INSIDE: British Columbia Law Institute

Spring 2013 Volume 22 • Number 1 

Published Quarterly by The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia 

Jim Emmerton and Arthur Close INSIDE: British Columbia Law Institute 

Publications Mail Agreement: 40010827

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BC Notaries Are Respected in Their Communities. 

What Does it Take to Become a BC Notary Public? 

• Strong entrepreneurial and people skills 

• The highest degree of honesty and integrity 

• University degree and 5 years’ related experience 

• Fluency in English; other languages an asset 

• Financial backing 

• Dedication to serving the public 

Those are the characteristics of a BC Notary Public. 

There are business opportunities for Notaries in various communities throughout British Columbia. 

As a BC Notary, you will have 

the opportunity to enjoy a rewarding 

career as an independent 

businessperson who serves the 

public, and sets the example 

of integrity and trust for which 

Notaries are known throughout 

the world. 

If you have the qualities 

noted above, and are looking 

for a new career path, 

consider our Master of Arts 

in Applied Legal Studies (MA 

ALS) program for BC Notaries, 

conducted through Simon 

Fraser University. 

For more information, please 

contact The Society of Notaries 

Public of British Columbia 

1-800-663-0343 

or visit our Website 

www.notaries.bc.ca.

Published by The socieTy of NoTaries Public of bc 

THE PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY 

Our Choices Here in BC 6 

John Eastwood 

FEATURES 

THE CEO/SECRETARY OF THE SOCIETY 

Putting Plans into Action 7 

Wayne Braid 

KEYNOTE 

Spotlight on Some of BC’s Law Organizations 8 

Val Wilson 

BCLI Overview 11 

Establishing the Samoa Law Reform Commission 18 

Laura Tamblyn Watts 

What Does it Take to Become a BC Notary Public? 3 

The Scrivener: What’s in a Name? 5 

BC Notaries Speak Your Language 53 

Services a BC Notary Can Provide 61 

MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Patricia Wright: A Love of Law and Music 20 

PROFILE OF A BC NOTARY 

SECHELT AND THE SUNSHINE COAST 

Tracy Parker: Blues-Berries Anyone? 24 

Dear Mum 28 

Leta Best 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? 

Roy Bishop: Nonstop Since Retiring! 30 

Building Better Communities, one grant at a time 

The Board of Governors and Funds Earned 32 

COVER STORY 

Law Reform at Work 

in British Columbia 10 

The MiX 

Business to Business 23 

THE BIG PICTURE 

Practising International Development at Home 34 

Nigel Atkin 

CHARITABLE GIVING 

How to Customize Your Giving 36 

David Watts 

POWER OF ATTORNEY 

Avoiding Elder Abuse by a Rogue “Attorney”* 38 

Alternatives to Enduring Powers of Attorney 40 

Kevin Smith 

COMMUNITIES 

Award for Service with Distinction 43 

Tammy Morin-Nakashima 

THE REAL ESTATE FOUNDATION OF BC 

Creating Sustainable Food Systems in BC 44 

Some of the Sustainable Food Systems Grants 45 

Celina Owen 

LETTERS 47 

CONTINUATION 

Wills, Estates and Succession Act from page 7 47 

PROPERTY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 

A Day in the Life of a Real Estate Appraiser 48 

Paul Fischer 

Editor’s 49 

TAKE 5 FOR FITNESS 

Relax and Rejuvenate 50 

MaryAnne Galey 

SUCCESS 

3 Small Habits that Will Change Your Life Forever 52 

Carla Rieger 

4 The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia Volume 22 Number 1 Spring 2013 

www.wildmanphotography.com

MEDIATION 

What is Mediation? 

Renee Collins Goult 

SERVING SENIORS 

54 

No Easy Answers 

Rhonda Latreille 

OUR ENVIRONMENT 

56 

Bringing Back Herring in Howe Sound 

Dr. Jonn Matsen 

TAXES 

58 

PST, HST, GST—SOS! 

Andrea Agnoloni 

60 

Test Your Skills! 

COMMUNITY 

62 

Building Connections 

Elise Willson 

WILLS & ESTATES 

63 

Severance of Joint Tenancies by Course of Conduct 

Trevor Todd, Judith Milliken, QC 

HISTORY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 

64 

The Sockeye Special 

Ron Hyde 

68 

Recollections of Lulu Island 

Hugh Cooper 

69 

A Nickel for Your Thoughts? 

Susan Freeborn 

ASSOCIATION OF BC LAND SURVEYORS 

71 

Fantastic AGM for 2013 

Chuck Salmon 

TRAVEL 

72 

Colombia is Safe, But Don’t Pack Laundry Soap 

Trevor Todd 

TECHNOLOGY 

74 

The Latest and Best for Spring 2013 

Akash Sablok 

HONOURS & EVENTS 

76 

PEOPLE 78 

Where in the World Has The Scrivener Been? 78 

The Scrivener: What’s in a Name? 

“A professional penman, a copyist, a scribe . . . a Notary.” Thus the 

Oxford English Dictionary describes a Scrivener, the craftsman charged 

with ensuring that the written affairs of others flow smoothly, seamlessly, 

and accurately. Where a Scrivener must record the files accurately, 

it’s the Notary whose Seal is bond. 

We chose The Scrivener as the name of our magazine to celebrate 

the Notary’s role in drafting, communicating, authenticating, and getting 

the facts straight. We strive to publish articles about points of law and 

the Notary profession for the education and enjoyment of our members, 

our allied professionals in business, and the public. 

Published by 

The Society of Notaries Public 

of British Columbia 

Editor-in-Chief Val Wilson 

Legal Editors Wayne Braid, Ken Sherk 

Magazine Filip de Sagher, Chair 

Committee Kate manvell 

Zoë Stevens 

marny morin, Staff Liaison 

Administration Amber Rooke 

Courier Lightspeed Courier & Logistics 

The Scrivener 

Telephone: 604 985-9250 

email: scrivener@society.notaries.bc.ca 

Website: www.notaries.bc.ca/scrivener 

The Society of Notaries Public of BC 

604 681-4516 

To send photographs to The Scrivener, 

please see the Editor's column on page 49. 

All rights reserved. Contents may not be 

reprinted or reproduced without written 

permission from the publisher. This journal 

is a forum for discussion, not a medium 

of official pronouncement. The Society does not, 

in any sense, endorse or accept responsibility 

for opinions expressed by contributors. 

CANADA PoST: PUBLICATIoNS mAIL 

AgREEmENT No. 40010827 

Postage Paid at Vancouver, BC 

RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN 

ADDRESSES To CIRCULATIoN DEPT.: 

THE SOCIETY OF NOTARIES 

PuBLIC OF BC 

SuITE 1220 – 625 HOWE STREET 

BOx 44 

VANCOuVER, BC V6C 2T6 

SCRIVENER@SoCIETy.NoTARIES.BC.CA 

Volume 22 Number 1 Spring 2013 The Scrivener 5

THE PRESIDENT Of THE SOCIETY 

our Choices Here in BC 

British Columbians value 

the freedom to make their 

own decisions throughout 

their lives . . . to make choices. 

Let me give you some examples 

of those choices. 

• Many families choose the services 

of a midwife to assist in the 

birth of their children, in place 

of or alongside an obstetrician/ 

gynecologist or general practitioner. 

• Parents and their children have 

the choice of schools in our 

public system—charter schools 

and French immersion schools. 

Postsecondary students can 

attend a college or university and 

choose from over 1900 programs, 

depending on their education 

interests; many qualify for 

government-assisted tuition fees. 

• Individuals can choose 

a variety of health care 

providers—a medical doctor, 

naturopath, chiropractor, 

occupational therapist, 

physiotherapist, ophthalmologist, 

optometrist, or optician, to name 

a few. 

• We can now obtain a flu shot from 

an alternative trained medical 

practitioner such as a pharmacist. 

• In the purchase and sale 

of property, we have the choice 

of arranging financing through 

a mortgage broker or directly with 

our financial institution . . . and 

we can use the services of either 

a BC Notary or a lawyer for the 

legal conveyance/mortgage. 

We enjoy having choices. 

• When preparing a Will, Power 

of Attorney, and other advance 

planning documents, we have 

a similar choice of service 

providers. 

• British Columbia is 1 of only 

2 provinces and territories 

in Canada to offer people 

the choice of working with 

a professional Notary to prepare 

their legal documents. 

• A recent poll found that 

77 percent of all BC residents 

have a favourable impression 

of Notaries. For those who have 

used the services of a BC Notary, 

that number rises to 88 percent. 

For some time, our government 

has been discussing access to justice 

and access to affordable legal 

services. There is no doubt that the 

cost of some legal services and the 

access to justice can be unaffordable 

to the average income-earner. 

BC Notaries can be part of an 

affordable solution. We are increasingly 

being asked by clients if we can help 

them with additional legal services 

such as these. 

• Probating Wills 

• Preparation of family-related 

documents—prenuptial and marriage 

or end-of-marriage agreements 

and uncontested divorce 

• Incorporation of companies, 

corporate filings, and corporate 

record-keeping 

• Other noncontentious legal 

services 

John Eastwood 

The Society of Notaries Public 

of BC has on several occasions 

surveyed the people of British 

Columbia. In September 2010, the 

Mustel Group asked British Columbians 

about their interest in alternative legal 

services and found this. 

• 66% of British Columbians 

would like to see more choices 

of professionals to provide legal 

services, in addition to lawyers. 

• 75% would support legislation 

that would expand the field 

of those services. 

You may wish to make your 

opinion known. There is an opportunity 

to do so in the coming provincial 

election on May 14. If and how you 

may become involved is your choice, 

but you can take part in determining 

who will represent you in our next 

provincial government. 

I encourage you to become 

involved . . . to get out and vote 

for your choice of legislative 

representative and show your support 

for that candidate by working with 

the candidate to gain the support 

of other voters and, if you are able, 

through financial contribution to the 

candidate’s campaign. 

You also have the opportunity 

to influence the views of your 

candidate toward legislation that 

supports the freedom of choice for 

the people of British Columbia and, 

if you are so inclined, to lend your 

support to my first choice—improved 

access to affordable legal services 

and alternative legal service providers: 

BC Notaries. s 


www.TheBigPictureStudio.com

THE CEO/SECRETaRY Of THE SOCIETY 

our Cover Story interview 

describes some of the 

great works of the 

British Columbia Law Institute 

and provides a look at two 

of the leaders of the BCLI. 

I have appreciated the work of the 

BC Law Institute, their dedicated staff, 

and the many Board members who 

have lent a hand to direct and guide 

the organization over the years. 

Shortly after I took on the 

responsibilities I now enjoy at 

The Society, one of my first connections 

with BCLI was to meet Arthur Close. 

I recall our first lunch meeting at the old 

(now new again!) Georgia Hotel. Arthur 

kindly, carefully, and expertly filled me 

in on the history of the organization and 

gave me a glimpse of its vision for the 

future. That was nearly 10 years ago. 

Many of Arthur’s ideas have come to 

pass or are in process. 

Our Notary Foundation has 

supported a number of the Institute’s 

projects over the years. 

They include Real Property Review, 

Phase 1; the Community Law Reform 

Project that focused on a series 

of shorter projects, resulting in 14 

publications on a variety of topics 

and 8 final reports: Unfair Contract 

Terms, Unregistered Leases and the 

Putting Plans 

into Action 

Top Line Case, Recognition of Adult 

Guardianship Orders from Outside the 

Province, Appointing a Guardian and 

Standby Guardianship, Post-Accident 

Remedial Measures, Spoliation of 

Evidence, Builder’s Liens After the 

Shimco Case, Builders Liens, and the 

Pipeline Problem; Commercial Tenancy 

Act Reform; Dealing with Potential 

Undue Influence; Common Law 

Capacity; and Strata Property Law, 

Phase 1. 

Our Notary Foundation 

has supported a number 

of the Institute’s projects 

over the years. 

The Wills, Estates and Succession 

Act will become effective March 31, 

2014. The changes are the result 

of a collaboration between the 

BCLI and the Ministry of Justice. 

The new Act will change 

significantly the law of Wills and 

estates in our province. The highlights 

are listed for you on page 47. 

Proclamation of the Wills, Estates 

and Succession Act has had to await 

the reform of the Probate Rules. While 

that project has taken longer than 

anticipated, it is believed that the new 

Probate Rules represent a significant 

improvement over the previous rules. 

Wayne Braid 

BC Notaries have already received 

a great deal of training around the 

changes in the Wills area. Now that 

the implementation date has been 

announced, Notaries can concentrate 

on drafting checklists and precedents 

that will incorporate the changes. 

BCLI issued a report following 

a review of the Strata Property Act 

and have made it known they are 

looking to issue a second report, 

“Phase 2 of the Strata Property Act.” 

BC Notaries will endeavour to work 

with BCLI to influence and participate 

in some changes to the legislation 

to help produce a statute that will 

work for British Columbians and the 

way they manage the affairs in their 

Strata corporations. 

When I was a young man, 

I belonged to an organization called 

the Jaycees, an organization that 

provides leadership training for young 

people through the work of a service 

club. Before our meetings were called 

to order, we would stand together 

and recite the Jaycee Creed. Today, 

we would call it a mission statement 

or mandate. 

Part of that creed states, 

“We believe that governments should 

be of laws rather than of men.” 

It is my firm belief that the work 

of the BCLI meets the spirit of that 

statement and I look forward to their 

future success. s 

Volume 22 Number 1 Spring 2013 The Scrivener 7 


KEYNOTE 

Spotlight on Some 

of BC’s Law organizations 

In the Cover Story interview 

that follows, we are 

highlighting the work of the 


(BCLI). 

Distinguishing among the various public 

organizations in BC with legal names 

and mandates can be a challenge. 

Here is a brief summary of some of the 

organizations. 

• The Society of Notaries Public 

of BC is the governing body for 

BC Notaries, governed by the 

Notaries Act, BC. 

• The Notary Foundation of BC receives 

the interest on funds in BC credit 

unions, Canadian chartered banks, 

and trust companies when they are 

held in trust by a BC Notary Public. 

The Notary Foundation distributes 

the funds in accordance with 

its legislated mandate. 

• The Law Society of BC is the 

governing body of BC lawyers who 

provide legal services in accordance 

with the Legal Professions Act, BC. 

• The Law Foundation of BC is the 

recipient of the interest on funds 

held in lawyers’ pooled trust 

accounts maintained in financial 

institutions. The Law Foundation 

distributes the funds in accordance 

with its legislated mandate. 

• The Legal Services Society 

(LSS), created by the Legal 

Services Society Act, provides 

legal information, advice, and 

representation services to people 

with low incomes. 

• The British Columbia Law Institute 

is an independent, charitable 

not-for-profit agency that focuses 

on legal research, law reform, 

and outreach and education 

relating to those areas. BCLI is the 

independent law reform agency 

of British Columbia. 

Why is independent legal research 

and law reform work important? Why 

do governments need independent 

agencies to support new law-making? 

The answers are not necessarily 

obvious. 

Why is independent legal 

research and law reform 

work important? 

First, governments are perennially 

challenged to find sufficient financial 

resources to carry out needed programs. 

Especially in recent years, the urgent 

requirements in health and education 

have constrained government’s abilities 

to focus on longer-term law reform 

needs. In addition, governments in 

democracies such as Canada are 

constantly facing near-term elections, 

which mitigates against the longer-term 

research and policy development needed 

to address complex law reform issues. 

As an independent resource, 

BCLI provides several important 

approaches not available 

to government. 

1. BCLI provides a nonpartisan, 

nonpolitical focus that seeks 

good solutions to policy issues 

independent of any political lens. 

Val Wilson 

2. BCLI’s many volunteer experts 

contribute legal expertise and 

client-based experience not 

available to government. 

3. When needed, BCLI can undertake 

longer, comprehensive reviews 

of areas such as strata property 

law that merit comprehensive 

lengthy review. 

BCLI often consults with 

governments about future needs. 

One such meeting occurred with the 

Honourable Alice Wong, Minister of State 

for Seniors, Canada, on January 16, 

2013. [See photo on page 13.] A key 

message to Minister Wong in this session 

was that “continuing low interest rates 

in Canada are hollowing out the ability 

of the private sector to fund meritorious 

social programs and services.” 

While low interest rates have 

served well in recent years to assist 

recovery in various economies 

including Canada, an unintended 

consequence has been to substantially 

reduce funds available to institutions 

such as the Notary Foundation of BC. 

The dramatic decreases in funds 

available are negatively impacting 

many worthy activities including 

legal research and law reform work. 

BCLI has encouraged government 

to take near-term measures to support 

this important sector of the economy 

while interest rates remain low. 

We trust you will enjoy reading 

about the British Columbia Legal 

Institute and the outstanding efforts 

of this organization. s 

Thanks to Jim Emmerton, BCLI, 

for the above information 



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COVER STORY 

THE SCRIVENER: Arthur, you are a generalist. Please tell us 

about your career. 

ARTHUR: My career has been spent in law reform. I had 

25 years with the Law Reform Commission of BC. To 

survive in that territory, you have to be a generalist. The 

work covered a wide spectrum of private law matters, things 

like contracts, Wills and estates, and family law where there 

are huge issues. They are matters for provincially based law 

reform rather than federal topics like criminal law. 

One topic that has occupied a lot of my time has been 

builder’s lien legislation. For almost 40 years, I’ve had that 

on my plate. 

COVER STORY 

Author 

Jim Emmerton, Executive Director, and Arthur Close, QC, 

retired founding Executive Director of the British Columbia Law Institute 

Law Reform at Work in British Columbia 

In Conversation with Val Wilson 

For this interview, Jim Emmerton and Arthur 

Close and I met on January 16, 2013, in the 

offices of the British Columbia Law Institute 

on the UBC Campus. Their knowledge and focus 

on the work of the BCLI are very impressive! 

www.wildmanphotography.com 

THE SCRIVENER: How is it progressing? 

ARTHUR: Well, we did get a new Act in 1997 that moved 

things forward, but there’s still lots of room for improvement. 

JIM: Time for a major rework, in effect. 

ARTHUR: Yes, although there may not be widespread 

agreement as to what constitutes an improvement. Many 

people think of the construction industry as being monolithic 

but there are a lot of competing interests within the 

industry. What helps somebody in a certain sector may 

not work well for someone in a different sector. It’s really 

a complicated legislative matter. Other jurisdictions have 

wrestled with trying to find ways to provide some protection 

for the subtrades, the material suppliers, and so on. 

The Canadian approach is generally to enact builder’s 

lien legislation. In Australia, other approaches have been 

tried. I’ve had some communication with a barrister in New 

South Wales who is conducting an inquiry, trying to come 

up with a new scheme that’s not lien-based but based more 

on trust law, to try to promote protection. I’ll be interested 

to see what he comes up with. 

10 The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia Volume 22 Number 1 Spring 2013

THE SCRIVENER: Excellent. Did you litigate in your earlier 

career? 

ARTHUR: I practised for only 2 years and did a bit 

of court work during that time. It was interesting. I got the 

experience but I can’t say my heart was in it. When the 

opportunity came to get out of practice and move to the 

newly created BC Law Reform Commission, I jumped at it. 

Law reform has been my focus ever since. 

THE SCRIVENER: Let’s talk about you, Jim. 

JIM: I graduated from the University of Western Ontario 

Law School and worked for 20 years with John Labatt 

as in-house counsel, treasurer, and general counsel—about 

10 years in London and 10 in Toronto. In 1997, I joined 

Methanex in Vancouver, first as VP General Counsel and 

later as SVP Corporate Development. 

THE SCRIVENER: Did you litigate? 

JIM: I did a small amount of litigation in Small Claims 

Court when I was articling as well as assisting to prepare 

cases for Provincial Criminal, County, and Supreme Courts. 

Litigation wasn’t one of my great loves. Much time is spent 

in case preparation—drafting forms, pleadings, and so on. 

The court time you see on TV is about 1 percent of what 

litigation lawyers actually do. 

Like the Phoenix, the current BC Law Institute 

rose from the Law Reform Commission. 

THE SCRIVENER: Like the Phoenix, the current BC Law 

Institute rose from the former BC Law Reform Commission. 

Why did the Commission close? 

ARTHUR: Although it always saw itself as being independent 

in the way it operated, the Law Reform Commission 

was a government program with about 80 percent of its 

funding coming from the Ministry of Attorney General. 

For reasons best known to the government of the day, 

a decision was made late in 1996 that they were no longer 

going to fund it. I was Chair at the time and got the news 

that beyond March 31 in 1997, there would be no Law 

Reform Commission. 

There were hints that if outside funding could be found 

to replace the government’s support, it might continue. 

It was my assessment that that wasn’t in the cards. It would 

have called for massive outside funding. Those who might 

provide such funding would want an entity much more 

independent of government and perhaps with a broader 

focus than the Law Reform Commission was able to take. 

THE SCRIVENER: What did you do? 

ARTHUR: We consulted with the Law Foundation because 

it had provided close to 20 percent of the Commission’s 

operational funding. We essentially wanted to see if 

the proposed British Columbia Law Institute could step 

into the shoes of the Law Reform Commission to at least 

assume that support as seed money. 

Sidebar BCLI OVERVIEW overview 

The British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI) is an 

independent, professional, nonpolitical law reform 

agency—effectively the law reform agency of BC. 

The Canadian Centre for Elder Law (CCEL), a division 

of BCLI, also carries out scholarly research, writing, and 

analysis for law reform that is focused on older adults 

in Canada. We do an extensive amount of educational 

work in both areas. Specific activities include the 

following. 

• Issue Identification: Initially investigating social and 

legal issues through formal and informal discussions 

and processes to determine law reform needs 

• Defining a Law Reform Project: Describing, 

defining, prioritizing law reform issues as potential 

projects for legal research and law reform work 

• Creating a Plan: Developing legal research 

and law reform project plans, including 

funding plans for projects 

• Project Approvals: Obtaining approvals 

and funding for projects 

• Research, Writing, and Consultation: Carrying out the 

legal research, analysis, writing, and consultation 

for projects 

• Knowledge Mobilization: Carrying out knowledge 

mobilization activities to obtain feedback 

about issues, raise awareness of issues, and 

develop discussion and consensus relating 

to recommendations 

• Ongoing Outreach and Education: Ongoing outreach 

and educational activities to support understanding 

of law reform needs and maintain and develop key 

stakeholder relationships 

The effective successor of the British Columbia 

Law Reform Commission, BCLI retains various 

reports and materials of the former Commission. 

The BCLI Board is composed of 16 members 

who meet about 10 times a year. 


