P A C I F I C B U S I N E S S & L A W I N S T I T U T E
Local Government 2012:
Recent Trends and Best Practices
May 3
rd& 4
th, 2012 • Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel • Vancouver, BC
Co-Chaired by
Donald Lidstone, Q.C.
Judy Rogers
Lidstone & Company
Local Government Consultant
Approved by
the Law Society of BC
for up to
10 hours
of
professional development credits
Local Government 2012:
Recent Trends and Best Practices
Risk and liability, labour and employment, policy and operations, aging infrastructure, community amenities, First
Nations, and new laws - these are just a few of the changing legal, economic, social and political conditions impacting
local governments. Keeping up to speed on changing conditions, laws and best practices is critical for local governments
if they are to accommodate and effectively manage these shifts.
This conference brings together experienced lawyers, local government officials, human resources advisors, risk managers
and engineers to provide you with the best tools to avoid liability, manage risk and deal with changing policy and an
aging workplace. Discuss challenges facing local governments and their advisors, get current on case law and recent
trends, and prepare yourself to manage risk.
Co-Chairs
Donald Lidstone, Q.C., Lidstone & Company, Vancouver, BC. Mr. Lidstone has practised generally in the area of municipal law since 1980, and worked at several esteemed law firms before moving to Lidstone & Company in 2009. His municipal law focus is in the areas of constitutional, administrative, and environmental law, particularly with respect to governance, land use/sustainable development, bylaws and resolutions, Aboriginal law, bylaw enforcement and bylaw attacks. He is a co-founder of the Sierra Legal Defence Fund/EcoJustice and Smart Growth BC. Invited to speak regularly at conferences, symposia and universities, he has chaired the Sustainable Region Initiative (Governance and Finance), Liquid Waste Expert Review Panel, Fire Services Review Panel, Whistler Waste Blue Ribbon Panel, and the Municipal Law Section of the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. Mr. Lidstone has published numerous papers and manuals and consulted on the development of the British Columbia Community Charter and other municipal statutes. He was designated Queen’s Counsel in 2008.
Judy Rogers, Local Government Consultant, Vancouver, BC. Ms. Rogers operates her own consulting firm providing advice to private, public, crown corporations, and not-for-profit agencies bringing expertise in government affairs and communication, relationship building and managing diversity in the workplace. Ms. Rogers held the role of City Manager of the City of Vancouver from 1999 to 2008. Notable achievements include winning two United Nations public service awards for City programs which she was instrumental in creating. It was also under Ms. Roger’s leadership that Vancouver won the right to host the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Currently, she is the Chair of the Board of LIFT Philanthropic Partners, Chair of the Board of Directors of the BC Assessment Authority, Chair of the UBC Alumni Association and is a member of the UBC President’s Strategic Advisory Council. She is past President of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada and is a past member of the International City Management Association and the Local Government Management Association of BC. Ms. Rogers is a recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Excellence in Public Service in BC. In 2010 she was awarded an honourary Doctorate of Laws from Capilano University.
• Local government mayors, officials, officers, councillors, managers and planners
• Municipal directors
• Municipal legal counsel
• Lawyers practising municipal, insurance or civil law
Who Should Attend:
• Important changes to legislation and regulations impacting local governments
• New case law – what you need to know
• Update on owner and occupier’s liability
• Current issues in municipal insurance
• Limiting liability and risk management
• Understanding the rules that apply in open and closed meetings
• Community amenities in development agreements
• Capacity issues in senior level management
• Keeping up with regulations related to water and sewer services
• Key considerations when developing contracts and agreements
• What you need to know about real estate transactions
• Important considerations for local governments dealing with First Nations
• Understanding the process of termination of local government officers and employees
• Capacity issues in senior level management
• Risk managers
• Developers and engineers
• Consultants to local governments
• Municipal insurance professionals: claims managers and directors, adjusters, underwriters, and examiners
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Beth Allard, Partner, Bull, Housser and Tupper LLP, Vancouver, BC. Ms. Allard’s practice focuses on liability defence work for design professionals, financial professionals, directors and officers and health-care professionals. A significant part of her practice also includes construction-related advice for owners, consultants and local governments, including tendering, project delivery and management, liens and dispute resolution. Ms. Allard also provides regulatory advice to professional and governmental regulatory bodies.
