News & Publications Results

Supreme Court of British Columbia Upholds Unequal Reduction of Benefits in Multi-Employer Plan.

The Business Corporations Act (Alberta) has been amended to provide for the establishment of unlimited liability corporations (ULCs), which have been used for cross-border tax planning for a number of years. Lawson Lundell has extensive experience in structuring transactions that utilize ULCs.

A hallmark of the assessment and taxation of property in B.C. is the principle of equity: taxing authorities must deal even-handedly with all taxpayers in a municipality or rural area, and all taxpayers within a class must be treated in the same way. This is a brief overview of the statutory basis of duties and powers of the Assessor and the Board in the context of recent developments in the case law concerning the application of equity in assessments, and some practical observations on the use of equity in an assessment appeal.

A brief overview of the principles of classification of industrial properties in the context of a review of recent classification decisions. Under s. 19(14) of the B.C. Assessment Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 20 and the Prescribed Classes of Property Regulation (B.C. Reg. 438/81), real property in B.C. is classified for the purposes of assessment and taxation into one or more of eight property classes.

New Federal Plan for Kyoto Commitment Implementation.

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

Unlimited Liability Companies (“ULC”) have become useful vehicles for the acquisition of a Canadian business by a U.S. investor. This paper summarizes the advantages of using a ULC, the treatment of a ULC in Canada and in the U.S. and the use of a ULC in a factual setting involving the acquisition of a Canadian business.

This topic addresses some recent high profile pension and benefit stories involving mergers and acquisitions, then sets out ways that organizations can identify legal risks associated with pension and benefit plans and then how to address them with action before, during, and after the transaction.

On March 24, 2005, Bill C-43 was tabled in the House of Commons. Parts 13, 14 and 15 of Bill C-43 contain federal government measures for implementation of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Kyoto Protocol came into force on February 16, 2005.

In September 2004 the Canadian Bar Association offered an online CLE entitled "An Insider's Guide to Class Certification", presented by Rod Hayley and Ward Branch.

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

Two 2004 Supreme Court of Canada decisions in Haida Nation and Taku River Tlingit have provided greater clarity regarding the role and responsibilities of government, aboriginal groups and industry in consultations with aboriginal communities and accommodation of aboriginal concerns.

This paper is intended as an introduction to the subject of diamond royalties and marketing agreements in Canada. Diamonds are marketed and sold on the basis of the distinctive characteristics of each stone. The process of diamond sales therefore involves a degree of subjectivity absent from fungible mineral commodity sales in the international commodities market where published prices are readily available.. The paper briefly discusses diamond geology, diamond production and diamond marketing practices. It will then address the use of diamond royalty agreements and diamond marketing agreements in Canada and present practical guidance for transactional attorneys regarding the specific issues which should be considered in drafting these documents.

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

Since the mid-1980s litigation has been a fact of life for pension and employee benefit plan administrators and sponsors. However, there is a widely shared impression that the scope and frequency of such litigation is increasing. The purpose of this paper is to examine more closely this increase in pension and benefit litigation in Canada, and to comment on the role class action legislation may have had on this phenomenon.

Article based on an interview with Edward L. Wilson which appeared in the Volume 13, Number 2 June 2004 issue of The Scrivener, which is published quarterly by The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia.

Each type of royalty creates different advantages and disadvantages for the royalty owner and the operator. It is particularly interesting to compare and contrast a net smelter returns royalty (NSR) with a net profits interest (NPI).

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

The electric systems of Alberta and British Columbia are interconnected through three transmission lines, and all three are treated for operational purposes as a single line. For the purpose of this discussion, these interconnections will be referred to collectively as the Alberta-BC Interconnection, or the Intertie.

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.