Strong, Dedicated Volunteer Board 2013 

R. C. Tino Di Bella, Chair 

Prof. Joost Blom, QC 

mimi Chen 

Jan Christiansen 

Richard Evans, Notary Public 

margaret Hall 

Prof. Doug Harris 

Prof. Robert Howell 

Fiona Hunter 

Hon. Ken mackenzie, QC 

Lisa Peters 

geoff Plant, QC 

D. Peter Ramsay, QC 

Andrea Rolls 

Stanley Rule 

Thomas Spraggs 

Arthur Close, QC, emeritus 

greg Steele, QC, emeritus 


This picture was taken in April 1997 at the first formal meeting of the initial members 

of the BC Law Institute, held to develop the program and plan the future course 

and activities of the Institute. The venue was the premises 

of the Public Legal Education Society (People’s Law School). 

From left: Tom Anderson (founding member); Dr. A. J. McClean (UBC nominee); 

Hon. Martin Taylor (founding member); Dean Jamie Cassels (UVic nominee); 

Sholto Hebenton (Law Society nominee); Ann McLean (CBA nominee); 

Greg Steele (founding member); Gordon Turriff (founding member); 

Arthur Close (founding member); Prof. James MacIntyre (Law Society nominee) 

Missing: Douglas Robinson (CBA nominee) 

At the date of the photo, no Attorney General nominees had yet been designated. 

We also received a start-up grant 

of $10,000 from the Canadian Bar 

Association, which also provided 

some sustaining funding for about 

5 years, until they ran into their own 

set of financial problems with the 

loss of universal memberships and 

everything that went with it. 

THE SCRIVENER: Where did the BC Law 

Institute set up shop? 

ARTHUR: The Law Society had a bit 

of spare office space in an older 

structure right next to the Law Society 

building that housed the professional 

legal training program. Three small 

offices weren’t being used. They said, 

“If you can run a law reform body out 

of there, then welcome to it.” So we 

did have a roof over our heads. But I’m 

getting a bit ahead of the story. 

Let’s talk about the decision 

to start the Institute. I consulted 

with a number of people. Essentially, 

there were five of us who decided, 

in December of 1996, to press ahead 

with the incorporation of the Institute. 

This was a leap of faith on our part 

Essentially, there were 

five of us who decided, 

in December of 1996, to press 

ahead with the incorporation 

of the Institute. 

since there was really no promise 

of financial support at the time. 

THE SCRIVENER: Who were the other 

four, Arthur, in addition to you? 

ARTHUR: Greg Steele, QC, was one 

of the founding members and the 

first Chair of the Institute for a period 

of 8 years. He is now an emeritus 

member, as am I. 

Mr. Justice Martin Taylor was 

a great supporter of law reform. 

Gordon Turriff, QC, was another 

strong supporter of law reform. He 

later became President of the Law 

Society matters and about 3 years 

ago, took on the independence of the 

legal profession as his personal cause. 

Tom Anderson, QC, had been 

a senior staff lawyer and a member 

of the Law Reform Commission. 

JIM: Tom continued on the Institute’s 

Board for a number of years. An expert 

in pension law, he is currently doing 

a project for the BC Law Institute 

relating to that. 

ARTHUR: Tom’s particular 

area of expertise is the division 

of pensions on marriage breakdown. 

That came out of a major report by the 

Law Reform Commission. He was the 

principal author of the report and 

architect of the current scheme. The 

new Family Law Act reflects some 

fine-tuning from Tom. He continues 

to provide guidance to people and 

organizations in relation to pension 

division issues. We incorporated the 

Law Institute in January 1997. That 

followed a debate about the structure 

and membership framework it should 

have. We moved into the space the 

Law Society provided and it served us 

well for the first 2 years. 

Our extensive library—a very 

substantial one inherited from the Law 

Reform Commission—was essentially 

put in storage and eventually had to be 

disposed of when the Institute moved 

here to UBC. The university has its own 

vast library resources. There was very 

little point in maintaining a general 

library of our own. Our library now 

focuses on law reform material. 

THE SCRIVENER: I understand the 

Ontario Law Reform Commission 

also closed in the late ‘90s. Has it 

resurfaced as another legal entity? 

ARTHUR: It has, but it took almost 

10 years to do it. Ontario was without 

any kind of law reform body 

for a number of years. What finally 

emerged was a body called the Law 

Commission of Ontario, created at 

the initiative of a group of Ontario law 

schools. 

JIM: It started officially in 2007. 

ARTHUR: Yes. The BC Law Institute 

is almost 10 years older. 

THE SCRIVENER: Please tell us about 

your work with elder law and the launch 

of the Canadian Centre for Elder Law 

(CCEL). 


JIM: The BC Law Institute’s general 

law focus is very much focused on 

legal research and law reform with 

less outreach and education; the 

work on elder law is much more 

community- and outreach-directed, 

looking to produce outcomes that 

don’t necessarily require legislation 

or similar official action. 

ARTHUR: One of the factors that 

led to our creation of the Canadian 

Centre for Elder Law was our work 

on a couple of small projects with 

issues of particular concern to seniors. 

That attracted a lot of attention from 

outside groups concerned with age and 

aging. They were very glad to find an 

entity that brought a legal perspective 

to the issues that concerned them. 

After we finished those small 

projects, which we saw as another 

kind of law reform exercise, requests 

came in for our people to speak 

to their groups. There were a couple 

of invitations for our people to join the 

Boards of some of the groups and so 

on. It became clear there was a need 

out there in the community for some 

kind of body that would provide a focal 

point for legal issues of concern to the 

elderly and senior citizens. 

That started us thinking. 

We looked at what was happening 

elsewhere in Canada. To our 

astonishment, no law school 

in Canada had established any kind 

of internal organization with a focus 

on what we were now beginning to call 

“elder law.” We thought why not 

integrate that into our work? 

It provided an outlet for outreach 

and work that was not focused so 

much on legislative reform. That 

was one of the concerns that came up 

when we were transitioning from Law 

Reform Commission to the BC Law 

Institute—those providing financial 

support wanted something more 

than legislative law reform. Carving 

out a speciality area, like elder law, 

provided an outlet to address those 

concerns. 

It became clear there 

was a need out there in the 

community for some kind 

of body that would provide 

a focal point for legal issues 

of concern to the elderly and 

senior citizens. 

THE SCRIVENER: And it was so 

timely. About a thousand individuals 

in Canada are turning 60 each day. 

JIM: It’s a growing issue. 

ARTHUR: I’m astonished that we 

managed to be there first, particularly 

being as young an organization as we 

were at the time. July will see the 10th anniversary of our resolution to create 

the Canadian Centre for Elder Law. 

Although it is located in our offices, 

we endeavour to have a national focus. 

JIM: It’s a bit of an anomaly that 

BCLI is primarily a provincial law 

reform body with a division that 

has a national focus. 

THE SCRIVENER: Are other provinces 

following the BCLI? 

JIM: To some extent, yes. The 

Law Commission of Ontario 

has a significant focus on elder law 

issues. Their previous law reform body 

had done some work that affected 

older adults but they don’t have the 

focus we do. At this point, about half 

our work is on the elder law side. 

THE SCRIVENER: Please tell us 

more about your relationship with 

government. 

JIM: We have extensive relationships 

with both the federal and provincial 

governments. I was one of about 

15 people who met this morning 

with Alice Wong, Minister of State 

for Seniors in the federal government. 

She wanted to get a group of people 

together to make suggestions about 

priorities and budget issues for the 

federal government. 

We do not lobby. We are explicitly 

nonpartisan and nonpolitical. When 

asked any legal research or law reform 

question, the answer will emerge 

from the research and analysis, not 

Minister of State for Seniors group with Alice Wong 


otherwise. That approach has served 

us well and we will continue 

to work to maintain a reputation 

as a professional, objective, 

nonpartisan, and nonpolitical agency. 

THE SCRIVENER: What success are you 

enjoying in the area of law reform? 

ARTHUR: We do have some 

major successes. Our work on Wills 

and succession and the law reform 

package that emerged from it 

was a huge project for us. Government 

moved quickly to implement it. 

It was a good learning exercise 

in many ways. That project is probably 

our largest to date. We mobilized the 

greatest number of lawyer volunteers. 

I think inside every lawyer is a law 

reformer trying to get out. The key is 

to provide an outlet for them. 

JIM: That’s probably true of Notaries, 

too. 

LAUGHTER 

ARTHUR: The secret is in providing 

volunteers with adequate support. 

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen 

volunteer committees struck by various 

bodies. The volunteers are busy people 

who don’t have the necessary support 

and so the initiative falls apart and 

goes nowhere. 

JIM: Our strategy, which we developed 

from the beginning, has been to use 

as much volunteer input as we can, 

whether in the form of a project 

committee or advisory panels, and 

to make sure they’re well supported 

by our staff. Our staff members 

carry out the legal research and 

analysis, take the options to our 

committees, then follow up according 

to the committee’s decisions 

to translate them into documents 

such as consultation papers, study 

papers, and final law reform reports. 

Volunteers are recruited to provide 

their wisdom, experience, and advice. 

Unlike Arthur, who is steeped 

in law reform, I know virtually nothing 

about law reform. I know a little bit 

about organization and management 

and project development and 

fundraising and spend most of my 

time doing those things. 

THE SCRIVENER: Please tell us about the 

Uniform Law Conference of Canada. 

ARTHUR: The Uniform Law Conference 

of Canada has been around for over 

90 years. It was modelled on a similar 

American body. Its mandate is the 

development of model legislation to be 

adopted in the provinces and territories. 

Its delegates tend to be representatives 

of governments, along with a significant 

number of law reformers and lawyers 

in private practice. The Conference 

has carried out a number of projects 

over the years that have impacted 

in BC. For example, our Limitation Act 

that has just been passed was basically 

modelled on the uniform Limitation Act 

promulgated about 6 years ago. 

Part of the methodology 

we developed for our 

conventional law reform 

projects involves in-house 

legislative drafting. The final 

product is a fully drafted Act. 

A lot of BC legislation has its roots 

in uniform laws and there has been 

a cross-fertilization. For example, 

after the Institute finalized its report 

recommending a new Trustee Act 

for British Columbia, it was considered 

by a group called STEP—the 

Society of Estate Trust and Estate 

Practitioners. STEP liked the report 

and recommendations very much 

and recommended that they serve 

as a model for new Trustee Act 

legislation across the country. 

STEP approached the Uniform 

Law Conference and in essence said, 

“Can you people devise a uniform 

Trustee Act that is based on the work 

of the BC Law Institute?” 

The Uniform Law Conference 

of Canada embraced that suggestion 

and created an excellent working group 

that included Donovan Waters, Dean 

of Trust Law Academics in Canada. 

We also had significant buy-in from the 

province because the working group 

was chaired by a lawyer attached 

to the Ministry of Attorney General 

and included one of its legislative 

drafters. After 3 years of work by the 

Conference, a uniform Trustee Act 

was finalized in August 2012. We hope 

to see action on it soon. 

For the BC Law Institute, that 

was a major project, 1 of the first 

3 projects we initiated in 1997. The 

BCLI project committee worked on 

it for about 8 years, which was much 

longer than it should have taken. 

That timeline simply reflects the kind 

of limited resources we had. And it’s 

a credit to the people who were part 

of the project committee . . . that 

they stuck with it that long to bring 

it to its final form. The quality of the 

final product commended itself 

to nationwide adoption. 

THE SCRIVENER: That’s outstanding! 

JIM: Our Senior Staff Lawyer Greg 

Blue, QC, has spent much of his 

professional life on Trustee Act reform, 

first in carrying out initial research 

on this topic as part of the BCLRC 

legal staff. The work-in-progress then 

became the starting point for the 

Institute’s Trustee Act project, which 

he carried forward. It was followed 

by participation in the ULCC project 

to develop the uniform Act. Greg is 

expected to be an advisor in relation 

to implementation 

ARTHUR: Part of the methodology 

we developed for our conventional 

law reform projects involves in-house 

legislative drafting. The final product 

is a fully drafted Act. That is normally 

done by one of our staff lawyers, 

although occasionally we’ll get 

help from the professional drafters 

in Victoria. Our reports usually provide 

a lengthy introduction that sets the 

stage. That is followed by a sectionby-section 

commentary on the draft 

Act that goes into detail. We’ve found 

that provides the most acceptable way 

to present law reform. 

THE SCRIVENER: How many staff 

lawyers do you have? 

JIM: Four here. We also retain 

Laura Tamblyn Watts, 

who was a staff lawyer 

here and now lives 

in Toronto. She assists 

us part-time while she is 

working on her PhD at 

the University of Toronto. 


THE SCRIVENER: Laura’s fine article 

about your Samoa project follows this 

interview. 

JIM: Yes. Back in 2008, we were 

contacted by a person who had 

been appointed as the Executive 

Director of the Samoa Law Reform 

Commission. Leilani Tuala-Warren had 

been hired by the Attorney General 

of Samoa to put together a law reform 

commission. She was a lawyer but had 

no idea how to do that. She asked if 

we could help out, so we did. 

Leilani 

Tuala-Warren 

We invited Leilani 

over here. She stayed 

with us for a few weeks 

and observed work 

on our projects and 

attended committee 

meetings to get an 

understanding of what 

was needed. She 

showed us the program the Attorney 

General in Samoa had asked her 

to accomplish. We said to her, 

“Leilani, that would be about 10 years 

of work for a law reform body like 

ours.” The first thing was to adjust the 

expectation for what could be done, 

then get it started. 

Samoa is a long way from 

anywhere. Leilani was the only staff 

person on the project. We shipped 

some legal texts to her. It’s been 

a great success. Now they are 

established as a small Law Reform 

Commission and they are very grateful 

for our help and support. 

THE SCRIVENER: That is an 

accomplishment! Please tell us about 

your Great Debate event and your other 

projects. 

JIM: In October 2012, we hosted 

the 5th GREATdebate, co-sponsored 

by Boughton Law in Vancouver. The 

debate topic was that HST should be 

continued in BC. We will likely host 

another GREATdebate in 2013. 

We’ve also held several elder law 

conferences. The first was in 2005. 

We had a great conference again this 

year in terms of content and speakers. 

One of our challenges is that in 

recent years there just isn’t funding 

for people to attend many conferences 

so they’re difficult to run these days, 

from a financial point of view. 

BCLI has produced significant 

results, having published about 20 

reports in the last 5 or 6 years. 

Currently, we have about 10 active 

funded projects. 

We’ve just completed and released 

the Report on Strata Property: 

Phase One that was looking at what 

major issues might be reviewed 

in a Strata Property: Phase Two 

project. 

We get ideas from 

government. We get 

ideas from funding 

bodies. We get ideas from 

BC Notaries about projects. 

THE SCRIVENER: Do groups come to you 

with ideas for projects? 

JIM: We get ideas from everywhere. 

The program committee of the Board 

meets a couple of times a year. 

Arthur is one of the members on the 

committee. We have an ongoing list 

of topics that we are considering, 

including Builder’s Liens, as Arthur 

mentioned. That topic is becoming 

more important again. 

We get ideas from government. 

We get ideas from funding bodies. 

We get ideas from BC Notaries 

about projects. The idea for the 

Strata Property project came from 

Wayne Braid, CEO and Secretary 

of the BC Notaries. 

And we are always asking members 

of the public, lawyers in particular, 

what they think and the areas where 

they feel reform is needed. 

We’re working on a Technology 

project about accessibility, remoteness, 

and evidence. It’s all about looking 

at the technologies that are available 

in various courts and tribunals and the 

processes that can assist people who 

need them. We also need to advise 

legal professionals about the technology 

that is available out there. 

Another project is examining the 

Test of Mental Capacity. There are 

different tests for capacity under 

common law. The test is different 

if you want to get married than if you 

want to become separated or you 

wish to make a Will. This project is 

looking at the various common law 

tests as opposed to statutory tests and 

seeing if it makes sense to standardize 

them in some way. 

ARTHUR: There is also a big Assisted 

Living project. Jim is Chair of that 

committee. 

JIM: Yes. Assisted Living is a project 

to look at the assisted living regime 

in British Columbia. It’s been 

going on for 3 years; we have had 

30 committee meetings. There’s 

a consultation paper out right now. 

We’re looking for comment on the 

recommendations. 

The Older Women’s Dialogue 

project is another project of CCEL. 

It’s a project to engage, in the Lower 

Mainland, communities of older 

women to get them to identify issues 

that may translate into legal issues. 

People don’t necessarily identify their 

problems as legal problems. The 

purpose is to identify legal problems 

that are unique to older women. 

THE SCRIVENER: You also have 

a project around a Franchise Act. 

JIM: Yes. BC has no Franchise Act. 

Many people are surprised when they 

hear that because we have thousands 

of franchisees across the province. The 

Uniform Law Conference developed 

a uniform Franchise Act. Arthur? 

ARTHUR: It was about 5 years ago 

and it was a good project. The leading 

lawyers advising various participants 

in the franchising industry came to the 

table to help develop this Act. The 

previous 20 years had been a rocky 

road for franchise legislation. The first 

off the mark was Alberta that came up 

with something that looked more like 

a Securities Act. It was a dismal failure, 

which discouraged lawmakers in other 

provinces. 

Then Ontario introduced 

a different model that won acceptance 

in other parts of the country. The 

Ontario approach was essentially 

picked up by the Uniform Law 

Conference. 


JIM: Yes, with some changes. And now 

PEI and Manitoba have adopted it. 

We’re now in the process of developing 

a draft Act for BC based on the 

uniform Act. 

ARTHUR: I might describe the interplay 

between the Uniform Law Conference 

and the work of the Institute. 

Some kinds of uniform legislation, 

of necessity, require kind of a one-sizefits-all 

approach to make it applicable 

nationally. It will involve a variety 

of compromises, options, or openended 

provisions. When adoption 

in a particular province is considered, 

it requires very close scrutiny to make 

sure appropriate choices are made and 

that it interfaces properly with other 

provincial legislation. We must ensure 

there are no hidden bumps in the road 

that you might encounter if we simply 

adopted it without change. The uniform 

Franchise Act falls into that category 

as does the uniform Liens Act that 

would replace two BC Acts: Repairers 

Lien Act and the Warehouse Lien Act. 

When useful legislation like the 

uniform Liens Act emerges, we look 

at it, see what is needed to make it 

work in BC, and issue a report saying, 

“Let’s adopt it and here are the kinds 

of changes that need to be made 

to make it is a good fit with BC law.” 

JIM: We’re also working to review 

an aspect of the Negligence Act. 

A minor, obscure part is contribution 

after settlement. That concerns the 

situation where you have several 

defendants and one person wants 

to settle. Let’s say you’re a plaintiff. 

You’re suing Arthur and me. You 

agree with me that if I pay $20,000, 

that will be fine and I will have no 

further liability to you. When the 

case is finally decided by the judge, 

the judge can say, “Well, hold on 

a minute. The total amount of the 

claim was $200,000 and I think that 

you, Emmerton, should have paid 

$40,000.” 

Over the years, 

so many good people 

and volunteers have been 

involved in the project. 

It’s difficult to keep track. 

ARTHUR: Understand that a judge 

would not say directly that Emmerton 

must pay more. The ordinary 

rule of liability is that I, the other 

defendant, would have to pay the 

extra amount that Emmerton should 

have paid. I might or might not have 

an action to pursue Emmerton for that 

extra amount. 

JIM: That is where the law is unclear, 

which is why we’re doing the project. 

The real deterrent to settlement is 

where there are multiple defendants. 

If I don’t know what the law is, I may 

decide not to settle with you because 

I don’t know whether that’s the end 

of the legal road. 

Artist’s rendering of Allard Hall, 

Canada’s first new purpose-built university law school building in 30 years 

JIM: Another initiative we are working 

on relates to the BC probate rules. 

We did a project to recommend 

updating the Probate Rules, which is 

a necessary part of the reforms of the 

new Wills, Estates and Succession 

Act. We’ve completed that project 

and issued the report. New rules 

need to be created; we’ve submitted 

appropriate recommendations 

THE SCRIVENER: I understand 

BC Notaries have been actively 

involved in your projects. 

JIM: Absolutely. Nanaimo Notary Rick 

Evans was on the Succession project. 

Sidney Notaries Susan Davis Mercer 

and Laurie Salvador have been on at 

least two of the project committees, 

including the Undue Influence project 

and on subcommittees. Laurie did 

other work with Margaret Hall and 

Dr. Martha Donnelly. 

THE SCRIVENER: Laurie’s practice 

focuses on Wills and personal 

planning. Because of her expertise and 

experience, she is often interviewed 

and quoted in the media. 

ARTHUR: Over the years, so many 

good people and volunteers have been 

involved in the project. It’s difficult 

to keep track. 

I’d like to mention something 

that has been a trend over the 

years—bringing a person from the 

provincial government on side, 

as an observer or a member of our 

project committees. That implies 

a certain buy-in with the government 

and the officials. More than that, it 

means someone on the government 

side has a good knowledge of what 

the project is about. That was so 

important in carrying forward the 

Wills, Estate, and Succession project. 

One of the people from the policy 

branch of the Ministry of Attorney 

General sat in on our meetings 

for a solid 2 years. When the time 

came to implement, he knew what had 

happened and he knew the answers 

to most of the questions raised. 

I’m talking about the involvement 

of someone from a ministry that is 

part of a project for many years—an 

observer, simply—on the government 

side, who is really knowledgeable 


about how things were developed. That 

person can answer the hard questions 

that may concern Government and act 

as a go-to person about the project. 

JIM: We try to do that on all our general 

projects—have someone from a relevant 

ministry. In some cases, it will be the 

Ministry of Justice. For example, in our 

project on Strata Property Law, we have 

a person from the ministry responsible 

for housing. 

We have lots of ongoing ideas 

for legal research, law reform and 

outreach, and education projects in the 

areas of general law and elder law. 

One important topic is something 

I call “the future of law”—where is the 

legal system going? How should legal 

professionals be regulated? That’s 

a question Notaries and lawyers are 

asking. Currently, in BC, a joint task 

force is addressing it. 

THE SCRIVENER: How is technology 

affecting the law? 

JIM: Advances in technologies in the 

last few years have dramatically 

We have lots of ongoing 

ideas for legal research, 

law reform and outreach, 

and education projects… 

changed the way legal information can 

be provided and delivered and gives 

rise to questions about regulation and 

how legal information and services will 

be provided in future. People today 

are more sophisticated because of the 

Internet. All kinds of legal information 

is available online, yet people really 

don’t know if it’s accurate. And you 

can hire a professional online from 

New Zealand or India or Ontario 

to provide you with legal research work 

but that advisor might not know the 

law in your specific jurisdiction. 

ARTHUR: The list of things that 

are changing goes on. Lawyers 

or Notaries may be asked to help 

a self-represented litigant who wants 

a professional to look at a legal 

document and offer an opinion. 

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There is the whole question 

of interdisciplinary partnerships 

or a conglomeration of lawyers, 

Notaries, accountants, and 

other disciplines where there is 

a certain synergy by coming together 

to help mutual clients. 