Tom Barnes, Executive Director and General Counsel, Municipal Insurance Association of British Columbia (“MIABC”), Vancouver, BC. Prior to his appointment with the MIABC, Mr. Barnes practised as a partner in the Vancouver firm of Barnes, Twining & Short. He founded Barnes Craig & Associates, a liability adjusting, claims management and litigation management consulting firm and spent more than ten years at one of BC’s leading insurance law firms. His areas of expertise include civil litigation concentrating primarily in the defence of municipalities and construction design consultants, construction disputes, municipal liability, professional negligence, environmental law and insurance coverage advice.
Daniel R. Bennett, Partner, Bull, Housser & Tupper LLP, Vancouver, BC. Mr. Bennett conducts a commercial litigation practice with extensive experience in corporate, real estate and natural resource matters. He was an adjunct professor at UBC Law School teaching legal writing and civil procedure from 1989 until 2005 and is a member of the Court Rules Revision Committee. Mr. Bennett has lectured extensively in continuing legal education programs on a variety of topics and is a former Chair of the Civil Litigation section of the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. He also co-authored the book Procedural Strategies for Litigators
in British Columbia and Alberta and is a member of both the Canadian and
American Bar Associations.
Kate Blomfield, Associate, Ratcliff & Company LLP, Vancouver, BC. Ms. Blomfield joined Ratcliff in 2003 after completing her LL.B at the University of Victoria and clerking with the Nunavut Court of Justice. As an associate at Ratcliff, Ms. Blomfield has focused on representing First Nations in litigation. She was counsel in Ahousaht et al. v.
Canada et al. 2009 BCSC 1494, in which the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations
successfully established their aboriginal rights to fish and to sell fish. This case was upheld by the BC Court of Appeal and leave is being sought to the Supreme Court of Canada by Canada. Ms. Blomfield has appeared in the BC Provincial Court, BC Supreme Court and in the Federal Court of Canada and has assisted with matters before the BC Court of Appeal. In 2009, Ms. Blomfield completed her LL.M in Law & Governance at Queen’s University, Belfast, on a Commonwealth Scholarship.
James R. Craven, Director, James R Craven and Associates Ltd., Sooke, BC. After 17 successful years as Executive Director of the Municipal Finance Authority of BC, Mr. Craven saw the opportunity to serve the municipal sector in BC in another meaningful way by assisting Local Government Associations and First Nations Associations in executive search. This vision has proven accurate and he has established this service with a large number of such organizations in BC for 10 years. Since 1985, Mr. Craven has been a mentor on a number of occasions for the Municipal Administrators Training Institute. He is co-creator of the First Nations Finance Authority, which presently serves 40 bands in Canada for investment pooling purposes. In 1999, Mr. Craven was awarded the Lieutenant-Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service.
Philip Huynh, Assistant City Solicitor, City of Surrey, Surrey, BC. Mr. Huynh is an Assistant City Solicitor and senior in-house litigator in matters ranging from judicial review of municipal conduct and bylaw challenges, to construction, breach of contract, procurement, personal injury, environmental, and land-use planning matters. He also provides general legal advice and solicitors’ services to the City. Mr. Huynh is called to the bars of British Columbia, Ontario, and New York. He graduated from the University of British Columbia with a J.D. in 1999. Prior to the City of Surrey, he practiced in large law firms in New York City and Toronto.
Michael McAllister, Partner, Murdy & McAllister Barristers and Solicitors, Vancouver, BC. Mr. McAllister has practised law exclusively on local government matters since 1988. Born in Nelson, BC, he is a lifelong BC resident. Mr. McAllister attended UBC where he received
The Faculty
a Bachelor of Social Work in 1977 and his Bachelor of Law Degree in 1987. After being called to the Bar of BC in 1988, he joined Murdy & McAllister. Over the past decade, his practice has narrowed to working exclusively on solicitor matters, focusing on general advice to local government and complex land development. Mr. McAllister is also active in the Municipal Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association. Throughout his career, he has given many lectures to a variety of continuing education programs.
Lindsay Nilsson, Risk Management Coordinator, Municipal Insurance Association of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. Ms. Nilsson was called to the Bar of BC in 2002. She worked at a prominent insurance defence firm for four years prior to working for the MIABC as a staff lawyer. Recently, she was appointed as Risk Management Coordinator. Ms. Nilsson has been with the MIABC since 2006.
Mike Nolan, Sector Leader, Water Supply & Treatment, Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd., Burnaby, BC. Mr. Nolan is a senior project manager specializing in community water supply and utility services. He currently leads KWL’s Water Supply & Treatment Sector; providing engineering advice and strategic direction to communities in the areas of water supply, infrastructure planning and land development. Mr. Nolan has over 25 years’ experience in consulting and local/regional government, utility management and operations. He has a Masters Degree in Water Resource Engineering and a degree in Civil Engineering. Mr. Nolan is a Past-President of the BC Water & Waste Association, Past-President of the Water Supply Association of BC, and is currently the BC Director for the American Water Works Association.
