Local governments are responsible for a wide range of decision making and regulation. Such decision making and regulation is authorized by legislation and the subject of bylaws, policies, and procedures.

In Wu v. City of Vancouver, the BC Court of Appeal stated that most legislative functions do not result in a duty of care owed to an applicant in tort. In this presentation, Aron will differentiate between a duty of care and standard of care by explaining the result of the Wu decision and cases similar to it. There are established duties of care owed by local governments, but the likelihood of new duties of care being established by our courts at this time appears low. Oftentimes, the proper and only remedy is a petition for judicial review. Furthermore, even where the local government made a mistake which cost an applicant time and money, the applicant likely has no remedy in tort.

This session may qualify for the following Professional Development Credits: Law Society CPD