How do we regulate those 

partnerships? To what extent should 

they be regulated? There will be 

concerns about, say, the lawyers’ 

insurance funds and concerns about 

insuring negligence on the part 

of the accountant who is part of the 

partnership. There will be myriad 

issues like that. 

JIM: Regulation is an area where much 

legal research work will be needed. 

The BC Law Institute is an excellent 

organization to do some of that 

research because we have worked on 

a multidisciplinary basis with lawyers 

and Notaries and with the medical 

profession and social organizations 

and so forth. 

We’re headed into a whole new 

world in the legal system! s 

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VICFO_7363_VF098.indd 1 12-06-18 2:44 PM 


fEaTURE 

Establishing the 

Samoa Law Reform 

Commission 

Talofa! 

(Hello and Welcome!) 

In 2008, the newly appointed 

Attorney general of Samoa, 

ming C. Leung Wai, had 

a dream: To establish a brand 

new law reform commission 

for his country—something 

that had never existed 

in Samoa before. 

Samoa, like so many smaller 

nations in the Pacific, had inherited 

its laws from a mix of previous 

influencer or colonial nations and 

the books were badly out of date. 

Additionally, Samoa’s Attorney General 

had sights firmly set on ensuring 

that Samoa was at the cutting edge 

of international standards established 

in human rights law and international 

conventions. Having appropriate and 

up-to-date laws can be a requirement 

of critical international aid funding. 

It was clear to Attorney General 

Leung that Samoa had a great deal 

of work to do to develop a system 

of up-to-date modern laws. The laws 

must also continue to reflect or, when 

appropriate, incorporate into legislation 

the rich cultural heritage and 

indigenous customs of Samoa. 

With minimal financial 

resources and essentially 

no legal research and 

law reform expertise 

within Samoa itself, Attorney 

General Leung faced 

a daunting challenge. 

Laura Tamblyn Watts 

With minimal financial 

resources and essentially no legal 

research and law reform expertise 

within Samoa itself, Attorney General 

Leung faced a daunting challenge. 

Notwithstanding the almost impossible 

nature of the task, the Honourable 

Mr. Leung set out to recruit a law 

reform leader for a new Samoa Law 

Reform Commission (SLRC). He 

persuaded local barrister and solicitor 

Ms. Leilani Tuala-Warren, a brilliant, 

personable, well-known lawyer, 

with the task to establish the SLRC 

and within a short time provide 

recommendations for new legislation 

across a broad front, including both 

criminal and civil laws. No small task 

indeed! 

About the same time, the British 

Columbia Law Institute (BCLI) 

completed its first Strategic Plan 

including a statement of values that 

included “respect for people, and 

valuing—justice, the rule of law, 

independent law reform, continuous 

improvement, diversity, and 

community engagement.” Community 

engagement includes continuously 

seeking ways to expand the circle 

of stakeholders and collaborators 

and seek and provide mutual support 

where practical. 

Ms. Leilani Tuala-Warren 

©iStockphoto.com/Colonel 


In September 2008, Jim 

Emmerton, BCLI’s Executive Director, 

and Laura Tamblyn Watts, then 

National Director of the Canadian 

Centre for Elder Law, met Ms. Tuala- 

Warren in Vanuatu at the Australian 

Law Reform Agencies Conference. 

During discussions it became 

evident that Ms. Tuala-Warren, 

the newly appointed Executive 

Director of the SLRC, had a significant 

need for assistance to successfully 

establish the new SLRC. The SLRC 

had a small office supplied by the 

Ministry in Samoa but no staff 

except for Ms. Tuala-Warren, no 

research materials of any kind, and 

no experience with developing and 

carrying out a law reform project— 

not to mention a complete and 

comprehensive law reform program. 

BCLI is a nonprofit organization 

committed to working collaboratively 

and creatively to support law reform 

efforts in Canada and around the 

world. The beginnings of a long-term 

and mutually beneficial relationship 

were then struck. 

BCLI was able to provide 

assistance for Ms. Tuala-Warren 

to come to Canada and visit BCLI. 

Ms. Tuala-Warren was hosted 

in Vancouver by staff and was 

wholeheartedly welcomed into the 

Ms. Leilani Tuala-Warren 

and Attorney General Leung 

BC law reform community. Her visit 

was well timed to coincide with the 

Federation of Law Reform Agencies 

of Canada [FOLRAC] conference 

hosted by the BCLI in Victoria, BC. 

That provided her with the opportunity 

to meet and connect with members 

of the law reform community from 

across the country as well as key 

members of the Notary Foundation, the 

Law Foundation, and members of the 

Canadian judiciary and governments. 

BCLI is exceptionally 

proud to have had the 

opportunity to develop such 

an important relationship 

with the SLRC 

at the critical nascent stage 

of its development. 

A freak snowstorm also offered Ms. 

Tuala-Warren her first real look at snow! 

The folks in Victoria looked equally 

confused by the weather at the time. 

At FOLRAC, Samoa was warmly 

offered connections and met ongoing 

law reform colleagues at that event. 

While in Vancouver, Ms. Tuala- 

Warren actively participated in BCLI’s 

legal research and law reform projects 

and processes, worked on developing 

capacity and strategic planning, and 

delved into the systematic processes 

required of objective, nonpolitical law 

reform work. 

BCLI and its staff then began 

to dig for further resources to support 

the SLRC. BCLI was able to provide 

the first foundational research 

textbooks and tools as a donation 

to the SLRC library. 

©iStockphoto.com/gprentice 

The relationship was very much 

a mutual one. BCLI continues to benefit 

from the ongoing exchanges and 

perspectives of the SLRC and its staff. 

The Alberta Law Reform Institute 

also reached out to Ms. Tuala-Warren, 

generously hosting her in Edmonton 

and providing her with invaluable 

opportunities to compare structures, 

consultation processes, and project 

organization. 

On returning to Samoa, Ms. Tuala- 

Warren took three things of great value 

for the SLRC. 

1. She returned to Samoa with key 

expertise and experience on 

how to organize the SLRC, how 

to establish priorities for best 

results, and how to organize and 

carry out law reform projects. 

2. Though they took a slower “tramp 

steamer” route, several legal 

textbooks provided by BCLI helped 

begin a law library. 

3. A number of webcams were 

attached to the computers of the 

SLRC. State-of-the-art at the time, 

the webcams opened the world 

to the SLRC and allowed for the 

exchange and community-building 

to continue. 

BCLI is exceptionally proud 

to have had the opportunity to develop 

such an important relationship with 

the SLRC at the critical nascent 

stage of its development. The 

relationships between the SLRC and 

BCLI remain very close and mutually 

beneficial. We appreciate the great 

relationship established with our two 

Pacific jurisdictions. 

Faamanu! 

(Thank you!) s 

Laura Tamblyn Watts was called 

to the Bar in 1999 and has worked 

with the BCLI/CCEL since 2004. 

A researcher, frequent author, and 

commentator on law and aging issues, 

she is committed to independent law 

reform in Canada and around the 

world. Laura is currently pursuing her 

doctorate in law and dreams of moving 

to Samoa. 

lwatts@bcli.org 


BC NOTaRIES 

mEET oUR BoARD oF DIRECToRS 

Patricia Wright: A Love of Law and music 

I 

was born in mission, BC. 

my father was a logger so we 

moved around the province 

a lot. my mother and father 

moved to Williams Lake when 

I was 3 and started the Williams 

Lake Logging Company. 

Mom and I 

Pat and Elvis 

Shortly thereafter, my father 

was killed in a logging accident at age 

34, leaving my mother at 30 with three 

girls to raise—ages 8, 3, and 1. There 

were debts to pay and no money coming 

in. To add to the situation, some of the 

workers—worried they would not be 

paid—absconded with the equipment, 

leaving my mom in a horrible situation. 

How do you say thank you 

for what a mom does for you 

. . . Mom was my biggest 

cheerleader through life. 

The bank came knocking and my 

mom managed to pull through all the 

adversity. She moved us back down 

to Coquitlam and provided a home 

and everything we needed. She walked 

miles to work the midnight shift at 

Fraser Mills, pulling sheets of plywood 

from a machine. She taught us that 

a woman can do anything she puts her 

mind to do if she works hard and does 

not give up. 

Mom did marry again and we were 

blessed with another sister. My mother 

passed away last December but her 

memory will stay in my heart forever. 

How do you say thank you for what 

a mom does for you . . . Mom was my 

biggest cheerleader through life. Her 

strength and wisdom helped guide me 

and her zest for life and fun always 

inspired me. She was an amazing 

woman. I was truly blessed to have her 

as my mother. 

After graduating from high school 

and a trip to Europe, I returned to my 

home town of Port Coquitlam and went 

to work for a sole practitioner lawyer 

who practised in real estate, Wills, and 

estates. It was a great way to learn 

because we two were the only people 

in the office; we prepared all the 

documents. It was a great one-on-one 

learning experience and introduction 

to the legal world. 


My 25th Notary Anniversary at Whistler 

I became a BC Notary 30 years 

ago, commissioned at the age 

of 10—the youngest Notary ever! 

I had worked for law firms since 

leaving school and liked real estate 

and mortgage work immensely. 

As a paralegal mainly in small firms, 

I was used to taking the files from 

start to finish. We would even attend 

on execution of the documents at 

that time. I was often in the office 

10 hours a day. Dealing with the 

clients was especially rewarding. 

By that time, I was living and 

working in downtown Vancouver. 

I was also instructing Conveyancing at 

the Robson Media Centre and at three 

colleges and teaching a day course 

for the BC Notary students. 

Then I realized I wanted to be 

a Notary! When I applied to take the 

training, I was interviewed by our 

dear then-Secretary Bernard Hoeter. 

I happened to be teaching one 

of his assistants in a conveyancing 

class. My interview with the highly 

capable and very stern Dr. Hoeter 

was a question-and-answer quiz on 

the topic. I still perspire when I think 

of that day! I was able to work with 

Dr. Hoeter on a number of occasions 

because our offices were so close. 

He always inspired me. 

In the past few years, I have 

been mentoring new students. We are 

welcoming some wonderful new Notaries 

into our profession, each one bringing 

unique qualities. I think the future 

of The Society will be in good hands. 

I have been very blessed with 

wonderful clients, knowledgeable 

staff, and great Realtors and mortgage 

brokers. Many of them have become 

close dear friends. I enjoy working with 

our clients and assisting them to buy 

their first home or their dream home 

or to assist them to refinance or make 

a Will. Those can be stressful times 

and I want every client coming through 

the door to feel comfortable. 

I ensure we spend enough time 

with them, even on the first phone 

contact and that they receive full 

and thorough reports about our work 

for them. I am always happy to hear 

the sound of laughter in our office; 

it makes me feel we are making the 

transaction more relaxed for the client. 

Last year, I ran for a position on 

the Board of Directors of The Society 

of Notaries because I wanted to give back 

to a profession that has been so good 

to me. I have always appreciated the 

way The Society has been there for me. 

It has been a real eye-opener to see 

the amount of work our Directors and 

Executive put in. I am delighted to be 

a new kid on our great team! 

I have always appreciated 

the way The Society 

has been there for me. 

At my office, there have been some 

fun and interesting Christmas parties 

. . . lots of great times with our clients 

including conga lines around the filing 

cabinets, surprise Mexican bands, and 

even Marilyn Monroe actors attending. 

My team 

We won’t even mention who fell into the 

punch bowl but I do have video! You 

just never know what can happen. 

I’ve also notarized documents 

and done files for certain celebrities 

and have visited film sets, studios, 

and concert venues. As well, we have 

done work for hockey players and 

management and football players and 

management. One of our clients isn’t 

allowed into the office without his 

Stanley Cup ring on! Those files are 

always fun and make for an exciting day. 

We all have to put in long hours 

in this occupation. I am fortunate 

to have such a supportive husband 

as my James. We live with our beloved 

doggie Elvis, a bearded collie who is 

now 15. James and I love to travel 

when we can get away from the office, 

which isn’t that often. 

With my husband James Black 


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Pat and James in the ‘70s 

We also keep up with James’s 

musical career. A member of a number 

of bands in the ‘70s and ‘80s, 

he was the singer, guitarist, and 

songwriter for the band May Blitz, 

which still has quite a following. The 

group was formed around the worldfamous 

drummer Tony Newman. Very 

popular in Europe, May Blitz was the 

first group ever taken on by Paramount 

Studios. They are now with Universal 

Music. They toured Europe extensively 

and the Eastern Seaboard of the USA. 

It is amazing to see how much 

information is on the Internet about 

May Blitz and how many fans have 

made YouTube videos for them (my 

favourite is Josephine Baker dancing 

to their song Firequeen). Their two 

albums have been re-mastered 

numerous times. A group from 

Germany recently found some old 

footage of a concert May Blitz did 

at the Essen Festival and re-mastered 

it in CD and vinyl form. 

Their music still sells throughout 

the world. We are always surprised 

to see sales in Japan and Korea where 

the band did not tour. Now some of the 

younger bands in England are recording 

their songs. It is all very exciting. When 

the guys get together, there’s always 

a lot of craziness and fun. 

I am still working on getting 

James and our doggie Elvis on the road 

as The Two Elvises. I think that would 

sell and I would be a great manager! 

What is most important in my 

life? Family, friends, and my Notary 

practice! s 


www.greglitwin.com 

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Alex Ning 

Notary Public, Mediator, 

Immigration & Refugee Counsel 

Member 

www.greglitwin.com 

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Business To Business 

Tracy D. Parker 

NOTARY PUBLIC 

Certified Senior Advisor 

604-885-5017 

tparker@sunshinecoastnotary.ca 

5772 Cowrie Street 

PO Box 460 

Sechelt, BC VON 3A0 

Fax: 604 885-5064 

www.sunshinecoastnotary.ca 

a SerVIce yOU caN TrUST 

Alexander Ning Notary Corporation 

Suite 230, 8911 Beckwith Road 

Richmond, BC Canada V6X 1V4 

Email: alex@annc.ca 

Fax: 604 270-4751 

Direct: 604 270-8155 

Telephone: 604 270-8384 

GREGORY J. LITWIN 

NOTARY PUBLIC 

#1 – 699 Main Street 

Penticton, British Columbia V2A 5C9 

Phone: 250-770-8888 

Fax: 250-492-2288 

Email: greg@greglitwin.com 

vicki@greglitwin.com 

kim@greglitwin.com 

sheri@greglitwin.com 

**Offices also in Oliver and Keremeos 

Westcoast Surveys Ltd. 

Registered member of ASTT of BC 

Site surveys for Mortgage Purposes 

Don Prokopetz 

AScT, RSIS 

Tel 604 543-8665 Fax 604 543-8610 

NOTARIES PUBLIC 

“Knowledgeable & Capable” 

ROY CAMMACK, M.B.A., C.S.A. #106 - 1656 Martin Drive 

NOTARY PUBLIC (1982) Surrey, British Columbia 

Telephone: (604) 536-7288 Canada V4A 6E7 

Fax: (604) 538-4477 e-mail: roy@cammack.ca 

Appointments Appreciated Website: www.cammack.ca 

Real Estate Documents ✧ Subdivisions ✧ Transfers ✧ Mortgages 

Leases ✧ Liens ✧ Powers of Attorney ✧ Wills & Affidavits 

COMMERCIAL FISHING SUPPLIES 

250 656-3951 

101 – 9830 Second Street 

Sidney, BC V8L 3C6 

Real Estate 

Estate Planning 

GARY NAKASHIMA 

President 

3731 Moncton Street 

Steveston, British Columbia 

Canada V7E 3A5 

www.pacificnetandtwine.com 

Telephone: 604-274-7238 

Facsimile: 604-271-2914 

Cellular: 604-250-0638 

US & CAN: 1-800-895-GEAR 

gary@pacificnetandtwine.com 


BC NOTaRIES 

I 

was born at the end 

of may 1965, during planting 

season on a tobacco farm 

in Southwestern ontario’s snow 

belt, close to Lake ontario. 

My young years were idyllic—fun 

and play, both in Winter and Summer, 

with lots of room to roam. I have very 

fond memories of spending hours 

fishing with my dad. I started figure 

skating when a nearby town built an 

arena and enjoyed years improving 

in that sport. I even have a couple 

of gold medals from competitions! 

To finance my social life, I had 

the usual odd jobs after school and 

on weekends. 

I attended college in Sarnia, 

Ontario, and left the day I finished 

Madeira Park 

Marina, in Pender 

Harbour, a quaint 

fishing village 

where I live 

to move out to British Columbia. 

My parents, my adventurous friend 

from college, and a very sick cat 

made the trip. Between blizzards 

outside Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, 

that left us stranded on the Trans 

Canada Highway and a vehicle 

breakdown in Edson, Alberta, it 

was quite a journey. We arrived at 

our destination in northern British 

Columbia—Granisle, on beautiful 

Babine Lake—in early May 1984. 

There we discovered the best rainbow 

trout fishing ever! 

My young years were 

idyllic—fun and play, 

both in Winter and Summer, 

with lots of room to roam. 

I relocated that Winter to Hazelton 

and at 19, started my first “real” job 

after college—legal secretary for Peter 

Grant, a very talented litigator and 

the primary lawyer on the landmark 

“Gitksan” First Nation land claim that 

eventually received judgment at the 

Supreme Court of Canada. I worked 

from a little log cabin in the middle 

of nowhere and had to build a fire 

in the woodstove every morning before 

I started work . . . not to mention the 

switchbacks on the steep driveway 

to get there! 

I learned so much from Peter, 

who treated me with much respect 

for a “young’un”; my years working 

for him were great experience. I left 

shortly after the first Gitksan trial 

began in Smithers and the case went 

on for many years. 

All Photos: Madison Zazulak, Zazulak Photography 

PRoFILE oF A BC NoTARy: 

SECHELT AND THE SUNSHINE CoAST 

Tracy Parker: 

Blues-Berries Anyone? 


Ruby Lake on the Sunshine Coast on the way to the Earl’s Cove ferry terminal, one of my favourite spots on the Coast 

I taught figure skating both 

before and after my first child 

Madison was born. The skating 

program we put together was a great 

success—80 kids, ages 2 to 18. Wow! 

What a challenge! Producing a skating 

carnival was one of most challenging 

things I have ever had to do. Madison 

loved to be in the backpack when 

I skated fast down the ice. She would 

laugh and squeal and everyone loved 

her. Madison took all the beautiful 

photo images you see in this article. 

My only sibling, my sister Vicky, 

followed us out to BC and became 

a logging truck driver. Now she lives 

in Campbell River and drives semis up 

and down Vancouver Island. I always 

worry about her, especially when she’s 

on the Malahat! 

Moving to the Sunshine Coast 

in 1989 turned out to be a wonderful 

So, as a single parent 

with three kids, two jobs, 

and a mortgage, 

I launched into the 

Notary Preparatory Course… 

decision. I worked for a couple 

of lawyers here but that wore thin after 

a few years . . . I can be a bit restless. 

It was 1994 when I took a job that 

turned out to be life-changing for me. 

I went to work for Arne Tveit-Pettersen, 

a BC Notary Public. 

Having grown up in Ontario, 

I didn’t really know what a Notary 

Public was—BC Notaries have a much 

broader scope of services than 

Ontario Notaries. Arne was willing 

to teach me and I was eager to learn. 

He was my mentor—a kind, intelligent, 

and charming man who strongly 

encouraged me to apply to the Notary 

Society. He said I had what it took 

to be a good Notary. I hope I have 

made him proud. He has retired now 

and is still running half-marathons. 

Amazing. 

So, as a single parent with three 

kids, two jobs, and a mortgage, 

I launched into the Notary Preparatory 

Course, a long, arduous but 

exhilarating ride I will never forget. 

Without the selfless support of my 

parents and friends, I don’t think 

I would have made it. I am eternally 

grateful. 

Graduated and installed in the 

Year 2000, I was ready to go! At that 

point I was working with Karen Kidd, 

Notary Public in Sechelt. 


Husband Brent and I relaxing in Zihuatanejo, Mexico . . . 

our first REAL vacation together 

Karen shared a lot of practical tips 

with me. I bought her practice and 

opened my door on August 4, 2000. 

The time since has flown quickly! 

I was so lucky to marry my 

husband Brent in 2002. He loves me 

more than I deserve. We have raised 

a blended family of 5 healthy kids—my 

3 and his 2: Chris 17, Jack 20, Jeremy 

22, Rebecca 22, and Madison 25. 

They are all great friends and it is a lot 

of fun when we are all together. I can’t 

believe it is almost 13 years later! 

The eldest Madison was married 

at our home in Pender Harbour this 

past Summer and now we are entering 

a whole new phase of our lives. I can 

see some pretty big turkey dinners 

in the years to come. 

We are starting to do some 

travelling now and have booked 

a family ski vacation at Panorama, 

BC, for Christmas. I am really looking 

forward to it. Then maybe someplace 

warmer after that. 

My Notary practice is located 

in sunny Sechelt, a half-hour drive 

from Gibsons, off the ferry from 

Horseshoe Bay. I am fortunate 

to have a great office location on the 

main street—bright and cheery with 

lots of sunshine and fresh air. 

I think one of the most 

important things we do 

as BC Notaries is simply 

helping people. 

My secretary Dianne—she likes 

to be called a secretary—is also my 

very good friend. She has skills beyond 

measure that help me every day to be 

a better person and Notary. Dianne 

takes such pride in her work and always 

tries to present our services and my 

image in the most positive light. You 

will always get a smile from Dianne 

when you come through our door! We 

have a very special and comfortable 

work environment and I believe this 

“vibe” is passed on to our clients. 

I think one of the most important 

things we do as BC Notaries is simply 

helping people. Yes, we do the regular 

work—conveyancing, Wills, and so on— 

but I have noticed that at least here on 

the Sunshine Coast, people sometimes 

just need a little help . . . you know, 

trying to make sense of government 

forms, not knowing where to get a letter 

of invitation, or even what it is. Things 

like that, especially if English is not 

their first language. 

Maybe it’s because we have an 

older demographic living here, but 

helping them out and sending them on 

their way is personally very satisfying. 

I think I like helping my older folks the 

most. They trust me and it warms my 

heart to see them smile and give me 

a hug when they leave the office. After 

all the years they’ve been here and all 

the things they’ve seen, they deserve 

my sincere respect. 

For the last couple of years, 

I have been working from my home 

in Pender Harbour on Wednesdays 

and meeting clients there. Since it is 

only a half-hour drive north of Sechelt, 

many people are grateful for my 

service in that area and I really enjoy 

it. Hopefully in the future I can spend 

even more time in Pender Harbour. 

That is one of my goals. 

Dianne and I with some of our 

“Blues-Berry Tarts.” We add the 

whipped cream just before delivery! 

Recently we launched a Blues- 

Berry Tarts campaign and that 

has been fun. We have been delivering 

blueberry tarts to the people with 

whom we work—banks, Realtors, and 

so on—to help chase away the January 

blues. Dianne has been helping me 

bake the tarts; we pick and freeze the 

blueberries from our bushes every year. 