Lindsay Parcells, Lawyer, Lidstone & Company, Vancouver, BC. Mr. Parcells practises local government law with a particular interest in land use, real property, corporate, commercial, mediation and environmental matters. Mr. Parcells has 19 years of legal experience practising law onVancouver Island and in Calgary, Alberta. He was called to the Alberta Bar in 1992 and the BC Bar in 1995. Mr. Parcells completed a Masters degree in Municipal Law from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2009 and a combined LL.B and MBA from Dalhousie University in 1991. Before attending Law School, he served for one year as a legislative intern at the Alberta Provincial Legislature. Mr. Parcells is Treasurer on the Executive of the Municipal Law Section of the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association.
Kevin Ramsay, Chief Administrative Officer, District of Squamish, Squamish, BC. Mr. Ramsay’s 30 year local government career started with the City of Surrey, involved with infrastructure design and computer modeling. A 1984 move to the District of West Vancouver included engineering design & construction, and a five-year appointment as Waterworks Superintendent. Mr. Ramsay moved to the City of Vancouver in 1994 and could not hold any single job for very long but managed to create havoc as Safety Program Supervisor, Yards Superintendent, Manager of Waterworks Operations, Manager of Streets Operations, Manager of Sanitation Operations, Director of Emergency Management, and General Manager of Human Resources. In 2009 Mr. Ramsay accepted his current position, Chief Administrative Officer for the District of Squamish. Mr. Ramsay has developed and instructed an extensive number of courses.
Adriana F. Wills, Partner, Harris & Company LLP, Vancouver, BC. Ms. Wills represents a broad range of clients in both the private and public sectors, including clients in the local government sector. She provides the full scope of legal services to those clients including: strategic planning, risk management, collective bargaining, policy development, training, and advocacy. Ms. Wills considers effective legal advice to be contextual, taking into account not only the law, but also the client’s business objectives and realities. Ms. Wills has lectured and presented extensively.
Tom Zworski, City Solicitor, City of Victoria, Victoria, BC. Mr. Zworski is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the University of Victoria. Prior to joining the City of Victoria in 2010, he articled and worked at the Legal Services Department of the City of Vancouver. He provides advice on all aspects of municipal law and legal issues involving the City, including administrative, constitutional, construction, general litigation, and zoning and development law matters. He has appeared before all levels of BC courts and the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as various administrative boards and tribunals.
REGISTER TODAY!
Local Government 2012: Recent Trends and Best Practices
The Agenda — May 3
rd, 2012
1:45
Open and Closed Meetings: What Rules
Apply
Tom Zworski
City of Victoria
• Open meeting rule
• Permissive and mandatory exceptions to the rule
• What is and is not a “meeting”
• Procedural issues
• Best practices
2:30 Questions and Discussion
2:40 Refreshment Adjournment
2:55
Land Use Planning and Development
Donald Lidstone, Q.C.
Lidstone & Company
• Community amenities - What amenities qualify? - Timing and enforcement - Cash contributions - Affordable housing - Recovery by developers
3:40 Questions and Discussion
3:50
Senior Management Crisis: What is
Happening and What to do About it?
James R. Craven
Kevin Ramsay
James R Craven and Associates District of Squamish
• Declining capacity in the local government sector
• Analysis of reasons for dramatic increases in vacancies
• How to cope as employer... and as a manager
• Future trends
4:35 Questions and Discussion
4:45 Chair’s Closing Comments
5:00 Day One Concludes
9:00
Welcome and Introduction to Day One
Donald Lidstone, Q.C.
Lidstone & Company
9:10
Case Law and Legislative Update
Philip Huynh
Donald Lidstone, Q.C.
City of Surrey
Lidstone & Company
• Overview of the most recent local government case law
• Survey of recent legislation and regulations impacting local governments
9:55 Questions and Discussion
10:05
Owner and Occupier Liability
Beth Allard and Daniel R. Bennett
Bull, Housser & Tupper LLP
• Occupiers liability, negligence and nuisance claims - an update on the responsibilities of local government
• Liability of trails, parks and open spaces
• Policy defences
• How to best address claims
10:50 Questions and Discussion
11:00 Refreshment Adjournment
11:15
Municipal Insurance, Liability and Risk
Management
Tom Barnes and Lindsay Nilsson
Municipal Insurance Association of British
Columbia
• Key insurance issues for local governments
• An update on municipal liability trends, including the
Health Care Costs Recovery Act
• Risk management initiatives for reducing liability claims, including minimizing and transferring risk
12:00 Questions and Discussion
12:15 Luncheon Adjournment
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Local Government 2012: Recent Trends and Best Practices
The Agenda — May 4
th, 2012
Upcoming Conferences
9:00
Welcome and Introduction to Day Two
Judy Rogers
Local Government Consultant
9:10
Water Services: Key Issues
Mike Nolan
Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd.
