lending institution.
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One of the most frequent mistakes people make in entering contracts is in making incorrect assumptions about what is or is not included in a contract.
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As discussed in a previous article, settlement agreements are effectively contracts which can be enforced through legal action and replace whatever legal, contractual or equitable rights were involved in the fight that preceded settlement.
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One of the frequent issues encountered in contractual litigation is parties failing to negotiate and set to writing the contractual obligations that exist between them.
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Most people familiar with the purchase and sale of real property are familiar with subject to clauses, the full legal significance of such clauses can be a source of confusion.
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Often times, parties will get to the edge of entering into contractual relations, but miss the steps required to form a contractual agreement.
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As discussed in my previous article, Invitations to Tender: Why it is Important Both Bidders and Solicitors to Follow Proper Process, the solicitation of bids for public projects must follow a fair and transparent process.
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A fiduciary relationship is a relationship in which one party places distinct trust, confidence and dependence on another.
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Government and non-government actors that solicit bids for contractors for management or construction projects must follow a fair and transparent process for doing so.
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Insurance is an important tool allowing landlords and tenants to allocate risk in a commercial lease. Here are some recommendations:
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Settlement agreements that conclude litigation are often reached once the parties have gotten to a point of a loss of faith in one another or a complete breakdown in whatever relationship they may have enjoyed pre-litigation.
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The intersection of defamation and social media remains a minefield and social media users are well-advised to treat social media posts no differently from any other form of publication.
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The purpose of security in a commercial financing transaction is to give the lender comfort (or security) that the lender will have access to assets if the borrower fails to meet its repayment commitments.
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In the recent decision of Alton v Lower Mainland Motocross Club, the court ultimately determined to uphold a liability waiver and the decision reiterates the law applying to liability waivers.
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Premier John Horgan recently announced that the minimum wage rate in British Columbia will rise to $15 per hour by 2021
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All owners associations must file Societies Act transition paperwork by November 2018.
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Contracts for the purchase and sale of real property and many other commercial contracts contain a clause that says in respect of certain or all contractual obligations that “time is of the essence.”
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It can be frustrating for homeowners dealing with inadequate contractors that the controlling mind/primary owner of the company can hide behind their corporation to avoid personal liability.
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A builders lien can be an effective, powerful and inexpensive tool for helping unpaid contractors, subcontractors, suppliers receive payment for their materials and services.
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Effective November 28, 2016, the new Societies Act comes into force and governs how societies are formed and operate in British Columbia.
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Save the Date because on November 28, 2016 the re-vamped Societies Act will come into effect.
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In this article we will briefly examine a situation in which a director sits on two different, but industry-related, boards.
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The BC Government has passed a new Societies Act, which is expected to be brought into force in November of 2016.
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On May 14, 2015, Bill 24 - 2015: Societies Act (the “Societies Act”), received Royal Assent.
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So you’ve incorporated a company in which you and your fellow founders own shares. Business is booming and things are going great, but they may not stay that way forever.
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The legal concept of “joint and several liability” confuses many people. As the name suggests, where “joint and several liability” applies, liability is both...
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For those looking to get into business, starting from scratch is not always the best option.
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Looking to set up a new child care facility? The BC Government recently introduced a new program called “Child Care Major Capital Funding” for the creation of new licensed child care spaces.
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The B.C. Ministry of Agriculture has prepared a discussion paper to seek input into a draft Minister's Bylaw Standard to assist local government bylaw development.
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Most financial advisors provide exactly the kind of service you would expect: they provide you options for investing your money and inform you of the risks and rewards involved with choosing an investment vehicle or personal financial restructuring.
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Many people confuse trade names and trade-marks and think they acquire trade-mark rights by virtue of having a trade name.
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One of the earliest legal decisions founders of a new enterprise must make is one which has repercussions throughout the lifetime of the business. That decision is known as the choice of entity. When it comes to choosing a business structure, there is no such thing as “one-size-fits-all”. As such, lawyers and their clients must […]
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A not-for-profit organization in Canada that wishes to incorporate can choose to incorporate provincially/territorially (under the legislation of a specific province or territory), or federally (under Canadian federal legislation). There are reasons to choose one form over another and we will discuss those benefits in a later article. In this article, we will focus on […]
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There is an old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is almost never truer than when it comes to getting timely and competent legal advice. Very often people find themselves seeking the assistance of a litigator because at the beginning of a transaction or when a person became […]
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From Our Business Law Group – Acting for Swankies Gourmet Hot Dogs to help them establish franchises in Canada and internationally. We are also assisting Swankies with trademark applications. Swankies’ first location is in Kelowna, but the gourmet hot dog restaurant is quickly expanding.Find out more about our Business Law Group: http://www.pushormitchell.com/service/business-law.
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From Our Business Law Group – Acted for large northern BC timber product manufacturer in negotiating and finalizing agreements with an international lumber company. Find out more about our Business Law Group: http://www.pushormitchell.com/service/business-law
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Many people confuse trade names and trade-marks and think they acquire trade-mark rights by virtue of having a trade name.
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I am often asked “can I sell franchises?”. The short answer is “yes”. However, a potential franchisor needs to consider what is involved in franchising.
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From Our Business Law Group – Acting as counsel for various parties in the fruit growing and wine industries, including land owners, wineries, fruit processing, marketing and packing facilities. Find out more about our Business Law Group: www.pushormitchell.com/service/business-law
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From Our Business Law Group – Assisted area golf courses and ski resorts with their financings. Find out more about our Business Law Group: http://www.pushormitchell.com/service/business-law
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From Our Business Law Group – Represented a major bank providing financing to various car dealerships throughout British Columbia, including preparing all necessary security documents. The loans ranged in amount from $2,000,000 to $15,000,000.Find out more about our Business Law Group: www.pushormitchell.com/service/business-law
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From Our Business Law Group – Represented a Canadian mining company in the sale of its interests to a public American mining company.Find out more about our Business Law Group: www.pushormitchell.com/service/business-law
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From Our Business Law Group – Act as corporate counsel for a Western Canadian oil and gas company with projects across British Columbia, Albert and Saskatchewan. Find out more about our Business Law Group: http://www.pushormitchell.com/service/business-law
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