We have about 36 very large 

blueberry bushes down by the lake 

and last year we had kazillions 

of berries! We also had a “Blueberry 

Tea” event in the blueberry patch last 

August. We spend a lot of time in the 

Spring pruning the bushes and in the 

Summer, picking the fruits of our 

labours. Dianne is the one who looks 

like she is jumping out of the bushes 

in the photo, always with a SMILE! 


With my friends Dianne and Airlie picking 

their own at our “Blueberry Tea” event 

I love that photo; it makes me laugh 

so hard! Now we are trying to figure 

out the best ideas of what to do with 

all the berries. 

Obviously we have awesome 

smoothies all year long and they make 

really good blueberry vinaigrette. 

Maybe we will try dehydrating them 

this year. 

Being members of the Sechelt and 

Pender Harbour Chambers of Commerce 

and the Sechelt Downtown Business 

Association, my husband and I attend 

as many community functions as we 

can. We especially love the musical 

talent that comes to the Sunshine Coast 

and try to be involved in the multiple 

music festivals Pender Harbour hosts 

each year. 

I have spent more time speaking 

at small community groups over the 

past year, educating people about 

advance care planning. We also belong 

to the Royal Canadian Legion—they 

are our best neighbour—and we 

volunteer there when we can. Now that 

the kids are growing up, Brent and 

I hope to have more time for that kind 

of community service. 

I am so grateful for the 

opportunity to give back and to help 

people wherever possible. From what 

I know of the others in my profession, 

that is what being a BC Notary is all 

about. s 

Please 

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BC NOTaRIES 

D ear M um, 

It has been nearly 5 years since you left us 

and I still miss you very much. 

The past few months, I have 

thought about you all the time. 

Valentine’s Day was the 100th anniversary of Dad’s birth and May 31 

will be the 100th anniversary of your 

birth. Lawson, your youngest greatgrandchild, 

will have his first birthday 

the same day. I wish both you and 

Dad were here and in good health 

to experience these days. 

I keep thinking about you and 

what you have meant to me during my 

lifetime. As you know, I was 65 this 

year. I graduated from high school 

in 1965, so the class of ‘65 turned 65. 

Several of “the girls” in my graduating 

class got together for lunch in December 

when the last of us had her birthday. 

We had our pictures taken with our gold 

cards. It was such fun and you would 

have loved to hear about it. 

Not only do I miss not being able 

to share my life with you, I am sorry 

you never got to know how much 

you taught me in the last few years 

of your life. The life experiences we 

had together are being put to good use 

in my professional and private life. 

After nearly 46 years working on 

Fort Street in Victoria, I closed my 

office last year and began working 

from home. The routine of not getting 

up and going to work every day 

seemed strange at first but it gave me 

a freedom I had never experienced 

before. I am able to look out the same 

window as you did for so many years 

and enjoy all the things you enjoyed. 

I keep thinking about you 

and what you have meant 

to me during my lifetime. 

. . . Watching the buds begin to burst 

on the trees in the front yard 

. . . Enjoying the squirrels running 

around on the lawn across the 

street 

. . . Marvelling as the Winter turns 

into Spring with the return of the 

birds and flowers 

I even have the time to remember 

how you used to fuss at the blossoms 

falling from the chestnut tree and 

With my father Alex and my mother Alice Caddell 

Leta Best 

©iStockphoto.com/YinYang 

Leta at Grad 

driving you crazy with the mess 

they made on the driveway. Do you 

remember how you would have to go 

out and sweep them up to keep 

everything tidy? 

Well, in that respect, I’m not like 

you. I enjoy having the lawn covered 

in blossoms and the experience 

brought you much closer to me. 

I believe you would say I have finally 

stopped to smell the roses. 

As you would also note, it wasn’t 

the roses I would smell but the weeds. 

Those weeds were my wild flowers 

in the garden. To you they were simply 

weeds. To the delight of us both, your 

flowers and my weeds are getting 

along well in our garden. 

As the Summer turned to Autumn, 

I had the time to watch the leaves fall 

and cover the lawn. This time I was like 

you and had to sweep up the leaves 

and pile them next to the road for 

collection. Well, that’s not quite true, 

I had someone sweep and pile them up 

for me but at least they were removed. 

Oh, I have to share one more 

observation I have made since 

I slowed down. As I sit in my chair 

at night, I look down at my feet and 

I see your feet on the end of my legs. 

I then wonder in what other ways I am 

my mother’s daughter. Hopefully, I am 

your daughter in all the best ways. 


To get to the point of my Thank 

You letter to you, my life has changed 

a great deal in the past year since 

bringing my office home. Instead 

of having the clients come to me, 

I often go to them. 

As I was speaking 

to the family with the 

social worker, it was 

a moment of déjà vu. 

That is the experience I would 

like to share with you the most. Mum, 

I know you often felt you were not 

a part of my business life. How proud 

you would be today to know just how 

much you taught me in the last years 

of your life and how I am taking those 

lessons and using them today. 

A few months ago, I was at one 

of the senior homes interviewing 

family members, as well as my client, 

for the legal documents they required 

and I felt your presence. 

As I was speaking to the family 

with the social worker, it was 

a moment of déjà vu. The clock 

stopped and moved back to 2005 

when you had your stroke and 

I was talking to the social worker at 

Victoria General Hospital, making 

plans for the rest of your life. It was 

a bewildering, scary moment when 

I realized I would have to make all the 

decisions for you in the future. 

In a matter of months, you who 

loved to golf and bowl and play 

badminton were robbed of all that was 

so special to you. Oh, I know you had 

been nearly blind and partially deaf for 

many years but you still had a quality 

of life. That was now changed. How 

fortunate we were that we had already 

done some preplanning and at least 

had a Power of Attorney in place. Your 

insistence that you would always be 

able to fend for yourself—and you 

are not the only one with a stubborn 

streak—kept you from doing anything 

more than the Power of Attorney. 

Heaven forbid you should 

ever entertain the notion of a 

Representation Agreement. You were 

going to stay in your home till the day 

you died and were adamant that you 

could look after yourself and did not 

require any assistance. 

Well, guess what? The future had 

other plans for you. We were very 

fortunate that we were able to manage 

with just the Power of Attorney, but 

how times have changed in the past 

few years. 

More and more, the health care 

system is requesting that Powers 

of Attorney, Representation 

Agreements, and Advance Health Care 

Directives are in place. My experiences 

with you have given me a greater 

understanding of both the system and 

what is required. 

I was sitting with a family going 

through the same transition as I went 

through with you. While I was speaking 

to them, I felt you very close to me 

and guiding me. The lessons I learned 

through you were applied with them; 

I felt confident in counselling the family. 

Although the guidance I was 

giving them was very different than the 

advice of the social worker, I was able 

to use my knowledge as a BC Notary 

Public and my experience with you 

to assist the family and their loved one 

to make informed decisions on the legal 

documentation they would require. 

More and more over the past 

year, I have been going to the clients’ 

homes, the hospital, hospice, and 

long-term care facilities to assist the 

aging or terminally ill people with their 

end-of-life decisions. 

My years as a Notary gave me 

the education, but you, my dearest 

mother, gave me the compassion and 

the passion to assist these members 

of our community. 

As Mother’s Day approaches, 

I just wanted to say how much I love 

you and how much I appreciate 

your guidance and the opportunities 

you gave me. 

Thank you, M um. 

Your loving 

daughter,Leta 

xoxoxo s 

Judi Whyte RI 

Inaugural Professional Excellence Award 

Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver 

Cell: 604.868.9812 

judiwhyte@telus.net 

Robbi-Layne Robertson 

Cell: 604.351.9417 

robbilaynerobertson@gmail.com 

Selling Homes 

for over 35 years ~ 

www.JudiWhyte.com 

Call us for real estate advice 

and service you can trust. 

Prudential Sussex Realty 2397 

Marine Drive, West Vancouver, BC 

V7V 1K9 


Margot R. 

Rutherford* 

Notary Public 

A Member of The Society 

of Notaries Public of British Columbia 

*Denotes Professional Notarial Corporation 

981 Fitzgerald Avenue 

Courtenay, BC V9N 2R6 

Tel: 250 338-6251 

Fax: 250 338-5337 

email: mrrutherford-notary@shaw.ca 

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BC NOTaRIES 

WHERE ARE THEy NoW? 

Roy Bishop: 

Nonstop Since Retiring! 

my very early years 

were spent in Northern 

ontario where we 

kids walked 3 miles to school 

in Winter weather, even when 

it was -40°! 

None too soon, we moved 

to Toronto where I grew up. I naturally 

migrated to BC because I dreamed 

of seeing the land beyond the mountains 

and also the mountains themselves. 

When I got here, I could not bear 

to leave again for the frozen East! 

I became a Notary because some 

of my friends were Notaries. They 

suggested I contact then-Secretary 

Alex Matthew. 

With son Bill when Roy was presented 

with his 50-year Masonic Lodge pin 

After I passed the course, I set 

up shop in Vancouver and practised 

20+ years. 

One of the most enjoyable aspects 

of my practice was serving on the Board 

of Directors and as President, through 

some trying times for The Society. 

One of the most interesting and 

exciting times was when I was 

invited to sit in the Gallery of the 

Legislature when our new Notaries Act 

was proclaimed in 1986. 

Since retiring, I have played 

much tennis, some golf, and 

a lot of duplicate bridge. 

Roy and a local dude 

on a recent visit to Dubai 

We recently returned from a trip 

to the Middle East where we visited 

several Arab countries including 

Petra in Jordan and Wadi Rum, 

where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed. 

We ended up in Dubai, a place that 

has always fascinated me. 

The most important thing 

in life is family and friends, as well 

as reasonably good health! s 


BC Notaries Susan Tong and Katy Roohani 

at the BC Real Estate Convention 2013 in March 

KABAN 

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The Board of Governors of the Notary 

Foundation of BC is comprised of 

• 8 members of the Board of Directors 

of The Society of Notaries Public of BC; 

• 1 representative from the Attorney 

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The members from The Society are elected 

by the Directors of The Society from among 

their ranks, for a 3-year period. 

The Current Governors 

Susan Davis, Chair 

Ken Sherk 

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G. W. (Wayne) Braid, Executive 

Officer of the Notary Foundation, 

is responsible for the 

administration of the office and 

staff, and the diverse investment 

funds of the Foundation. 

Wayne Braid The Board of Governors meets 

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from various organizations and to set policy, 

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The Governors of the Foundation have the 

responsibility of guiding the Foundation 

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Tammy 

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The Notary Foundation funds are used for the following purposes. 

1. Legal education 

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applicants who have enrolled to become BC Notaries 

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under the Notaries Act of BC 

Leta 

Best 

Filip 

de Sagher 

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THE BIG PICTURE 

Is it time . . . 

• to practise international 

development at home 

to better our own 

communities; 

• to reconfigure and 

develop more sustainable 

economies; 

• to ensure our health and 

education systems evolve 

to meet the needs of the 

population; 

• to ensure the governance 

of our jurisdictions 

has appropriate institutions 

of modern democracy? 

Reconstruction Overseas 

In the past few years, we have seen 

the extremes of conflict, witnessed 

the unravelling of many societies 

as they descended into the abyss 

of ethnic cleansing into the dark 

terrain of warlords, of religious hatred 

unleashed, and we have often seen 

the barely tethered mounts of 

The Four Horsemen. 

The MiX 

Practising 

International Development 

at Home 

The global community has poured 

billions of dollars into those societies 

moving from command economies 

to ones driven by the market. Where 

dictators have fallen we have driven 

capital into training, into rights, 

into participatory planning, and 

into the rule of law. 

With the best of nations, we have 

also seen close-hand reconstruction, 

the building of the institutions of good 

governance, the resurgence of agriculture, 

the paving of transportation links, and 

refreshed infrastructure to nurture 

sound economies. 

…many of us do not 

recognize that in many other 

areas we are falling behind… 

We have helped develop personal 

voice for women and many others 

disenfranchised in oppressive systems. 

In some countries, we have provided 

security to protect that newly heard 

voice from retribution. Young people 

have looked to the future with 

choices to consider and understood 

for the first time in their country’s 

history the concept, opportunity, and 

responsibility of freedom. 

Many people working in 

international development are today, 

as you read this, making tangible 

improvements for people to live secure 

Nigel Atkin 

lives, where they can plan for their 

futures, not just eking out mere 

subsistence for their families’ very 

survival. 

There is much more to do. As paid 

consultants working for international 

donors, or as volunteers in charities 

and NGOs, in health service, 

in agriculture, and in education, 

as soldiers or diplomats, as corporate 

partners, or just working 

as individuals, the broad range 

of services delivered to make the world 

a better place must continue. 

Not Immune to Change 

British Columbia and our communities 

in Canada are not immune to the 

forces of change. 

While we think that other countries 

are weathering conflict and emulating 

or even catching up to our more 

developed standards of living, we would 

be naïve to think our society was not 

also going through extreme, although 

thankfully less violent, change. 

While most of us recognize 

incremental changes afforded 

by advancing technology in most 

areas of our individual lives—smart 

phones, better access to entertainment 

and information—many of us do not 

recognize that in many other areas we 

are falling behind—in mental and 

physical health, in community, and 

public participation in our governing 

institutions. 


In our communities, smarter parking 

meters or garbage collection and bus 

schedule apps or systems of community 

surveillance are implemented but there 

is little discussion about replacing 

aging municipal infrastructure and the 

need for raising taxes to update roads, 

sewerage, bridges, and other vital 

services. 

Some people are realizing the 

slowly growing inability of government 

to deliver all health and education 

services in an increasingly pluralistic 

society. Others are starting to see the 

consequences of constantly indulging 

our entertainment options as altering 

our psyches, behaviours, and thinking. 

Amused to death comes to mind. 

Few leaders are stopping to think 

of how we need to adjust to these 

changes and prepare for others that 

are inevitable. 

Those apparent small changes, 

alone and in totality, are having 

a profound effect on our lives. Stress 

in our society, especially our youth 

seeking sustainable and stable futures, 

is rapidly increasing, bringing a host 

of health and education challenges. 

People, economies, and 

communities are not adjusting well 

to the changes. They are falling 

behind, in poverty and isolation . . . 

disenfranchised. 

Evidence of this can be heard 

in numerous quarters—in women 

raising their children outside traditional 

family structures, in the streets 

during Idle No More demonstrations, 

in groups of downtown businesspeople 

trying to adjust to market and other 

societal forces. 

Implementing Development at Home 

Do we need to practise international 

development at home? There is no 

doubt about it. Can we tear a page 

from the international playbook and 

implement successful development 

models in our own communities? 

Absolutely. 

Canada and British Columbia brim 

with two major resources—the 

knowledge and wisdom of an 

experienced yet retired workforce and 

the energy and enthusiasm of young 

people, educated, keen on doing good 

and gaining experience and making 

a difference. 

Within this large pool of talent 

there are subject matter experts 

(SMEs), not unlike those who serve 

around the world, who would welcome 

domestic opportunities to be a part 

of change at home. 

Think of models of change that 

could be modified and adapted 

to needs in the most desperate First 

Nations or in our downtown cores, 

in our rural areas facing environmental 

and economic pressures. 

Some people are realizing 

the slowly growing inability 

of government to deliver 

all health and education 

services in an increasingly 

pluralistic society. 

Consider if we need a form 

of Peace Corps at home or Volunteers 

in Service to “Canada” or a form 

of Provincial Reconstruction Teams 

(PRTs) without security forces, 

to advance relevant education and 

skills training “on site,” to implement 

practical engineering for clean 

water and sewage, to train people 

in sustainable economic growth. 

Each community is different and 

different teams could be assembled 

to effect changes on the ground. 

One community might need 

construction for social infrastructure; 

another, public financial management; 

another, agriculture and natural 

resource experts; another, the 

strengthening of health systems 

or development of education 

management and administrative 

systems. The list can go on. 

Enough reports and 

recommendations have been written. 

Too many news stories clog the 

psyche—it’s time to get things done. 

There are precedents and models 

for effective action. 

Ten years ago, for instance, 

the British Columbia government 

provided funds, administered through 

the Victoria Foundation, to support 

Aboriginal organizations across the 

province (First Nations, independent 

Bands, Métis, and Urban Aboriginal 

organizations) to help transition 

their communities toward Aboriginal 

children and family program 

management. 

While that focused initiative 

was successful in many communities, 

there is much more to be done. 

Consider the Potential 

Times have changed. There is greater 

and wider need today, not just in First 

Nations but in a host of other urban 

and rural areas. 

Consider the potential to develop 

teams of SMEs who would be 

requested by the community, 

with clearly targeted objectives, 

within clearly defined time frames, 

to effect positive change. 

Teams would be recruited 

as needed, oriented to the project 

goals at hand, administered 

by a community foundation or other 

neutral organization outside 

a community’s immediate vested 

interests, and charged with a mandate 

and deliverables. 

Consider the investment in our 

communities as funding coming 

from not only taxpayers and the 

institutions they support, but also from 

corporations, banks, from charities 

and foundations, and other NGOs. 

Consider that both paid and unpaid 

volunteers would have their “on site” 

expenses covered and that they would 

be a focused team to “get it done.” 

Canada and other countries have 

expended extensive capital, even lives, 

to help other countries rebuild and 

adjust to a sustainable and brighter 

future for their people. 

There are lessons learned 

in international development and many 

of them can be applied in our own 

territory, here in British Columbia. s 

Nigel Atkin is an international 

development consultant specializing 

in strategy, communications, and ethics. 

Natkin2020@gmail.com 


CHaRITaBLE GIVING 

How to Customize 

your giving 

Because we each have 

personal reasons 

for giving, our gifts can 

take many forms. 

Many of us respond to those friendly 

reminders in the mail from organizations 

we’ve supported in the past. 

Our giving can be campaignspecific. 

Often, a friend or colleague is 

fundraising for a particular campaign 

that leads to our one-time donation. 

Sometimes our donation is seasonal 

such as supporting the Union Gospel 

Mission at Thanksgiving or the Empty 

Stocking Fund around Christmas. 

An event such as an earthquake, 

tsunami, famine, or the suffering 

caused by war may motivate us. 

Each event appeals to our sense 

of wanting to be able to help. 

Ways to Help 

People can donate in several ways. 

Most often, we think about giving 

in the form of cash donations—the 

type of contribution often needed and 

appreciated. 

Think about other ways of helping. 

Often, we have the skills required 

in the administration of organizations. 

Donating a few hours of our time 

each week or month to help with the 

bookkeeping and being active on 

a Board are ways we can share our skills 

and fill the demand in organizations. 

Another way to help any cause 

is by advocating. Advocating is very 

important. It makes the people you 

approach think about an issue and 

they may seek to do something about 

it—or maybe they won’t, but at least 

they’ve become more aware. 

An event such as an 

earthquake, tsunami, famine, 

or the suffering caused 

by war may motivate us. Each 

event appeals to our sense 

of wanting to be able to help. 

David Watts 

Vancouver Realtor Mike Rampf 

recently led a team of “Movember” 

participants—13 mustache-growers 

raising funds to support research 

for prostate cancer and raise 

awareness to men to get themselves 

checked and screened. 

Mike’s business partner Shawn 

Anderson also did a fundraiser 

recently, the “Run for the Cure” 

in support of breast cancer 

research and to raise awareness 

to promote checkups and screening. 

Shawn claimed that if he reached 

a certain fundraising goal, he would do 

the 5 kilometre run wearing only a pink 

Speedo. Clearly, he met his goal. 

Some of the “Movember” Group 

Back row, from left: Rob Zoricic, Andrew McLeod, Alex Thomas, Geoff Murphy, 

Brent Anderson, Dave McLeod, Jeff Devlin, Jason Lyle 

Front row: Peter George, Mike Rampf, Rick Henry, Manuel Avila 


Shawn in pink Speedo 

Reasons for Giving 

Often we choose to help because 

of a situation around us where we see 

a need, although our options for helping 

are limited. It’s difficult for any one 

of us to think up a cure for a disease 

but, together, we can raise the resources 

to fund research and get the right tools 

to the right people with the right skills— 

and see results. 

On our own, our donations may 

not be significant but “there is 

strength in numbers.” You can support 

an organization such as the Canadian 

Cancer Society or the Parkinson 

Society BC. Find a group that 

has helped someone you know and 

help that organization continue to help 

others. 

Follow the Money 

Where does it go? 

Sometimes we’re suspicious 

about the way our donation money is 

spent. I think about that every time 

I get something in the mail that asks 

me to donate. As opposed to replying 

to unsolicited mail, I usually make 

my donations in support of friends 

or colleagues in their fundraising 

campaigns. 

I always wonder how much those 

print campaigns cost. I guess they 

make money on a net basis but I’m 

personally not a big fan of the waste 

of paper and the resources consumed 

in mail delivery. That said, I realize 

that the various organizations operate 

in different ways. I’m sure many 

people appreciate receiving reminders 

in the mail and the goodies that often 

accompany requests for donations. 

If you’re concerned about where 

the money goes, you can find out. 

Most organizations have websites 

where they publish their annual 

reports. Take a look to see how much 

money is spent on administration, 

marketing, and printing vs. special 

projects, research, and actual 

assistance. Do your due diligence on 

your charity. If you don’t like what you 

see, keep looking. 

On our own, our donations 

may not be significant 

but “there is strength 

in numbers.” 

In fairness, all organizations 

require administration. Some 

organizations are fairly lean and rely on 

volunteers. Others are professionally 

run. It’s sometimes ironic when 

these organizations call themselves 

“nonprofit.” There are always unlimited 

wants and the boundless ability 

to consume available funds. They 

have to operate on a very innovative 

basis and the use of entrepreneurial 

methods is not uncommon. 

Review a charity’s budget. See how 

much money goes to research, helping 

families, or preserving woodlands, 

for example, as a percentage of the 

total revenue or fundraising. 

Taking Action 

Do you support specific organizations 

each year? 

Is there a cause close to your heart that 

you feel comfortable getting behind? 

Do you have a budget for your annual 

giving? 

When was the last time you 

fundraised? 

Do you know of an organization that 

has a Board of Directors or office 

administration situation where you 

could help? 

If you’re concerned about 

where the money goes, 

you can find out. Most 

organizations have websites 

where they publish their 

annual reports. 

Do you have skills that could help an 

organization succeed? 

Do you feel better about contributing 

time, money, neither, or both? 

Can you advocate to tell people which 

organizations you support and why? 

Sometimes that gentle reminder— 

especially from a friend or trusted 

professional—is all that is needed 

to have people remember it’s time 

to give. 

Do you have Will? Is there a specific 

bequest to a charity in your Will? 

That’s something to think about 

the next time you update your Will 

or prepare it for the first time, if you 

don’t yet have one. 