• Policy and operational issues
• Liabilities
• New drinking water regulations
• Integrated stormwater management plans
9:55 Questions and Discussion
10:05
Negotiating, Developing and Renewing
Contracts and Agreements
Michael McAllister
Murdy & McAllister Barristers and Solicitors
• Procurement
• Contractual agreements with service providers, community groups and other businesses and organizations
• General contracting authority for local governments
• Land development contracts
10:50 Questions and Discussion
11:00 Refreshment Adjournment
11:15
Real Estate Transactions and Matters for
Local Government
Lindsay Parcells
Lidstone & Company
• Legislative powers and procedures
• Acquisition and disposition of real property
- Highways and land that has a reserve or park designation
- Ability to dispose of land at less than market value in return for policy benefits
• Best practices for covenants
• Increasing use of air space parcels
• Ground leases
12:00 Questions and Discussion
12:15 Luncheon Adjournment
1:45
Local Governments and First Nations
Kate Blomfield
Ratcliff & Company LLP
• Key developments in the duty to consult - what local governments need to know
• Important considerations
2:30 Questions and Discussion
2:40 Refreshment Adjournment
2:55
Termination of Local Government Officers
and Employees
Adriana F. Wills
Harris & Company LLP
• Wrongful and constructive dismissal
• What is the process?
• Reasonable notice and fair compensation
• Alternative dispute resolution and mediation
• New constructive approaches
• Wallace damages
• Term contracts
3:40 Questions and Discussion
3:50 Chair’s Closing Comments
4:00 Conference Concludes
• Builders’ Liens: Real World Problems
and Solutions
April 18th, 2012 in Vancouver, BC
• Advanced Administrative Law 2012
April 25th, 2012 in Vancouver, BC
• Aboriginal Impact Benefit Agreements
May 2nd & 3rd, 2012 in Vancouver, BC
• Specific Claims: The New Process
May 8th & 9th, 2012 in Ottawa, ON
• Trusts: Thinking Beyond Your
Precedent
Please recycle
Registration Form
Pacific Business & Law Institute
305 – 1681 Chestnut Street Vancouver, BC Canada V6J 4M6
Telephone 604-730-2500, Fax 604-730-5085 E-mail [email protected]
Information
Materials: The faculty will prepare papers and other materials explaining many of the points raised during this conference. Please contact us if you are unable to attend the conference and wish to purchase a set of materials.
Your Privacy: We will keep all information that you provide to us in strict confidence, other than to prepare a delegate list containing your name, title, firm and city for our faculty and the conference delegates. We do not share our mailing lists with any non-affiliated organization.
Cancellations: Full refunds will be given for cancellations if notice is received in writing five full business days prior to the conference (April 26th, 2012). After that time we are unable to refund registration fees. Substitutions will be permitted. We reserve the right to cancel, change or revise the date, faculty, content or venue of this event.
Local Government 2012:
Recent Trends and
Best Practices
May 3
rd& 4
th, 2012
Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel
Vancouver, BC
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Course Accreditation: Attendance at this course can be listed for up to
10 hours of continuing professional development with the Law Society of BC. A Certificate of Attendance will be issued at the conference.
Four Ways to Register:
1. Telephone us: 604-730-2500 or toll free 877-730-2555 2. Fax us: 604-730-5085 or toll free 866-730-5085 3. Mail your registration form with payment 4. Register at www.pbli.com/961
Registration: The registration fee is $1,050.00 plus HST of $126.00 totalling $1,176.00 covering your attendance at the conference, written materials, a light breakfast and refreshments during the day.
Group Discounts: Register 4 persons from the same organization at the same time and you are entitled to a complimentary 5th registration.
Payment: You may pay by VISA, MasterCard or cheque. Cheques should be made payable to the Pacific Business & Law Institute. Registration fees must be paid prior to the conference.
When and Where: Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. The conference starts at 9:00 a.m. The Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel is located at 1133 West Hastings Street in Vancouver, BC.
