Legislative Updates

By Order in Council 559/2022, the BC government has announced that the Provincial Court Child, Family and Community Service Act Rules will be amended on December 19, 2022.

In January 2023, the provincial government will implement changes to the Property Law Act to make the Home Buyer Rescission Period, commonly referred to as the ‘cooling-off period’, mandatory for residential real estate transactions. These amendments are intended to protect homebuyers.

On October 26, the provincial government introduced Bill 38, the Indigenous Self-Government in Child and Family Services Amendment Act. The Bill proposes amendments to the Adoption Act and the Child, Family and Community Service Act.

On June 27, 2022, the provincial government issued an Order in Council confirming amendments made to the Supreme Court Civil Rule dealing with probate and administration. These changes came into effect October 3, 2022, and reflect changes to the Wills, Estates and Succession Act.

Bill 27 - Attorney General Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2) 2022, was introduced in the legislative assembly on Oct. 3. CBABC advocated for these changes to increasing access to justice by making electronic witnessing of enduring powers of attorney and representation agreements permanent.