Summary 

Throughout the year, we have many 

opportunities to give. Today is one 

of those opportunities. After reading 

this, hopefully you will take the time 

to assess your own giving. 

Are you comfortable with your current 

levels? 

Can you give more? 

Think about various initiatives. 

Can you grow a mustache or donate 

to someone who participates 

in “Movember” this year? 

Can you run or bike or bowl 

for a cause? 

If you feel strongly about 

something, can you support those 

who are doing something about it? 

We don’t have to be Terry Fox, Steve 

Fonyo, or Rick Hansen but we can 

certainly help in whatever way works 

for us. s 

David Watts is a BC Notary practising 

in Downtown Vancouver. 

david@davidnotary.com 

www.davidnotary.com 


POWER Of aTTORNEY 

“Power tends to corrupt, 

and absolute power 

corrupts absolutely.” 

Lord Acton 

As most readers will know, 

a Power of Attorney is a legal 

document giving power from one 

person (the Adult) to someone else 

(called the *Attorney) to deal on his 

or her behalf regarding the Adult’s 

legal or financial affairs. 

The powers can either be general 

powers for an Attorney to do anything 

you can do (other than make a Last 

Will) or specific/limited powers— 

for example, close a real estate deal 

for you while you’re down south. 

• An “enduring clause” allows the 

Attorney either to continue to act 

when, or to start to act if, the 

Adult becomes incapable. 

• The former could be called an 

“enduring” and the latter could 

be called a “springing” Power 

of Attorney. 

• In either of those cases, the 

document is usually referred 

to as an Enduring Power 

of Attorney (EPOA). 

• Most of the Powers of Attorney 

created today are EPOAs rather than 

general or limited. We will use the 

term EPOA throughout this article 

to refer to a Power of Attorney. 

WILL PoWER CoRRUPT? 

Avoiding Elder Abuse 

by a Rogue “Attorney” * 

Along with a Representation 

Agreement—a similar document 

appointing a Representative to make 

decisions regarding personal and 

medical care, an EPOA is a very 

useful advance planning tool. Advance 

planning is done to protect people 

when they later become no longer 

able to look after their own affairs 

or speak for themselves. Although easy 

to create, EPOAs are very powerful 

documents and have been called 

a licence to steal. 

Along with a Representation 

Agreement…an EPOA 

is a very useful advance 

planning tool. 

At the BC Centre for Elder 

Advocacy and Support, we respond 

and work to prevent elder abuse. 

The most common form of elder 

abuse is financial abuse. An Attorney 

appointed under an EPOA may abuse 

his or her power or go rogue, as Sarah 

Palin would say. 

There may be a number of reasons 

for this. 

• The document may have 

been created in questionable 

circumstances. 

• The wrong person may be been 

chosen to be the Attorney. 

Kevin Smith 

• Often that Attorney was appointed 

with very little or no information 

about the Attorney’s role and 

responsibilities. 

• Family members chosen 

as Attorneys may believe they 

are “entitled” to help themselves 

to some of the money, either 

because a lot is being demanded 

of them or because they believe 

they are going to inherit it later 

anyway, so why not take some 

now? 

• Some people simply behave badly 

when there is money around 

for the taking and no one is 

looking . . . 

Dealing with the aftermath of 

an Attorney going rogue can present 

serious challenges. A capable Adult 

can revoke a Power of Attorney 

and sue for return of the ill-gotten 

gains. In some cases you can 

criminally charge an Attorney and 

seek “restitution” (See “Dealing 

with the Rogue Attorney.” www. 

cle.bc.ca/PracticePoints/WILL/10- 

RogueAttorney.htm) 

The Public Guardian and Trustee 

(PGT) for BC has an Assessment and 

Investigation Service that has the 

power, in the case of an incapable 

Adult, of revoking a Power of Attorney, 

demanding accounting, freezing bank 

accounts, and so on. Application can 

be made to the BC Supreme Court 


to terminate an EPOA under the new 

section 36 of the Power of Attorney 

Act and ask for return of monies 

misappropriated. But all that may be 

closing the barn door after the horse 

has left; the money may be long gone 

and not recoverable. 

We want to review some of the 

steps your legal representative will 

take when asked to create an EPOA 

for you, to help guard against potential 

abuse. 

• Preliminary considerations that 

will be covered in an interview 

• Things that should be included 

in the document when drafted 

• Recommendations regarding 

handout materials to go along 

with the document 

First, we want to review some recent 

legislative changes that were intended 

to lessen the chances of an Attorney 

going rogue. 

Legislative Changes 

A package of legislative changes 

occurred in September 2011, 

dealing with advance planning issues 

and documents—Representation 

Agreements, Advance Directives, and 

Powers of Attorney. Two new parts 

were added to the Power of Attorney 

Act—over 30 sections—relating to the 

duties and powers of Attorneys, and 

operations of EPOAs. They were largely 

intended to minimize the possibility 

of an Attorney going rogue. 

The new parts include the following. 

1. “Statutory test” for capability 

of the Adult to grant an EPOA 

2. Limits on who can be appointed 

Attorney: Paid caregivers are 

prohibited 

3. Attorney to sign the document 

in front of witnesses 

(to acknowledge he or she 

has a positive duty to act) 

4. Annual limits on gifts, loans, 

and charitable donations 

5. Listing of legal duties of Attorney 

(section 19) and their powers 

(section 20) 

6. Record-keeping responsibilities 

for Attorney 

7. Reporting abuse or neglect and 

protection for whistle-blowers 

8. Remedies available and 

jurisdiction of court 

9. Process for changing, revoking, 

and terminating the EPOA 

Some of those provisions were 

always understood to be the law. 

But they have been specifically spelled 

out in the statute now, to add clarity 

and certainty. Other statutory duties 

or powers have been created for the 

first time; some are mandatory and 

some can be modified by specific 

terms in the EPOA. 

Your legal representative 

needs to ensure you are 

capable of making the 

Power of Attorney document. 

Preliminary Considerations 

Capability 

Your legal representative needs 

to ensure you are capable of making 

the Power of Attorney document. 

As mentioned, the 2011 amendments 

set out a “statutory test” for whether 

an Adult is mentally capable 

of creating a valid Power of Attorney. 

There are presently six parts to the 

test. The Adult must understand 

the nature and consequences of the 

proposed EPOA and specifically 

understand the following. 

1. The property the Adult has and 

its approximate value 

2. The obligations the Adult owes 

to his or her dependants 

3. The fact that the Adult’s Attorney 

will be able to do, on the Adult’s 

behalf, anything in respect of the 

Adult’s financial affairs that 

the Adult could do if capable, 

except make a Will, subject to the 

conditions and restrictions set out 

in the EPOA 

4. The fact that unless the Attorney 

manages the Adult’s business and 

property prudently, their value may 

decline 

5. The fact that the Attorney might 

misuse the Attorney’s authority 

6. The fact that the Adult may, 

if capable, revoke the EPOA 

At the present time, the Regulations 

have no other “prescribed” matters. 

Your legal representative would 

go through each of the six points, 

discussing them with you or asking you 

to restate them in your own words. 

• What if there is some question 

of your capability to understand 

some or all of these points? 

• Are you lacking mental capacity? 

Some legal representatives have 

received little training on how 

to conduct an assessment of capability. 

While mental capability may 

seem to be a medical determination, 

in this case it is a legal determination 

that must be made by your legal 

representative or ultimately a judge. 

A medical opinion or assessment 

can assist in this process, but 

cannot on its own decide the matter. 

The American Bar Association, 

in conjunction with the American 

Psychological Association, has put out 

a useful handbook and tool for your 

legal representative to assess your 

capability. It is available here. 

http://www.apa.org/pi/aging/resources/ 

guides/diminished-capacity.pdf 

Undue Influence 

Your legal representative will want 

to ensure that you are not under any 

“undue influence” when granting 

such power to someone else over your 

financial and legal affairs. The need 

to avoid undue influence when creating 

a Power of Attorney is not spelled out 

in the legislation. Section 34 sets out 

that one of the reasons someone may 

report to the PGT for an investigation 

is when “Fraud, undue pressure 

or some other form of abuse or neglect 

is being or was used to induce an 

Adult to make, change or revoke an 

Enduring Power of Attorney.” 

The British Columbia Law 

Institute, featured in the Cover 

Story interview of this magazine, 

has developed a tool for legal 

representatives who are creating Last 

Wills—a checklist and set of red 

flags to ensure undue influence 

isn’t affecting the will-maker when 


Alternatives 

to Enduring Powers of Attorney 

Section 7 Representation Agreement 

An Adult who is not capable of making an EPOA might still be capable 

of making a section 7 Representation Agreement (RA), which can give the 

Representative the powers to deal not just with personal care and medical 

care matters but also “routine financial management.” This includes most 

legal and financial matters other than matters that create longer-term financial 

obligations—loans, mortgages, credit cards, etc. See section 2 of the Regulation 

to the Representation Agreement Act for what is included. The “statutory test” 

for capability for a section 7 RA is less onerous—the Adult can be capable 

of making a section 7 Representation Agreement even though he or she is 

incapable of making a contract; of managing health care, personal care, 

or legal matters; or the routine management of financial affairs. See section 8 

of the Representation Agreement Act for the statutory capacity test. Note that 

a section 7 RA does not deal with end-of-life matters. That requires a section 9 

Representation Agreement with a higher standard of capability. 

Pension Trusteeship, to assist a senior with uncomplicated finances 

If the senior’s only source of income is Federal Income Security Programs 

(OAS/CPP), and they just pay rent, food, and utilities, a pension trusteeship 

may be all that is needed. A capable family member or friend can sign up with 

Income Security Programs to receive the senior’s pension funds as trustee 

to pay the rent and bills. 

Committee (Pronounced Kaw-mit-tay) 

If the Adult is incapable of making either an EPOA or section 7 

Representation Agreement, and the matter is more complicated than 

just managing OAS/CPP income, a concerned family member or friend 

would have to apply to court to be appointed as the “legal guardian” 

or “conservator” of the Adult’s estate (known in BC as “Committee 

(kaw-mit-tay) of the Estate”). That is an expensive and time-consuming 

process. The Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT) may be appointed 

as Committee of the Estate as a last resort, either by the court 

or a by “Certificate of Incapability” under the Patients Property Act. 

Trust Agreement 

An Adult with an EPOA can continue to act unilaterally until found to be incapable. 

Often times, an older Adult, while not incapable, may be quite vulnerable to undue 

influence or overreaching by family members, friends, or others. 

We have seen many capable older Adults who are simply unable to say no 

to a child demanding more and more money or who is demanding to be put 

on title of a property. Guilt or embarrassment may also be a factor. 

A properly drafted trust agreement, rather than an EPOA, can put all 

of the Adult’s property and income in trust, which can provide a “wall 

of protection”—the Adult can no longer act unilaterally; the trustee will say 

“no” in the Adult’s stead. A trust agreement maintains very private and secure 

control and management of a person’s assets and affairs; an EPOA will be 

cancelled if a Committee is appointed, which can result in the intervention 

of a relative you would have never chosen or the intervention of the PGT. 

A trust agreement can also provide more comprehensive terms of the 

trustee’s specific duties and powers than an EPOA, including a framework 

for management of property. A trust can survive death, ensuring 

uninterrupted management of affairs, while an EPOA ends at the death of the 

Adult. There are various other tax and planning benefits to a trust, beyond 

the scope of this article. 

instructing about the contents of the 

Will. The checklist and the red flags 

are easily adapted to be used to avoid 

undue influence in the creation 

of EPOAs. It is available here. http:// 

www.bcli.org/sites/default/files/ 

undue%20influence_guide_final_cip. 

pdf 

Choosing the Attorney 

A crucial part of the process 

in creating an EPOA is a discussion 

about who should be appointed. 

Your legal representative will advise 

that you need to implicitly trust the 

person to whom you handing over 

your affairs. In a worst-case scenario, 

that designated individual can clean 

out your bank account and abscond 

to another jurisdiction, leaving you 

penniless. 

• Given the record-keeping and 

reporting requirements, when 

choosing children or friends to be 

your Attorney, we recommend you 

select a “fastidious nerd” over 

a “sloppy klutz,” assuming they 

are equally trustworthy. 

• You may think you want to be 

“fair” by appointing more than 

one friend or family member 

to act jointly. You may think it 

will help ensure some “oversight” 

to have more than one person 

involved. You should think long 

and hard about that. Will it work 

in practice? You may be setting 

up your friends or loved ones 

for an ongoing, potentially divisive 

struggle. 

• Will the EPOA say the Attorneys 

must act independently or only 

jointly? (The “default” in the 

legislation, subject to what the 

EPOA says, is that they must act 

unanimously.) 

• Will all the individuals be available 

when required? 

• How will decisions be made? 

• If there are conflicts, how will they 

be resolved? 

Consider naming only one trusted 

person as your Attorney. To keep 

“peace in the family,” consider naming 

another as an alternate Attorney. 

A third person could be named your 


Representative under a section 9 

Representation Agreement regarding 

health and personal care. Having an 

alternate Attorney named is a good 

idea where possible, in case the first 

Attorney has predeceased the Adult 

or is unable or unwilling to serve. 

Restrictions on Attorneys 

As mentioned, certain people are not 

permitted to be your Attorney. That is 

another way to ensure there was no 

undue influence when the document 

was created. 

To protect vulnerable Adults 

in institutions, your Attorney cannot 

be someone who provides personal 

care or health care services to you 

for compensation, including an owner, 

operator, employee, contractor, 

or volunteer of a licensed facility 

in which you reside and through which 

you receive personal care or health 

care services (Community Care and 

Assisted Living Act). The exception is 

if the individual is your child, parent, 

or spouse. 

Drafting Considerations 

Compensating the Attorney 

Acting as an Attorney can be a lot 

of work—paying bills, banking, 

appearing in court, record-keeping, 

reporting. Many Attorneys, especially 

family members, do this work 

for free. You have a choice 

as to whether your Attorney will 

be paid for the work. Providing 

for some compensation may prevent 

your Attorney from deciding to pay 

him or herself under the table 

as “deserved” compensation. On 

the other hand, setting out some 

compensation in the document may 

make the Attorney inclined to take 

more. For larger estates, often 

the annual compensation will be 

a percentage of the money managed. 

Note that even if you stipulate 

that your Attorney is not to be 

compensated for acting as your 

Attorney, the person can still 

be reimbursed from your money 

for reasonable expenses properly 

incurred in acting as your Attorney, 

for example, fees paid, reasonable 

required travel expenses, and other 

necessary “out-of-pocket” expenses. 

Reporting to others? 

Your Attorney’s only legal obligation is 

to report or account to you and to the 

PGT or the court, when required. Other 

concerned family members or friends 

cannot force your Attorney to account 

to them. Your legal representative 

might advise a clause in the EPOA 

that the Attorney has a duty to report 

to or render accounts to the people 

you specify. That will help ensure 

some ongoing oversight and prevent 

things taking a turn for the worse. 

You will be doing your 

Attorney a great favour 

if you prepare an inventory 

and financial accounting 

yourself… 

gifts 

Gifts are an important tool in many 

estate plans. That area is ripe 

for abuse, however. The legislation 

limits gifts to $5000 per year, unless 

otherwise stated in the EPOA. 

Investments 

Investments is another area that could 

lead to abuse. The legislation now 

states that an Attorney can invest only 

in the type of investments in which 

a trustee would invest under the 

Trustee Act, unless otherwise stated 

in the EPOA. 

Subsequent Considerations 

Roles and Responsibilities 

Your Attorney should appreciate the 

task he or she is taking on and the 

legal responsibilities and duties. 

We recommend that every 

newly signed Power of Attorney 

document given to an Attorney should 

include information on the roles and 

responsibilities of an Attorney. 

An example of such a document can 

be found at the Nidus website: http:// 

www.nidus.ca/PDFs/Nidus_Info_Role_ 

Attorney.pdf. Notary Laurie Salvador, 

with Salvador Davis and Company 

in Sidney, BC, has created a useful 

handout on the Responsibilities and 

Requirements of an Attorney. 

www.salvador-davis.com 

Inventory/Records 

The amendments to the Act have 

strengthened the record-keeping and 

reporting requirements of Attorneys, 

which will help prevent abuse. When 

the time comes for your Attorney 

to take over your affairs, the person 

is required to prepare an inventory 

of your assets and liabilities. Then 

while acting, the Attorney must keep 

the following records. 

• A current list of your property and 

liabilities, including an estimate 

of their value, if it is reasonable 

to do so 

• Accounts and other records 

respecting the exercise of the 

Attorney’s authority 

• All invoices, bank statements, and 

other records necessary to create 

full accounts respecting the 

receipt or disbursement, on your 

behalf, of capital or income 

You will be doing your Attorney 

a great favour if you prepare an 

inventory and financial accounting 

yourself, if you haven’t already—ideally 

in an “electronic spreadsheet.” Keep 

it updated for your Attorney to take 

over when the need arises. An updated 

listing of where all your important 

documents can be found will also be 

very useful to help your Attorney get 

started with the record-keeping and 

reporting duties. It is also a good 

impetus for you to finally “get your 

affairs in order”! 

Conclusion 

We have set out some of the things 

to be considered in creating an EPOA, 

to hopefully avoid any misuse or abuse 

by an Attorney going rogue. 

To summarize, the legislation now 

provides more clarity and protection. 

Your legal representative will also help 

protect you and your property by 

• ensuring you are capable and not 

“under influence”; 

• helping you choose the right 

person(s) as Attorney; 

• putting necessary terms and 

conditions in the EPOA; and 

• ensuring your Attorney knows his 

or her roles and responsibilities. 


IT’S MORE THAN A GIFT. IT’S TIME. 

LEAVE A LEGACY 

OF YOUR OWN 

and feel great about 

the lives you’ll save 

Jane Westheuser 

Advisor, Gift Planning 

(604) 730-7370 

jwestheuser@hsf.bc.ca 

heartandstroke.bc.ca 

We never met, 

but you saved 

my life. 

You lifted me out of 40 years of 

addiction and gave me a second 

life. Today, I honour your legacy 

through my actions. I am now 

sober and happily married. 

I became a man who loves God, 

a published poet, and once again, 

a father to my daughters. 

Your legacy is my life and 

I thank God for you, every day. 

- John 

For over 70 years, Union Gospel 

Mission has been feeding hope and 

changing lives by serving society’s 

most vulnerable. 

To learn more about bequests to UGM, 

please contact Dwayne Benson at 

604.215.5434 ext 309 or dbenson@ugm.ca 

Many other matters not covered 

by this article should be reviewed 

when preparing an EPOA. Special 

requirements for EPOAs will be 

used for real estate transactions, 

for example, the Land Title Office 

will review the signing and required 

certification. Reference should always 

be made to the Power of Attorney Act, 

available under the “Laws” tab here: 

http://www.bclaws.ca/. 

Other resources to consider 

reviewing are set out in the list below. 

BCCEAS Seniors Abuse 

& Information Line 

Telephone: 604 437-1940 

Toll free: 1-866-437-1940 

admin@bcceas.ca 

www.bcceas.ca s 

Kevin Smith is a staff lawyer with 

the BC Centre for Elder Advocacy 

and Support (BCCEAS), a nonprofit 

organization that works to prevent and 

end elder abuse. 

Other Resources 

Nidus: Numerous fact sheets on 

EPOAs from the Nidus website. 

http://www.nidus.ca/?page_id=68 

Attorney General of BC: Incapacity 

planning page. http://www.ag.gov. 

bc.ca/incapacity-planning/ (This 

page includes a downloadable 

PDF version of an EPOA with 

instructions for completion.) 

Public Guardian and Trustee booklet 

on advance planning: “It’s Your 

Choice.” http://www.trustee.bc.ca/ 

pdfs/STA/It%27s_Your_Choice- 

Personal_Planning_Tools.pdf 

Ministry of Health booklet 

on advance care planning: 

“My Voice.” http://www. 

health.gov.bc.ca/library/ 

publications/year/2012/MyVoice- 

AdvanceCarePlanningGuide.pdf 

Canadian Bar Association fact 

sheet on Power of Attorney and 

Representation Agreement. 

http://www.cba.org/bc/public_ 

media/wills/180.aspx 

(Also available in simplified 

Chinese, Mandarin, and Punjabi) 


COMMUNITIES 

Award for Service 

with Distinction 

When we received the 

invite, my husband 

gary and I immediately 

scheduled to participate as 

witnesses to our friend and 

local fisherman Phil Eidsvik. 

A crowd was there to see The Honourable Kerry-Lynne 

D. Findlay, QC, Member of Parliament for Delta-Richmond 

East and Associate Minister of National Defence, present the 

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal to Delta resident 

Phil Eidsvik at a special ceremony in her Ladner office. 

“Phil Eidsvik has served the fishing community 

with distinction as an outspoken and untiring advocate 

for fishermen and more recently in his fundraising efforts 

with Fishermen Helping Kids with Cancer,” said Findlay. 

Former Delta MLA John Cummins spoke of the integrity 

and character of this selfless man who has been serving the 

fishing community for years. 

From left: Gary Nakashima; John Cummins; Phil Eidsvik; 

The Honourable Kerry-Lynne Findlay, QC; Phil’s daughter 

Andrea and his wife Lynette Vawter; and Tammy Morin-Nakashima 

We are all lucky to have 

a guy like Phil in our 

communities. 


Having worked alongside Phil, Gary and 

I couldn’t agree more. Because he is the 

kind of man who prefers light to be 

shone on issues or tasks at hand and not 

on himself, we thought it fitting to share 

these insights about the person clearly 

deserving of accolade. 

To quote Ms. Findlay, 

“Phil Eidsvik attended Simon Fraser University and is currently 

enrolled in the University of London’s law program. Growing 

up in Prince Rupert, Phil developed a keen interest in the 

fishery and is a licensed commercial fisherman. For the past 

2 decades, he has been an advocate on behalf of fishermen, 

working to protect fishermen’s right of access to the fishery. 

“Phil has developed a recognized expertise in the regulatory 

framework of the fishery and the need for reform. As 

a result he has been called to appear before Parliamentary 

Committees on numerous occasions and has represented 

fishermen’s interest before the Cohen Inquiry. 

“He is a member of The Vancouver Sun’s Community 

of Interest panel, a Director of the Commercial Salmon 

Advisory Board, and a Director of the Southern Area E 

Gillnetters Association. For many years he has been 

Executive Director of the BC Fisheries Survival Coalition. 

“Phil is a basketball coach and a co-founder of Fishermen 

Helping Kids with Cancer, a group that raises funds 

to improve the quality of life for children receiving care 

at BC Children’s Hospital for cancer. 

“This award of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal to Phil Eidsvik is 

a fitting tribute to his selfless efforts on behalf of fishermen 

and the fishery.” 

We are all lucky to have a guy like Phil in our 

communities. s 

Tammy Morin-Nakashima is a local BC Notary, 

2nd Vice President of The Society of Notaries, and member 

of the Board of governors of the Notary Foundation. 

Her husband gary Nakashima is a local Steveston 

businessowner of Pacific Net & Twine Ltd. and a fisherman. 

Tammy@richmondnotary.ca 


THE REaL ESTaTE fOUNDaTION Of BC 

Creating Sustainable 

Food Systems in BC 

A 

sustainable food system 

is a collaborative 

system that integrates 

the production, processing, 

distribution, and consumption 

of food and waste management 

in a manner that enhances the 

environmental, economic, and 

social health of a community. 

Seann Dory, Co-Director of Sole Food 

Farms, sells produce grown in Vancouver’s 

inner city at the Kitsilano Farmers’ Market. 

Sustainable food systems are a vital 

part of vibrant, healthy communities. 

In recent years, there has been 

growing concern about the resiliency 

of our local and regional food systems 

due to the effects of factors such 

as mounting oil prices, climate change, 

In recent years, there has been 

growing concern about the 

resiliency of our local and 

regional food systems… 

Celina Owen 

drought, loss of biodiversity, and urban 

growth pressures on agricultural land. 

Organizations across BC are 

responding to the current challenges 

in diverse ways. There are, however, 

common needs—best practice guides, 

model bylaws, farmland inventories, 

legal templates, and demonstration 

projects that educate, set precedents, 

raise awareness, and smooth the way 

for others to work toward sustainable 

food systems in their own regions. 

The Real Estate Foundation 

of British Columbia is pleased to be 

Kelly Lerigny, Real Estate Foundation Chair; Jack Wong, CEO; Bill Swan, project lead; 

and Craig Edwards, energy advisor, tour Groundswell Network Society’s 

Community Greenhouse in Invermere. 


Campbell River 

Prince George 

Sunshine 

Coast 

Capital 

Regional 

District 

Lower 

Mainland 

Kelowna 

…the Foundation is interested 

in projects that approach 

food system questions from 

a land use perspective. 

part of progressive, practical solutions 

to these challenges. The examples 

in this article illustrate some of the 

projects the Foundation has funded 

under its Sustainable Food Systems 

focus area. 

As a grant-maker whose mission 

is to transform land use attitudes and 

practices, the Foundation is interested 

in projects that approach food system 

questions from a land use perspective. 

By supporting nonprofit initiatives 

that seek both to remove barriers 

and contribute new approaches, 

the Foundation is investing in positive 

change and helping create more 

resilient food systems in BC. 

One of the benefits of being 

a funder with a provincial mandate 

is that the Real Estate Foundation 

has somewhat of a bird’s eye view. 

As such, it is often able to play the 

role of pivotal connector—linking 

organizations that might benefit from 

one another’s experience to advance 

shared goals. 

Some of the Sustainable Food Systems grants 

These are just 7 of 16 Sustainable Food Systems grants awarded by the 

Real Estate Foundation in 2011 and 2012. The Board of governors approved 

$757,000 to help nonprofit organizations with their food systems-related 

projects—nearly 15 percent of the dollar value of all Foundation grants 

in the 2-year period. 

Cowichan Green Community Society is a hub for food security initiatives 

in Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley. As part of its multifaceted work 

to create “edible neighbourhoods,” with food gardens and gathering spaces, 

the Society is establishing a youth-led urban farm enterprise on public 

parkland in North Cowichan. One key aspect of the project is research 

to identify how local bylaws would have to change to accommodate the farm. 

In the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Farmers Markets continues to advance the 

New City Market concept with plans to create a facility that includes a yearround 

farmers’ market, aggregation and distribution support, and a commercial 

kitchen for small-scale food processing. The goal is to meet the distribution 

needs of farmers and the demands of consumers for fresh local food, helping 

to bridge rural supply and urban demand. 

On the Sunshine Coast, Tides Canada is working with Deer Crossing the Arts 

Farm to research and compile recommendations for legal, planning, and 

marketing mechanisms that would allow the development of shared dwellings 

on small farm acreages. Policy recommendations and toolkits will be developed 

with input from professionals and area residents. The resources are intended 

to assist new farmers and boost local food production, both on the Sunshine 

Coast and in other parts of the province. 

In north-central BC, Community Futures Fraser Fort George is researching farm 

lease models and creating land lease resource packages tailored to northern 

and central BC. The packages will be part of education and training that aims 

to improve access to the region’s farmland for new farmers in the Highway 16 

region from Valemount to Terrace. 

Vancouver-based EcoDesign Resource Society developed the Urban Farming 

Guidebook to help local governments throughout the province plan for the 

business of growing food in their towns and cities. With “stories from the 

field” in Campbell River, Kelowna, Vancouver, and North Vancouver, as well 

as examples from even farther afield, the guide discusses urban farming 

matters and its economics; it also offers approaches for BC municipalities 

based on lessons learned. 

The Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable (CR-FAIR— 

an initiative of the Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria) is 

a group that draws on the strengths of a diverse membership. Using its builtin 

collaborative approach, CR-FAIR is employing research, consultation, and 

partnerships—among the farm community, real estate professionals, local 

governments, and other community stakeholders—to explore ways to preserve 

farmland in the Capital Regional District. 

In Vancouver, too, land for farming is scarce and expensive. Fresh Roots 

Urban Farm is expanding the land access model of using school board-owned 

and potentially other publicly owned lands, to set up market gardens that 

provide food for school cafeterias, outdoor learning opportunities for school 

children, and viable farming enterprises in the city. To date, Fresh Roots 

has partnered with six Vancouver schools. 


Open Your Doors 

to a New Wave 

of Customers! 

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Wants to Do Business 

with People They Trust . . . 

People Who 

Have Taken the Time 

to Learn about Their Needs! 

We Have Helped 

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by Teaching 

What Boomers and Seniors Want 

and 

How They Wish to Be Treated! 

Call Us Today 

to Learn 

How We Can Help 

Your Business Grow! 

Founder, 

Rhonda Latreille, MBA, CPCA 

1-877-272-8086 

www.CPCAcanada.com 

Communities across British 

Columbia are becoming more involved 

in local food issues. That is good news 

because it means people are paying 

attention to, and taking responsibility 

for, the way they sustain themselves. 

It also means questions about the 

entire food system are increasingly 

being brought into public discourse. 

The Real Estate Foundation 

will continue to be a part of the 

conversation on the land use challenges 

we are facing now, and those that may 

emerge in the future. 

Resources and Inspiration 

For details of the Sustainable Food 

Systems focus area, visit the “Grants” 

section of the Real Estate Foundation’s 

website (refbc.com/grants). Click on 

“Grants program focus areas” in the 

menu on the left. 

To access the Urban Farming 

Guidebook and other resources, 

hover over “Resources” and click on 

“Sustainable food systems” in the 

drop-down menu. 

Communities across 

British Columbia are 

becoming more involved 

in local food issues. 

Published in January 2013, the guide 

is available in the Resources section 

of the Foundation’s website. 

To watch videos that feature the 

food systems work of Cowichan Green 

Community, Groundswell Network 

Society, and Sole Food Farms, go 

to the Foundation’s YouTube channel 

accessible from our website. “Creating 

an Edible Neighbourhood” is in the 

2011 Land Awards playlist; the other 

two projects are in the 2012 Land 

Awards playlist. s 

Celina Owen is manager, 

Communications & Administration, with 

the Real Estate Foundation of BC. Please 

contact her with questions about the 

grants program, the Land Awards, or the 

Real Estate Foundation in general. 

Telephone: 604 688-6800, X 103 

Toll free: 1-866-912-6800 

celina@refbc.com 

Cowichan Green Community’s Executive Director Judy Stafford and Amanda Reimer, 

Communications & Administration Coordinator, take Jack Wong on a tour of their activities 

at North Cowichan’s Kinsmen Park, site of the youth urban farm, community gardens, 

and the “green” retrofit of a derelict building. 


LETTERS LETTERS LETTERS LETTERS 

Winter 2012, Volume 21, Number 4 

It is a beautiful issue 

on many levels . . . 

its design, its extensive 

and varied content, 

the positive and 

inclusive theme, and 

the coincidental timing 

of the New year! Well done. 

It’s good to be part of it. 

Nigel Atkin 

Natkin2020@gmail.com 

I enjoyed reading the 

latest issue of The 

Scrivener. It featured 

articles and insights 

about Canadian 

citizenship. In particular, 

I found the feature story 

“Citizens if the World, United” to be 

fascinating. So many facets of becoming 

a citizen were revealed in the Cover Story 

by the three BC Notaries. Also I loved 

reading about Vancouver’s history. 

Bob Reid provided many fascinating facts 

and anecdotes about our colourful city. 

Paul Avery 

Retired teacher of intro and abnormal 

psychology and group dynamics and 

music Therapy program at Capilano 

College 

pavery@shaw.ca 

We Love to Hear 

From You! 


I read the Winter 

Scrivener yesterday 

and was shocked 

by some of the questions 

[in the Keynote article] 

that prospective 

Canadian citizens 

must answer about citizenship. off the 

top of my head, I knew one answer! 

Canada is looking for a way to celebrate 

our 150th Anniversary in 2017. 

The Celebration Committee 

(I’m sure there must be one) could 

organize a Q&A for native-born 

Canadians. Everyone who can 

answer the questions correctly could 

receive something official from the 

government—a pin, or button, or 

a certificate. 

Pauline Buck 

Retired PR person 

www.homeontheranch.info 

The article “Abuse 

Prevention Program for 

older Adults” by grace 

Balbutin, Director 

of Public Education, 

is so timely. The story 

very recently aired on 

W5, “Crisis in Care” 

(http://www.ctvnews.ca/ 

video?binId=1.811589), 

documents how vigilant we need to be 

and further demonstrates how some 

authorities seem to pass responsibility 

back and forth, creating gaps in services. 

our “Community Connectivity 

Forum” recently hosted a free forum 

for seniors presented by oceanside 

Healthy Aging Initiative and the 

greater Victoria Eldercare Foundation 

in Qualicum Beach: Be Well, Be Secure, 

Be Connected, Be Enriched. 

Elise Willson 

oDETT 

oceanside Dementia 

Education Task Team 

gladysu@telus.net 

CONTINUaTION 

Wills, Estates 

and Succession Act 

from page 7 

The new Act will change 

significantly the law of Wills 

and estates in our province. 

Here are some of the highlights. 

• The survivorship rule has been 

changed from the arbitrary “younger 

survives older” to have the estate 

pass to each person’s alternate 

beneficiaries. 

• A minimum 5-day survival rule has 

been added. Most Wills already 

have a longer (20+ day) survivorship 

requirements; those will still be 

allowed. 

• A spouse’s right to life estate in the 

spousal home on intestacy has been 

eliminated. Instead, the spousal share 

in the estate has been increased and 

the spouse has a right to choose the 

spousal home as part of his or her 

share of the estate. 

• The age of a person who can make 

a Will has been lowered to 16 years. 

• The ban on gifts to witnesses of a Will 

is eliminated. Such gifts are allowed, 

if there is evidence the deceased 

approved of the gift. The ban was 

often unfair. 

• The Act presumes undue influence 

if it is shown that the deceased 

was dependent on (or there was the 

potential for domination by) a person 

to whom the deceased gave a gift in 

the Will. This is the law for gifts given 

during a person’s life. 

• It is easier to revoke a Will. Often, 

people would commit acts that clearly 

expressed intent to revoke a Will but 

did not meet the formal requirements. 

• The court has been given the power 

to “cure” deficiencies in a document 

that does not meet the formal 

requirements to be considered a Will 

if the court is satisfied that the 

document expresses the true wishes 

of the deceased. s 


©iStockphoto.com/Dragan Grkic 

PROPERTY IN BRITISH COLUMBIa 

A Day in the Life 

of a Real Estate Appraiser 

Real estate appraising 

is an interesting, 

rewarding, but sometimes 

misunderstood profession. 

People sometimes see blurred 

boundaries among real estate 

appraisers, real estate agents, and 

home inspectors. That is likely due 

to the wide diversity of the work that 

Appraisal Institute of Canada members 

undertake in providing market-value 

appraisals and consulting services. 

The question burning in the minds 

of Canadians is, What exactly does a real 

estate appraiser do in a typical day? 

Here is a day in the life of an 

appraiser in British Columbia. 

Three properties will be inspected, 

including a single-family dwelling, 

a farm-turned-marijuana-growoperation, 

and a 40-unit motel. 

Appraisers estimate the 

market value of the home 

while home inspectors 

estimate the physical 

condition of the home. 

As part of the appraisal process, 

the appraiser completes a “preliminary 

investigation” of the properties prior 

to the inspections. That includes 

a search for 

• current or historical real 

estate data including sales 

of comparable-type properties, 

• municipal tax data, 

• physical data about the property, 

• survey plans, 

• easements or rights of way 

affecting the property, 

• zoning bylaws, 

• demographic data, and 

• a determination of what local 

services and utilities are in place 

for the properties. 

Paul Fischer 

First Inspection of the Day: 

A 20-year-old single-family dwelling 

I enter the neighbourhood, visually 

assessing the desirability and the 

Subject Property location. Yes, it 

really does affect the market value 

of your home if you are located 

next to a major highway or a meatrendering 

plant. In this case, neither 

factor applies and the owner greets 

me at the door with a dog who is 

not convinced I should be there. 

Aha! I have developed the ultimate 

recycling use for the biscuits my own 

dog will not eat. Two biscuits and the 

Shepherd is ready to be roommates! 

Real estate appraisers work 

primarily with exterior measurements 

and make adjustments within the 

appraisal for variations in floor plans, 

bedrooms, bathrooms, suites, and 

so on. I complete an interior and 

exterior inspection of the home 

to identify its physical characteristics 

and condition that I will then compare 

to similar homes that have sold in the 

neighbourhood. 

Dollar adjustments calculated 

in the report will account for the 

physical differences between and 

among the properties that have sold. 

Appraisers complete a visual inspection 

of a property to determine its condition 

and consider any obvious damage 

or known repair issues. 


Unlike home inspectors, we do not 

complete a detailed physical inspection 

of all the components. Appraisers 

estimate the market value of the home 

while home inspectors estimate the 

physical condition of the home. 

In this case, the home is 

in good condition with no abnormal 

depreciation noted. The owner 

requests the market value estimate 

of the property. Appraisers prefer not 

to estimate the market value before 

completing the detailed adjustment 

process accounting for the differences 

with the comparable sale indicators 

in the neighbourhood. 

Second Stop of the Day: 

A farm-turned-cash-cow with 

a marijuana-grow-operation now 

dismantled and in foreclosure 

The preliminary investigation included 

review of air-quality test reports and 

remediation and restoration estimates 

provided by the client. My inspection 

reveals the home and barn were used 

for the grow-op and both require 

significant remediation and restoration. 

That is a valuation challenge because 

the farm land retains value and I must 

determine what market value remains 

in the damaged improvements. 

My Final Stop: An owner-operated 

motel near the entrance to town 

A tour of the property is provided 

by the owner to assess the overall 

layout, general condition, and 

characteristics of the property. After 

the inspection we return to the 

motel office where he provides me 

with current and historical financial 

statements for the property. Those 

items are critical because the market 

value of the property will be based 

on the information in the financial 

statements. 

I will review the statements 

and “stabilize” them to provide 

a longer-term picture of the financial 

performance of the property. The 

financial performance will then be 

compared with other motels that 

have previously transacted in the 

marketplace. 

Note: To “stabilize” the financial 

statements means the appraiser 

reviews several years of financial 

statements because there can 

be fluctuations in the year-overyear 

financial performance of the 

property. Stabilizing removes the 

peaks and valleys so that year-to-year 

variations in the financial performance 

of the property do not exaggerate the 

market value of the property either 

up or down. For example, a person 

could own a commercial property that 

was vacant for 6 months in 1 year but 

fully occupied for the next 5 years. 

Stabilizing removes 

the peaks and valleys 

so that year-to-year 

variations… do not 

exaggerate the market value 

of the property either up 

or down. 

Back to the Office 

The onsite inspections are now 

complete and I return to the office. 

The remainder of my week will be 

spent correlating information from 

the preliminary investigations and 

physical data from the inspections 

of the properties, with further market 

data research still to be completed. 

When sufficient information 

has been assembled, I will quantify 

my findings in appraisal reports with 

market-value estimates for all three 

properties. 

Tomorrow will bring an 

equally diverse group of properties 

to appraise! s 

Paul Fischer, AACI, PApp, CRP, is 

a partner in Thompson Rivers Appraisals 

and Vision Property Advisors. These 

companies provide residential and 

commercial Real Estate Appraisals and 

Strata Depreciation Reports. 

Telephone: 250 372-2599 

pfischer@trappraisals.ca 

Editor’s 

Prefer Paperless? 

Would you prefer to read 

The Scrivener online rather than 

receive it via Canada Post? 

We will add you to our secure 

notification list and no longer mail 

you a paper copy. 

www.notaries.bc.ca/scrivener 


NExT ISSuE: Summer 2013 

Stratas 

Our theme will focus on the new 

legislation for stratas and some 

interesting experiences around 

strata living and strata councils. 

The MiX 

The MiX showcases articles on 

a variety of timely topics. 

Considering submitting an article? 

Please write to 

scrivener@society.notaries.bc.ca. 

Deadline for Summer Articles: 

May 15 

To send photographs 

to the magazine, please . . . 

• go to www.graffiki.ca, and click on 

“Send A File.” 

• From the top box, delete the words 

“Your e-mail.” 

• In that now-empty box, 

type your email address. 

• Send up to 5 photos at once. 

• Repeat as necessary. 

Deadline for Advertising Space 

June 12 


Telephone: 604 985-9250 

www.notaries.bc.ca/scrivener 

Volume 22 Number 1 Spring 2013 The Scrivener 49 

©iStockphoto.com/zxcynosure

TaKE 5 fOR fITNESS 

Relax and 

Rejuvenate 

After a few hours in front of the computer, 

when you feel tired and sore in the neck, 

shoulders, and back, take a break. 

yoga helps achieve balance in other aspects of life, 

helping to build self-confidence and self-esteem. 

maryAnne models the beginner’s poses, on the left. 

Tree Pose 

Health Benefits: Improves balance and stability in the 

legs and pelvis, strengthens ligaments and tendons of the 

feet, strengthens and tones the standing leg and buttocks, 

strengthens hip bones and legs through weight-bearing. 

a. Stand with arms at sides. When balanced, bring hands 

in front of you with palms together. 

b. Bring your right foot to the inside of your left ankle, 

keeping your toes on the floor for balance. Stay 

for 30 seconds. Lower and repeat on opposite side. 

c. As you get stronger and develop better balance, move 

your foot to the inside of your left calf. Shift weight 

onto left leg and place sole of right foot inside left 

thigh; keep eyes and hips facing forward. 

Downward Facing Dog and Full Forward Bend 

Health Benefits: Builds strength, flexibility and awareness; 

stretches the spine and hamstrings; rests the heart. 

Downward Dog 

MaryAnne Galey 

Begin on hands and knees with hands shoulder-width apart 

and knees hip-width apart. Inhale, curl the toes under, 

exhale, lifting the hips up and back while straightening 

the legs, sit bones pointing to the sky. Inhale; lengthen the 

spine back through the tailbone. Stretch away from hands 

and wrists, bringing the abdomen closer to thighs. The head 

should be comfortable, with ears in-line with arms. 

Stretch the heels toward the floor; they do not have to touch 

the floor. Breathe in and out from the heels, up the legs, 

and through the spine; stay focused and keep the breath 

moving through the entire body. Hold for as long as it is 

comfortable. 

Full Forward Bend 

In Downward Dog pose (above), inhale, put feet together, 

straighten legs, exhale, push back hips, draw chest closer 

to thighs and relax. Rest by bringing both knees to the floor, 

hips on the heels, forehead on the floor, arms back beside 

the legs. Exhale and slowly roll up to standing. 


Crescent Lunge 

Health Benefits: Increases heart rate, speeds up metabolism, 

stretches legs and hips. 

Standing tall, exhale and step the right foot back 

into a lunge position, keeping left leg just slightly bent. 

Inhale; raise arms straight above head. Bend deeper 

into left knee until the left thigh is parallel to the ground 

and the right knee is almost touching the ground. Exhale 

and return right leg to standing. Switch sides and repeat. 

Warrior II 

Health Benefits: Strengthens legs; stretches groin, chest, 

and shoulders; helps self-confidence. 

Stand tall with feet together and arms by sides. Step legs 

about 3 feet apart and extend arms out to the sides at 

shoulder height, palms facing down. Turn left foot and 

leg out 90 degrees to the left, lining up the heel of left foot 

with the arch of right foot. Inhale. As you exhale, bend left 

knee, forming a right angle with left thigh and shin. 

Stack knee directly above ankle in-line with second toe. 

Hint: Lining up front knee with second toe and placing thigh 

parallel to the floor protects and strengthens the muscles 

around the knee. 

Relax shoulders away from ears and turn head to gaze out 

over left hand. Reach through your arms, feeling a line 

of energy from the tips of right fingers through the tips 

of left fingers. Relax your jaw. Hold for 3 to 10 slow deep 

breaths. To come out of the pose, turn head to face forward, 

straighten left leg, and rotate it to bring feet to parallel. 

Turn right leg out 90 degrees to switch sides and repeat. 

Reverse Warrior 

Health Benefits: Strengthens legs and abs; stretches inner 

thighs, hips, groin; keeps spine flexible. 

Begin in Warrior II pose with right leg in front. Inhale; 

lower left hand to left leg and slide it down toward ankle. 

Exhale; turn right palm toward the ceiling and arc right arm 

up overhead, reaching back without moving legs. Turn gaze 

up. Inhale. With palms facing down, start slowly lowering 

right arm and lifting left arm until both are shoulder height. 

Switch sides and repeat. 

Extended Side Angle 

Health Benefits: Strengthens ankles, legs, core, upper arms; 

stretches legs, hips, chest, and shoulders; helps digestion. 

Begin in Warrior II pose with left knee bent. Exhale; lower 

left elbow to left knee; reach right arm up (as shown above). 

Pull shoulder blade back, reaching arm alongside right ear. 

Extend body in a long line from the outside of right foot 

through the fingertips of right hand. 

Open chest by turning torso up toward the ceiling from 

the bottom of waist, moving ribs away from the top of hip. 

Look up without hurting neck. Inhale and return to centre. 

Hold for 5 breaths. Switch sides and repeat. 

Happy Fitness! 

For more 5-Minute Fitness Tips, visit YogaRVing 

www.yogarving.com/5-minute-fit-tip/. s 

MaryAnne Galey worked with Scotiabank’s cash and treasury 

management services for 35 years. She is now a businessowner 

and co-creator of yogaRVing and yogayachting. With a good part 

of her day working in front of a computer and wanting to keep 

fit, she finds that the benefits of yoga provide her with strength, 

balance, and relaxation. yogaRVing is an all-season take-along 

fitness program to help you get even better control of your health. 

info@yogarving.com 


SUCCESS 

After 22 years of research and practice 

about how to have a more successful life, 

to me these are the top-3 life habits. 

They don’t take much time but they make 

a huge difference. 

1. Daily Appreciations 

The human mind by default will focus on the negative 

aspects of your life, yet it’s a universal truth that what 

you focus on grows. That bad habit of mind will get 

you more of what you don’t want. 

Here’s what I do. 

Each night before sleep, I write down 

what I appreciate about myself and my 

life circumstances. It takes 2 minutes 

and definitely improves my sense of life 

satisfaction and improves my success 

in all areas of life because what you 

appreciate tends to appreciate. 

I invite you to try it 

right now. 

Take just 1 minute 

to make a list of five things you 

appreciate about yourself and 

the circumstances in your life. 

Notice how you feel after you do it. 

Carla Rieger 

3 Small Habits 

that Will Change your Life 

Forever 

The human mind by default will focus on the 

negative aspects of your life, yet it’s a universal 

truth that what you focus on grows. 

2. Mentally Rehearse 

How You Want Your Day to Go 

Many top achievers use this trick—pro athletes, great 

leaders, musicians, actors, salespeople, and so on. I start 

my day by running through in my mind all the things that 

are coming up that day and seeing them go well. It could 

be everything from finding a great parking spot to having 

a successful meeting to getting important jobs done 

to having a fun evening with friends. It takes 

only 1 to 5 minutes and it greatly increases 

your chances of having a great day. 

Try it right now. 

Think of how you want 

the next hour to go. 

How do you want to feel? 

What do you want 

to accomplish? 

What circumstances 

would be ideal? 

Notice how you feel after you do 

that exercise. 

©iStockphoto.com/Skynesher 


3. Stop to 

Orient Yourself 

to “The Now” 

If I find myself racing around, being 

impatient, lost in thought, I stop 

for 1 minute. I orient myself to the 

present moment by using my five 

senses—sight, sound, feelings, touch, 

taste. Most of us spend our time 

planning the future or ruminating over 

the past. That can fragment the mind 

and cause disharmony and stress. 

Getting present even for 1 minute can 

trigger relaxation hormones in your bodymind 

system and lighten your mood. 

Try it right now. 

Time yourself for 1 minute. 

What do you see in front of you? 

Listen to the sounds nearby. 

Feel what it’s like to sit in your chair. 

Sense your emotional state right now. 

Notice if there are any smells 

in the air. 

Can you taste anything . . . 

a sip of coffee? 

Savour each sensory experience. 

Notice how you feel after you do it. 

Those three small habits will provide 

you with a big result over time! s 

Carla Rieger is an expert on 

communication skills at work and 

the author of Storytelling in Business. 

http://www.carlarieger.com/online_ 

store/#storytelling 

She leads an online group-coaching 

method called “Winning Them over,” 

a step-by-step process for creating your 

personal marketing presentation. 

Telephone: 604 222-2276 

1-866-294-2988 

Carla@ArtistryofChange.com 

www.WinningThemover.com 

Publications 

Conveyancing 

Deskbook 

A practical how-to 

guide to the transfer 

of land in BC 

uPcoming courses 

Advanced 

Conveyancing 

Topics for Legal 

Support Staff 

June 7 

1.800.663.0437 

500 – 1155 West Pender Street 

Vancouver, BC V6E 2P4 

Wills Precedents — 

An Annotated 

Guide 

Draft plain language 

wills with ease 

Wills Drafting 

Workshop 

MAy 2 & 3 

BC Notaries 

Speak 

your Language 

BC Notaries around the province 

offer many noncontentious 

legal services (see page 61) 

in an impressive variety of languages. 

English 

Arabic 

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Cantonese 

Croatian 

Dutch 

Farsi 

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French 

German 

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MEDIaTION 

We hear the term 

mediation more and 

more, yet for many 

it remains an elusive concept. 

A concise, theoretical definition 

of mediation might be “a method 

of dispute resolution in which a neutral 

third party facilitates dialogue 

between two or among more disputing 

parties to resolve the dispute outside 

of traditional court processes.” 

After reading that, are we any 

closer to knowing what mediation is? 

Sometimes it’s easiest 

to begin with what mediation is not. 

• Mediation is not like litigation. 

Litigation involves a system of rules 

and limitations that has evolved over 

centuries to ensure procedural fairness 

between or among disputing parties. 

It often involves lawyers to speak 

for the parties and help navigate those 

rules and, ultimately, a judge or jury 

to decide the outcome. Litigation 

has value and will remain a necessary 

system, but it is not the only way. 

• Mediation is not a system of rules. 

It is a means of communication. 

Mediation does not involve document 

filings, discovery, or court appearances 

nor does it require a long wait 

or high costs. Instead, mediation is 

a less formal, accessible, flexible 

process that usually involves the 

WHAT IS 

©iStockphoto.com/Kerrick 

parties meeting together with 

a mediator in a neutral setting and 

working it out. 

The Process 

Generally speaking, the mediation 

process begins when both parties 

agree to mediate, and then agree 

on a mediator. As a public resource, 

Mediate BC maintains a Roster 

of qualified mediators for both civil 

and family mediation. 

Litigation has value and will 

remain a necessary system, 

but it is not the only way. 

Renee Collins Goult 

Typically, before the mediation 

begins, each side prepares a summary 

of the issue, which the mediator 

reviews, or each party meets with 

the mediator individually to provide 

some details. The new Family Law 

Act will require a fuller pre-mediation 

process for family mediations to allow 

the mediator to screen for safety and 

to ensure mediation is appropriate 

in the circumstances. 

Once the pre-mediation details 

are completed, a meeting date and 

a neutral location is chosen, which 

can be a set of Boardrooms, an office, 

or even virtual online space. What 

happens next is entirely flexible and 

can be determined according to the 

circumstances. 

? 

Often, the mediator will begin with 

an introduction and invite each party 

to summarize why he or she is there. 

At this point, relations may be strained, 

with polite discussion only a remote 

possibility. The mediator helps start 

that discussion and assists each 

side in taking part. Sometimes the 

mediator suggests taking breaks 

in separate rooms so the mediator can 

talk with each side privately. When 

parties return to the table, they can 

discuss decisions they have made, 

or issues that remain problematic. 

A good mediator can get parties 

talking to each other, can help identify 

common goals, and ultimately find 

a resolution that works for all. 

Why Choose Mediation? 

In mediation, the parties themselves 

have input, which is both powerful 

and effective. Whether it involves their 

business, their home, their illness, 

or their finances, rarely does anyone 

know the details better than the parties 

themselves. The resolution becomes 

more meaningful and effective when 

the parties contribute to it. 

While litigation can be polarizing, 

mediation allows parties to preserve 

important relationships. Whether 

the dispute is with a valuable client, 

a supplier, a family member, or a close 

neighbour, the focus is on resolving 

the dispute in a way that keeps 

relationships intact. Mediators help 

shape the discussion to promote 

respect and common goals and 


generate creative ideas to resolve 

the dispute. If not confined to the 

parameters of a potential judgment 

from the court, parties are free 

to come up with their own and often 

unique solutions. 

Mediation also encourages the 

open flow of information in a way 

litigation cannot. The goal is resolution, 

rather than the best positioning for trial. 

In mediation, everything shared is 

confidential and can’t be used against 

you in court. Disclosure is important 

if parties are to fully understand each 

other. Most times, once parties have 

had a chance to fully discuss issues, 

resolution becomes a real possibility. 

Significantly, mediation is timely, 

immediate, and a fraction of the 

cost of litigation. With this flexible 

process, mediation can take a single 

day or several days, depending on the 

parties’ preference and progress. 

Some are reluctant to give up the 

litigation option, fearing they will have 

to share too much, make too great 

a compromise, or fail to resolve the 

dispute at all. Fortunately, choosing 

mediation doesn’t exclude other 

options. Even if the mediation doesn’t 

fully resolve the dispute, parties 

often gain clarity of issues, improved 

communication, or even partial 

solutions. Resulting or continuing 

litigation is streamlined, more 

efficient, and less costly. 

So what is mediation? Simply put, 

it’s an efficient, cost-effective process 

of problem-solving that works. s 

Note: Many BC Notaries are trained 

as professional mediators. 

Renee Collins Goult is mediateBC’s 

Roster Program manager and 

a mediator and a lawyer. Before 

restricting her practice to mediation, 

she practised law in the areas of personal 

injury and general civil litigation. 

mediate BC 

Telephone: 604 681-6050 

renee.collinsgoult@mediatebc.com 

Quantum mediation 

Telephone: 604 924-1188 

renee@quantummediation.com 

Heather MacLean, BComm, CGA 

Senior Estate Accountant 

Phone: 604-524-8688 

Email: heather@mti-cga.com 

Web: www.mti-cga.com 

ESTATES • TAXATION • TRUSTS • ACCOUNTING 

Many of my clients are Executors, Notaries, and Lawyers 

who come to me from all over BC and Canada. I help my 

clients understand and navigate through the complexities 

surrounding death and taxes. 

I provide essential expertise required to minimize income 

taxes and expedite final distributions. 

Our firm provides advice on and preparation of: 

• Unfiled prior tax returns and adjustments 

• Date of Death T1 (Terminal T1) and optional tax returns 

• Estate T3 tax returns to final distribution 

• Tax Clearance Certificates 

• Estate accounting 

#350 – 522 Seventh Street, New Westminster, BC V3M 5T5 

You’ve always been there for others. 

You can continue to give beyond your lifetime. 

Your gift 

Your generosity will help us 

be here tomorrow for those who need us. 

Our vision 

For over 30 years, we have had a clear vision: 

people with disabilities having genuine 

independence, living with dignity, and 

contributing and sharing in our communities. 

BC Coalition of People with Disabilities 

advocacy since 1977 

Please contact us about planned giving. BC Coalition of People with Disabilities 

Tel 604-875-0188 • TTY 604-875-8835 • nicole@bccpd.bc.ca • www.bccpd.bc.ca 


SERVING SENIORS 

We know the 

numbers—by 2015, 

we will have more 

people over the age of 65 

than under the age of 15. 

No Easy Answers 

Called the Canadian Phenomenon, 

it has never happened before in our 

history. The aging tsunami is crashing 

our shores and leaving some interesting 

challenges in its wake. 

Some of the challenges are 

demanding a new dialogue that 

frankly offers up no easy answers. But 

nonetheless, it is a dialogue we must 

start to explore. The following true 

story is a case in point. 

A vital and dynamic woman 

in her 80s meets some friends 

for lunch. Upon leaving 

the restaurant, Mary 

walks past a travel 

agency and the 

lure of ships and the 

sea calls out to her. 

She has a long history 

of cruising and has in fact 

written some bestselling 

books while on board. The wonderful 

memories take over; she pops 

into the agency and promptly whips 

out her American Express card 

to pay for a $10,000 cruise she 

can ill afford and will not be able 

to manage. 

To add insult to injury, Mary 

declines cancellation insurance. You 

see, shortly after this incident, it is 

confirmed that Mary is suffering from 

the first stage of Alzheimer’s Disease. 

On a better day, she would never 

have obligated herself to such a large 

expense without the ability to change 

or cancel her plans. 

That is a sad story 

of no one doing anything 

“illegal” but many people 

letting her down. 

Rhonda Latreille 

But it is too late. She is now 

left with a hefty credit card 

charge for a cruise she will 

never be able to take and 

without cancellation 

insurance, she cannot 

be reimbursed. 

A friend offers 

to go with her on 

the cruise but since 

Mary has already 

cancelled, her 

cabin has been 

re-sold. 

That is a sad 

story of no one 

doing anything 

“illegal” but many 

people letting her 

down. 

Let’s look at the situation. 

• How far should a credit card 

company go to set reasonable 

credit limits? 

• To what extent should a financial 

advisor be responsible 

for protecting an older person’s 

nest egg from lavish expenditures 

or risky investments? 

• With our businesses, where does 

“order-taker” stop and caring 

community member take over? 

• When the travel agent takes an 

order from an older person who 

refuses cancellation insurance, 

what could the agent do to mitigate 

or even postpone the person’s 

risky decision to spend a large sum 

of money? 

• If the travel agent has concerns 

about an older person making such 

a large purchase without the safety 

net of cancellation insurance, how 

far should the agent go to protect 

or control the client? 

• With reference to the cruise ship 

line, to what standards do we want 

to hold our businesses, especially 

when a vulnerable customer is left 

holding the bag? 

• Would we feel differently about 

this scenario if Mary’s mental 

capacity and ability to pay were 

not in question? 

• What would you have done if Mary 

were your customer? 

• If Mary were your mother, how would 

you want the situation handled? 

56 ©iStockphoto.com/Laflor Photography The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia Volume 22 Number 1 Spring 2013

We hold some cherished values 

here in Canada and those values 

are starting to come into conflict 

with each other. As our population 

continues to age, we will be faced 

with the “independence versus safety” 

dilemma in new and distinct ways. 

We are, by and large, a caring 

and compassionate society and we 

pride ourselves in reaching out and 

helping our fellow citizens. At the 

same time, we also hold dear our right 

to self-determination. 

• At what point do we question an 

individual’s right to independently 

make unfortunate or just plain bad 

decisions? 

• As a caring society, when do 

we step in to chip away at 

an individual’s right to selfdetermination 

because of our 

assessment that we need to keep 

them safe? 

• By what standard are we going 

to judge whether a decision is 

bad or how safe an individual 

needs to be? 

• When does our opinion that 

someone needs our intervention 

or protection bleed over 

into ageism? 

• Would we be stepping in if the 

person were younger? 

We turn to our legal system 

to define what level of mental capacity 

is required for specific functions and 

we ask our privacy legislation to define 

what information can be shared and 

with whom it can be shared. 

Our human rights legislation and 

international accords, task forces, and 

working groups are tackling the issue 

of ageism and are looking at how our 

societies can offer a level playing field 

for older persons. 

• Do these legal and high-level 

responses tie our hands or do they 

simply provide us with fence posts 

within which to operate? 

• Are we starting to overcomplicate 

this—and where does good oldfashioned 

common sense come 

into play? 

Tough Questions. No Easy Answers. 

With our aging society, stories like 

Mary’s are becoming more frequent. 

The issues aren’t clean and simple. 

• Must we leave the definition of how 

we live and work together up to our 

legislators and legal systems? 

• As human beings, should we rely 

on dispassionate and cold “rules” 

to tell us how to interact with each 

other? 

• What price do we pay for not having 

those specific rules and guidelines? 

Maybe we have to come 

to terms with the fact 

that there will be gaps 

and grey areas and 

sometimes people will fall 

through the cracks . . . 

Maybe we have to come to terms 

with the fact that there will be gaps 

and grey areas and sometimes people 

will fall through the cracks . . . that 

may be the cost of our commitment 

to self-determination and privacy. Or 

perhaps that price is a $10,000 credit 

card charge and nothing to show for it. 

Ed. Note: In upcoming issues 

of The Scrivener, Rhonda will offer 

answers on ways we can assist and 

protect the elderly in the coming 

years. s 

Inspired by the United Nations 

endorsed Age-Friendly City initiatives, 

Age-Friendly Business® made the 

commitment to build upon this noble 

foundation and to invite businesses 

and professional services to participate 

in the Age-Friendly Revolution. 

To find a Certified Age-Friendly Business 

(CAFB)® or a Certified Professional 

Consultant on Aging (CPCA)® near you, 

go to www.AgeFriendlyBusiness.com. 

To find out how you can become 

a Certified Age-Friendly Business 

or a CPCA, phone toll free 1-877-272-7575. 

Rhonda Latreille, mBA, CPCA, is the 

founder of Age-Friendly Business ® . 

Telephone: 1-877-272-8086 

info@agefriendlybusiness.com 

Great 

Opportunity 

for Intermediate/ 

Senior 

Conveyancer 

Langley Notary seeks 

person to work as Assistant 

and Intermediate/Senior 

Residential Conveyancer. 

Part-time or full-time 

position. Must be able to 

work independently and 

adapt to existing office 

systems. Knowledge of Wills 

and Estates and Powers 

of Attorney required. 

Knowledge of Pro-Suite 

(Notary Office) and Brief 

Accounting preferred. 

Quiet atmosphere, 

competitive wages, and 

medical/dental benefits. 

Contact Michael Kravetz 

Kravetz & Co., Notaries Public 

5501 Salt Lane 

Langley, BC V3A 4E9 

Tel: 604 530-2147 

Fax: 604 530-5922 

http://kravetznotary.com 


OUR ENVIRONMENT 

Bringing Back Herring 

in Howe Sound 

Coho salmon stocks 

in georgia Strait 

plummeted in the 1980s. 

Since Coho spend half of their 

3-year life span in fresh water and half 

in the ocean, local volunteer groups 

called Streamkeepers were formed 

to monitor and improve the fresh-water 

portion of the Cohos’ life. 

Over several decades, the 

Squamish Streamkeepers played 

a role in expanding Coho habitat in the 

Squamish Valley, especially on the 

Ashlu River and a smaller tributary 

called Branch 100. Little did they 

know they were about to stumble 

onto a way to bring back herring 

to Howe Sound, as well. 

Herring had once spawned heavily 

in the boat harbour in the Squamish 

estuary called the Mamquam Blind 

Channel, but in the 1960s a large 

sawmill had destroyed the eelgrass 

spawning beds and the herring run 

was gone by the 1970s. 

In 2006 they received a call 

from a watchman at the Squamish 

Terminals dock that he had seen 

herring milt, indicating herring were 

spawning nearby. Apparently a few 

years ago, a boom of logs covered 

in herring roe had gone into the 

Mamquam Blind Channel to be sorted; 

many of the eggs had hatched out and 

were now returning to spawn. 

On investigation, the Streamkeepers 

found a small amount of herring roe on 

bladderwrack, an intertidal seaweed— 

Dr. Jonn Matsen 

but when they went under the dock, 

they found that millions of herring eggs 

had been laid on creosote pilings and all 

of them had died. 

With that success in mind, the 

Streamkeepers wrapped the 

171 pilings they could reach 

at very low Spring tides. 

The first thought was to put 

something onto the pilings that would 

block the seepage of creosote so that 

if the herring spawned there in the 

future, the eggs would be protected. 

Black-plastic sheathing was stapled 

over 60 of the creosote pilings but the 

shiny plastic surface was too slippery 

for herring to attach eggs; soft weedcontrol 

material was stapled over top 

of the plastic and more weed-control 

material was run lengthways along 

the pilings underwater to increase the 

potential spawning surface area. 

2007 eggs on weed control material 

over plastic sheeting 

Jonn with herring roe float line 

Herring roe kelp and branch 

In February of 2007, the 

Streamkeepers went under the 

Squamish Terminals’ dock at low 

tide and found all the materials were 

heavily spawned; the eggs hatched out 

successfully within several weeks. 

With that success in mind, the 

Streamkeepers wrapped the 171 

pilings they could reach at very low 

Spring tides. All the materials were 

then heavily spawned annually with 

a high hatch-out rate, so each year 

more materials were added. 

As the herring run expanded, 

hundreds of dolphins were soon seen 

frequently in Howe Sound. 

Eggs hatched out on weed control material 

over plastic 


Hundreds of dolphins feeding 

near Lions Bay in Howe Sound 

In 2009 a float line of the weedcontrol 

material was built to run 

lengthways under the dock. 

The advantage was twofold. 

• The spawning surface was doubled 

because the herring could spawn 

on both sides. 

• The eggs were always under the 

water, unlike the piling wrappings 

that were intertidal, which meant 

they were exposed at low tide. 

In 2011 several dozen creosote 

pilings were damaged by a ship 

coming in too fast. The Terminals’ 

plan was to replace them with new 

creosote pilings; they were told if the 

pilings were sun-dried for 5 months 

they would not leak creosote. That 

was not the case because the eggs on 

intertidal pilings died off in 2012 and 

2013. Fortunately, the Streamkeepers 

had dramatically increased the amount 

of floatline that kept the eggs under 

water and the run appears to be still 

steadily increasing in size. 

In 2012 the Department 

of Fisheries (DFO) research trawler 

Ricker was doing hake studies 

in upper Howe Sound and instead 

found, “on this trip, the Ricker’s net 

yielded older herring opposite Bowen 

Island, as well as a high density 

Jonn looking at Squamish Terminals 

Howe Sound dolphins off Lions Bay 

near the highway 

of 2-year-old herring in surface waters 

up by Squamish. One-year-old herring 

were abundant in Ramilles Channel, 

North of Anvil Island, and underyearling 

(young-of-the-year) herring 

were caught everywhere at shallow 

depths.” 

Fortunately, the 

Streamkeepers had 

dramatically increased the 

amount of floatline that kept 

the eggs under water and 

the run appears to be still 

steadily increasing in size. 

From that information it was 

realized there is a natural deepspawning 

herring run farther down 

Howe Sound at the Defence Islands 

as well as the newer run being 

enhanced in the Squamish estuary. 

(See Youtube Defence Island Herring 

Parade and Defence Island Herring 

Spawn.) Together the two runs have 

brought back life to Howe Sound 

because dozens of large animals from 

salmon to dolphins depend on herring 

to concentrate plankton into something 

large enough for them to eat. 

Dolphins in Georgia Strait 

The Squamish natives had 

a village called Snauq in what is now 

called False Creek. The importance 

of this village was that a major herring 

spawn took place there at the end 

of Winter, the hungriest time of the 

year, as salmon runs were long past 

and new growth was yet to come. 

The Squamish Streamkeepers have 

identified similar dead herring roe on 

creosote pilings in False Creek over the 

past 5 years and are considering trying 

to bring back that run, as well. 

Streamkeepers are unpaid 

volunteers. They have received some 

funding for materials from DFO and 

Telus. s 

Jonn Matsen is the Squamish 

Streamkeepers Herring Recovery 

Coordinator. Dr. matsen was born 

in Britannia Beach, raised in Squamish, 

and has owned and operated the North 

Shore Naturopathic Clinic for the last 

30 years. His three books on his “Eating 

Alive Program” have sold over 400,000 

copies. He lives in Ambleside in West 

Vancouver. 

drjonnmatsen@shaw.ca 

Herring roe on piling and linear material Herring work at night at low tide 


TaxES 

PST, HST, gST—SoS! 

The morning of April 1, 

2013, we all experienced 

a return to the past: The 

Province of BC re-implemented 

the Provincial Sales Tax and the 

HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) 

became the gST (goods and 

Services Tax). 

On our breakfast and newspaper, 

we now pay only 5% GST instead 

of 12% HST, but when we buy a topof-the-line 

new computer system, 

we pay 5% GST and 7% PST on the 

selling price—the same 12% as we 

would have paid with the HST. 

The legislation replaces the Social 

Services Tax Act and is included in the 

new Provincial Sales Tax Act. 

The PST is a retail sales tax that 

applies when taxable goods or services 

are acquired for personal or business 

use, unless a specific exemption applies. 

©iStockphoto.com/Alashi 

PST applies 

• The purchase or lease of new 

and used goods in British 

Columbia 

• Goods that are delivered, 

sent, or brought into British 

Columbia for use in our province 

• Software 

• Services provided to tangible 

personal property or services 

to install goods 

• Accommodations 

• Legal services 

• Telecommunication services 

• Gifts of vehicles, boats, and 

aircraft 

PST does not apply 

• All food for human consumption 

• Bicycles 

• Dry cleaning and tailoring 

• Children’s clothing and footwear 

• Newspaper and magazines 

• Most services, including 

transportation services, personal 

services, and professional 

services 

• The purchase of goods for resale 

• Eligible machinery and 

equipment 

• Sale of real property such 

as residential housing and 

commercial real estate 

• Admission and memberships 

Andrea Agnoloni 

Tax Overview 

General tax rate: 7% 

On accommodations: 8% 

On liquor: 10% 

On passenger vehicles: 7% to 10%, 

depending on the purchase price 

of the vehicle 

On vehicles, boats, and aircraft acquired 

from private individuals or non-GST 

registrants: 12% of the purchase 

If the items are gifts, the tax will be 

applied on the market value of the gift. 

• PST registration can be done 

online at the new e-taxbc 

registration service. 

• All businesses in BC that sell or 

lease taxable goods, software, or 

services are required to register. 

Businesses located in Canada but 

outside BC will be required 

to register when they sell taxable 

goods in BC. 

• Businesses that collect PST will 

have to remit the tax on the last 

day of the month following the 

month the tax was collected. Each 

business will receive a commission 

of up to $198 per reporting period. 

When PST and GST Become Payable 

Under the Provincial Sales Tax Act, 

PST on the purchase or lease of goods 

and services generally becomes 

payable the earlier of 

• the time when consideration 

becomes due, and 

• the time it is paid without having 

become due. 


The consideration generally becomes 

due when the invoice is issued with 

respect to the sale. 

The general rule for the HST/GST 

is the same as PST. 

Transitional Rules 

Both the BC Government and the 

Federal Government have announced 

transitional rules on the return to the 

PST and the elimination of the 

Harmonized Sales tax. The transitional 

rules provide guidance on determining 

the application of tax to transactions 

in BC that straddle the April 1 

effective date. 

Generally, the invoices are subject 

to HST (12%) if paid or payable 

prior to April 1, 2013, and subject 

to GST (5%) and PST (7%) if paid or 

payable on or after April 1, 2013, with 

certain exceptions. 

Transitional measures have been 

released by way of bulletins that 

include a variety of examples to help 

the taxpayer determine the application 

of the appropriate sales tax. 

http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/pst-return.htm 

Transitional Rules for Real Property 

• The general transitional rule 

indicates that GST at 5% rather 

than HST at 12% would apply 

if both the ownership and 

possession of the real property 

transfer on or after April 1. 

• HST at 12% would apply if either 

the ownership or possession 

transfers before April 1. 

• The tax becomes payable on the 

earlier of the day that ownership 

of the property is transferred 

to the purchaser and the day that 

possession of the property is 

transferred to the purchaser. 

Sale of New Housing 

• The transitional rule provides 

guidance on whether to apply the 

GST or HST rate, based on when 

the tax becomes payable. The 

transitional rule that applies to sales 

of real property also applies to sales 

of new housing. Therefore GST 

would apply where tax becomes 

payable after March 31. If the tax 

becomes due before April 1, then 

HST would apply. 

Transitional measures have 

been released by way 

of bulletins that include 

a variety of examples… 

• In addition to the GST, a BC 

transition tax may apply to the sale 

where the construction of a house is 

10% or more completed on April 1. 

• The BC transition tax will apply on 

a temporary basis where the HST 

does not apply on the sale of new 

housing and GST is due on or after 

April 1, 2013 and before April 1, 

2015. The BC transition tax is 

applied at a rate of 2% of the 

selling price. 

• The BC transition tax will not 

apply if the sale of the house 

was previously subject to the BC 

transition tax. 

• Builders of a house will be eligible 

for a BC transition rebate for 

properties subject to the BC 

transition tax and where the 

construction of the housing is 

10% or more but not more than 

90% completed on April 1. 

• Builders who build for their own 

personal use will not be eligible for 

the rebate. 

HST/GST Installments 

Businesses that are required to remit 

HST/GST by installments should 

consider calculating the installments due 

in 2013 to reflect the lower rate of 5%. 

This article is not intended to be 

a complete guide to the recent PST/ 

GST/HST tax changes in British 

Columbia. Check with your financial 

professional. Here is the link to the 

Ministry of Finance, http://www.fin. 

gov.bc.ca/pst-return.htm and to CRA, 

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/hrmnztn/ 

menu-eng.html#bc s 

Andrea Agnoloni is a BC Notary Public 

practising in North Vancouver. He is also 

a Certified general Accountant with EPR 

– North Vancouver, an Independent 

Firm of EPR Canada group Inc. 

andrea@eprnv.ca 

Services a BC Notary 

Can Provide 

Telephone: 1-877-272-8086 

info@agefriendlybusiness.com 

Notarization/Documents 

• Affidavits for All Documents required 

at a Public Registry within BC 

• Certified True Copies of Documents 

• Execution/Authentications 

of International Documents 

• Notarizations/Attestations of Signatures 

• Personal Property Security Agreements 

• Statutory Declarations 

Personal Planning 

• Estate Planning 

• Health Care Declarations 

• Powers of Attorney 

• Representation Agreements 

• Wills Preparation 

• Wills Searches 

Travel 

• Authorization of minor Child Travel 

• Letters of Invitation for Foreign Travel 

• Passport Application Documentation 

• Proof of Identity for Travel Purposes 

Business 

• Business Purchase/Sale 

• Commercial Leases and Assignment 

of Leases 

• Contracts and Agreements 

Property matters 

• Easements and Rights of Way 

• Insurance Loss Declarations 

• manufactured Home Transfers 

• mortgage Refinancing Documentation 

• Purchaser’s Side of Foreclosures 

• Residential and Commercial Real Estate 

Transfers 

• Restrictive Covenants 

and Builder’s Liens 

• Subdivisions and 

Statutory Building 

Schemes 

• Zoning Applications 

marine 

• marine Bills of Sale and mortgages 

• marine Protestations 

Some BC Notaries provide these services. 

• marriage Licences 

• mediation 

• Real Estate Disclosure Statements 

Over 300 Notaries to Serve You! 

For the BC Notary office nearest you, 

please call 1-800-663-0343 

or visit www.notaries.bc.ca. 


We assist and advise nonresidents 

who are investing in real estate 

Tel: 604-872-8883 ext 226 

Fax: 604-872-8889 

www.lamlonishio.ca 

Our Professional Services Include . . . 

• Structuring investments 

• Explaining Canadian income tax 

• Explaining GST / PST 

• Explaining filing options (NR6) 

• Preparing annual tax returns 

• Obtaining Certificate of Compliance 

(“Clearance Certificate”) upon Sale 

WE PROVIDE PEACE OF MIND 

Contact Don Nishio for our information package. 

We assist and advise nonresidents 

investing in real 

estate: 

Structuring their investment 

Explaining Canadian income tax 

Explaining GST / PST 

Explaining filing options (NR6) 

Preparing annual tax returns 

Obtaining Certificate of Compliance 

touched Weby provide peace cancer. 

of mind 

Contact Don for our information package 

E-mail: don@lamlonishio.ca 

659-G Moberly Rd., Vancouver, 

BC V5Z 4B2 

Tel: 604-872-8883 ext 226 

Fax: 604-872-8889 

www.lamlonishio.ca 

Discovery needs willing partners. 

E-mail: don@lamlonishio.ca 

659-G Moberly Rd., 

Vancouver, BC V5Z 4B2 

Help create a better 

future for everyone 

When your client remembers the BC Cancer Foundation in their will, 

they’ll be supporting world-renowned research in BC that is shaping 

the future of cancer care. 

Please be sure to use the full legal name of our organization: 

BC Cancer Foundation 

Registration Number: 11881 8434 RR0001 

For more information, please contact 

Isabela Zabava, LL.B at 604.877.6040 

or legacy@bccancer.bc.ca 

Test your 

Skills! 

RIGHT OR WRONG? 

• I will send you the photo’s. 

8 Wrong 

Many people—even with a 

university education—tend 

to place an apostrophe in front 

of the letter “s” to make a word 

plural. 

Making a word plural? 

Don’t use an apostrophe. 

The simple plural of photo is 

photos. Just add “s.” That’s it! 

Note: Photo’s is correct if you 

want to show possession. 

• The photo’s frame was 

cracked. (The frame 

belonging to the photo) 


• Its’ coat was very shiny. 

8 Wrong 

The word its never has an 

apostrophe at the end. It does 

not need it to show possession. 


• It’s déjà vu all over again! 

4 Correct 

This time, the apostrophe is not 

showing possession. It is holding 

the place of the missing letter i 

in what was it is. 

It’s is a contraction (short form) 

of it is. 

Hasn’t is a contraction of has not. 

Weren’t is a contraction of were not. 

Can’t is a contraction of can not. 

4 TO RECAP . . . 

• Please send the photos. 

• The photo’s colours are drab. 

• Its house was made of straw. 

• It’s better to be correct! 


COMMUNITY 

Building Connections 

on march 13, 

I participated in a 1-day 

connectivity forum 

sponsored by the greater 

Victoria Eldercare Foundation. 

We were asked these questions. 

• How can we better use 

our collective resources? 

• How can we have a caring 

connected community and how 

would that help older adults 

age-in-place? 

April 

Struthers 

Our skilled facilitator 

was April Struthers. 

The forum was hosted 

by Oceanside Healthy 

Aging Initiative, 

a coalition of agencies 

working to support 

healthy aging in the 

Oceanside area through 

community-based research and 

focused community development 

initiatives. The Foundation sees this 

area as a key starting point. We were 

recognized because of the strength 

in our respective communities—we 

are active; we are engaging; some 

of us need aging-in-place and others 

need dignified services that assist and 

support a continuum of living. 

Lori McLeod, in her 

capacity as Executive 

Director of the Greater 

Victoria Eldercare 

Foundation, introduced 

us to the philosophy 

of the Foundation— 

Lori McLeod 

Be Well, Be Secure, 

Be Connected, Be Enriched. Those 

words drew me to participate. They 

help me embrace ideas and ways 

to support myself and my community 

in the aging process. After all, I have 

been aging since I took my first breath. 

The Foundation provided funding 

and facilitation to have us explore the 

topic for our area of Oceanside, which 

encompasses Parksville, Qualicum 

Beach, Nanoose, Coombs, Errington, 

Bowser, and Lasqueti Island. 

We are journeying together 

on a simple pathway… 

Being connected with others will 

help me to 

• live in the present moment, 

• prepare for my aging life as I move 

forward into it, 

• have wellness and security, and 

• be enriched by our exchanges 

in the care experience. 

I am a care partner for my parent 

who is a person living with dementia. 

I have learned I need support with my 

roles and, in the process, I can also 

provide support. 

I am so grateful to live 

in Oceanside where we have an 

amazing wealth of people who are 

passionate about how they want to live 

and are generous about how they 

demonstrate it by giving back to their 

community. 

When I am engaged in contributing 

to my community, I feel I am a part 

of it. I need to be kind, be respectful, 

be inclusive—and that means having 

grace with myself. I was reminded 

by another participant that as we age, 

we as a population will be very vocal and 

accustomed to participating in matters 

that involve us. I have demonstrated that 

by advocating for my parent. 

Elise Willson 

As a group, we recognized that 

knowledge, education, and shared 

wisdom will help keep each of us open 

to learning and experiencing more 

reciprocal relationships. 

We are journeying together 

on a simple pathway, empowered 

by reducing, reusing, recycling, and 

reframing through an “Age-friendly 

Lens.” Eldercare has been instrumental 

in building intergenerational community 

with an initiative called “Trust Us!” 

that bridges the gap between teens and 

seniors. I picked up information cards 

from the Eldercare display on both 

“Trust Us” and “Skills for Shy Seniors.” 

• To whom do you connect? 

• Who connects to you? 

• Where do you enjoy reciprocal 

relationships? 

• How do your current relationships 

meet your needs—personally, at 

your work space, in your leisure, 

and in your volunteer activities? 

• Are you putting enough time and 

effort into activities that nurture 

your spirit? 

Someone at the forum said, “Can 

we define this as an ‘Age Friendly 

Living Lab’? That sounds so much more 

positive than defining Qualicum Beach 

as ‘God’s Beautiful Waiting Room.’ ” s 

Elise Willson is a community 

volunteer who is active with the 

Alzheimer Society of BC and oceanside 

Dementia Education Task Team. She 

co-facilitates, plans, hosts, and gathers 

resources for oDETT and its events. 

Her greatest accomplishment is being 

present in each moment! 

gladysu@telus.net 


WILLS & ESTaTES 

This article reports on important new 

developments in the case law on 

severing ownership by joint tenancy. 

(Updating Severance of Joint Tenancies 

at www.disinherited.com) 

Back to Basics 

At common law, there are 

two main forms of joint 

ownership by individuals. 

The individual owners may hold 

property as either joint tenants 

or as tenants in common. 

A critical difference between 

these two forms of ownership 

is the “right of survivorship” that 

attaches to a joint tenancy but 

not to a tenancy in common. 

The right of survivorship means 

that when a joint tenant dies, his or her 

ownership interest passes equally to all 

other co-owners. To illustrate with a very 

common example, suppose a couple 

owns property as joint tenants and 

one partner dies. His or her ownership 

interest will pass automatically to the 

Trevor Todd 

Judith Milliken, QC 

Severance 

of Joint Tenancies 

by Course of Conduct 

surviving partner. If, instead, they own 

the property as tenants in common, 

when one partner dies, the interest 

in the property will pass directly 

to his or her estate rather than to the 

surviving spouse. 

The question of how 

common property is owned 

can have a very significant 

effect on the outcome 

of both matrimonial and 

estate litigation. 

Property Registered in Joint Tenancy May 

Have Changed its Form of Ownership 

We often assume that property legally 

registered to the owners as joint 

tenants will automatically pass to the 

surviving joint tenant(s) upon the 

death of one joint tenant. 

Legal practitioners, however, 

should always consider the question 

of whether property, apparently held 

in joint tenancy, indeed remained 

in joint tenancy at the time of death. 

If the joint tenancy has been 

somehow terminated, then the 

property will be held by the owners 

as tenants in common. 

The legal process of converting 

a joint tenancy arrangement into 

a tenancy in common is referred 

to as “severance.” The distinction 

is crucial because of the right 

of survivorship that attaches to a joint 

tenancy. Where a tenancy in common 

has been created prior to the death 

of one owner, the deceased’s property 

interest will not pass to the other 

owners, but will form part of the 

deceased’s estate. 

The question of how common 

property is owned can have a very 

significant effect on the outcome 

of both matrimonial and estate 

litigation. Often, the family home 

or real estate forms the large part 

of any property owned by the 

deceased. 

Severance of a Joint Tenancy 

The classic statement as to how 

to sever a joint tenancy is found 

in Williams v. Hensman (1861), 70 E. 

R. 862. In a nutshell, at page 867, 

Vice Chancellor Wood sets out the 

three possibilities. 

1. One joint owner may sever the 

joint tenancy by disposing of his 

or her own interest—for example, 

transferring that interest to himself 

or herself. 


2. A joint tenancy may be severed 

by mutual agreement of the joint 

owners—that is, explicitly severed. 

3. There may be a severance by any 

course of dealing sufficient 

to intimate that the interest 

of all owners was mutually 

treated as constituting a tenancy 

in common—that is, implicitly 

severed. 

The third manner of severance is 

the subject of this article—severance 

that takes place implicitly, by way 

of conduct that evidences a mutual 

intention on the part of all owners. 

Such severance may not always be 

obvious and becomes crucial only 

when one of the parties dies. 

Recent Ontario Cases 

The Ontario Court of Appeal 

has recently carefully examined the law 

and conflicting cases and set forth the 

test in Ontario for determining whether 

there has been a severance by course 

of conduct. Their decision is found 

in Hansen v. Hansen Estate 2012 9 

RFL (7th) 251, 75 ETR (3d) 19. 

By way of background, the Hansens 

had married in 1983 and separated 

in 2010. It was a second marriage 

for both and both had children from 

previous relationships. In 2003 the 

Hansens purchased a property as joint 

tenants. Financial and marital troubles 

subsequently ensued, with Mrs. Hansen 

moving out of the home in March 2010. 

Mr. Hansen hired a matrimonial 

lawyer and signed a new Will leaving 

everything to his daughters alone. 

Mrs. Hansen also retained 

a lawyer who wrote the husband’s 

lawyer suggesting they negotiate 

a “swift and amicable” separation 

agreement with a view to conducting 

a “straightforward equalization of their 

property and incomes.” The negotiation 

was to include all the assets including 

the family home, which was to be 

appraised. As well, it was proposed 

that the husband, if he chose 

to remain in the family home, could buy 

out his wife’s interest. Otherwise, the 

property was to be sold. 

The husband’s lawyer responded 

immediately and appeared to agree 

with the suggested course of action on 

his client’s behalf. In particular, he took 

no issue to the proposed equal division 

of assets nor the suggestion that the 

husband would either buy out his wife’s 

interest if he chose to remain in the 

home or otherwise the property would 

have to be listed and sold. 

The parties began to close their 

joint bank accounts and prepared 

financial statements for exchange 

in furtherance of their settlement 

negotiations. Before any settlement 

could be finalized, Mr. Hansen died. 

The third manner 

of severance is the subject 

of this article—severance 

that takes place implicitly, 

by way of conduct that 

evidences a mutual intention 

on the part of all owners. 

The question of home ownership 

thus became crucial. On title, the 

couple remained registered as joint 

tenants but had that joint tenancy 

been severed? 

Mrs. Hansen maintained she 

was entitled to the family home as the 

surviving joint tenant. The husband’s 

executors maintained that the parties’ 

course of dealing had severed that joint 

tenancy and therefore the husband’s 

interest passed into his estate. 

Mrs. Hansen was successful 

at trial but that was reversed on 

appeal. The Ontario Court of Appeal, 

in overturning that decision, made 

several pronouncements about 

severance by a course of conduct. 

In summary, they said the following. 

1. The purpose of this doctrine is 

to ensure that one owner does not 

unfairly obtain the benefit of the 

right of survivorship where the 

parties have shown a common 

intention to no longer treat their 

interests in the property as an 

indivisible unified whole. 

2. Proof of severance by course 

of dealing does not require 

proof of an explicit agreement 

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to sever the joint tenancy; the 

mutual intention can be inferred 

from the course of dealing 

between the parties. 

3. Severance by a course of dealing 

requires that each owner knew 

of the other’s position and that 

all treated their interest in the 

property as no longer being held 

jointly; that knowledge may be 

inferred from communications 

or conduct. 

4. Determination of whether the 

mutual intention required has 

been shown involves a fact-specific 

assessment of the circumstances 

of the individual case. For example, 

negotiations between spouses 

during a marriage breakdown may 

reveal an intention to mutually 

treat the interests in the family 

home as constituting a tenancy 

in common (paragraph 44). 

The Court ruled that the trial 

judge erred in first treating the 

previous cases as if they had created 

recognized categories “that restrict 

the course of dealing analysis 

to established patterns of conduct” 

and second in concluding that because 

the facts did not match, severance had 

not been established. 

The Court ruled there was a course 

of conduct sufficient to sever the 

joint tenancy. In particular, it was the 

exchange of letters by counsel setting 

forth the fact that the interest in the 

family home was to be appraised and 

then divided equally. The court said, 

“it is hard to imagine what remained 

to be done except for documenting the 

agreement, given that the principle 

of equal division driving the resolution 

was not in dispute” (paragraph 61). 

The preparation of new Wills 

and the opening of separate bank 

accounts was supportive evidence 

in is much as it was the consistent 

quotes with other evidence that the 

spouses mutually treated their interest 

in the property as no longer being held 

jointly” (paragraph 63–64). 

Chief Justice Winkler at paragraph 

7, stated as follows. 

The court’s inquiry cannot 

be limited to matching fact 

patterns to those in prior cases. 

Rather, the court must look 

to the co-owners’ entire course 

of conduct—in other words, the 

totality of the evidence—in order 

to determine if they intended 

that their interests were mutually 

treated as constituting a tenancy 

in common. The evidence may 

manifest itself in different ways. 

Each case is idiosyncratic and 

will turn on its own facts. 

The court found that 

neither the testatrix nor her 

estranged husband had 

conducted their affairs 

in a way to suggest that the 

joint tenancies had been 

terminated. 

Following that decision was 

a second Ontario decision Su v. Lam 

2012 77 E.T.R. (3d) 278, (Ont. SCJ). 

In that case, the trial judge applied 

Hansen, however, and found that 

severance had not been established. 

The case involved a married 

couple who had been separated 

for some years—indeed the wife had 

a new common law husband who 

was the claimant. Nevertheless, the 

court ruled the mere fact that the 

testatrix and her estranged husband 

were separated was insufficient 

to establish severance. After 

separating, the couple had previously 

disposed of some of their properties 

and divided the proceeds but 

continued to hold others jointly. 

The court found that neither the 

testatrix nor her estranged husband 

had conducted their affairs in a way 

to suggest that the joint tenancies 

had been terminated. No evidence 

existed that they had entered 

into negotiations as to the ownership 

following their separation. The fact 

alone that the testatrix maintained 

the properties without assistance 

from her estranged husband was not 

evidence of severance. Accordingly, 

the properties passed to the estranged 

husband by right of survivorship. 

British Columbia Law: Tompkins Estate 

Hansen Estate is contrary to the BCCA 

decision Tompkins Estate v. Tompkins, 

March 3, 1993, Vancouver Registry 

CA 015039. Indeed, Hansen considers 

and specifically rejects the reasoning 

in Tompkins Estate. 

In this decision, Southin J.A., 

writing on behalf of the Court, ruled 

that to satisfy the test of severance 

by course of dealing, one party must 

rely, to his or her detriment, on the 

other’s representation that he or she 

no longer wants to hold the property 

jointly. According to Winkler J., 

in Hansen she interpreted the rule 

“as a ‘species of estoppel’ requiring 

proof of detrimental reliance” 

(paragraph 47, Hansen). 

In other words, the BC law as set 

forth in Tompkins Estate is that the 

party asserting severance must prove 

not only that both parties treated 

their interests as separate, but also 

that he or she relied on the other’s 

representations or actions to his or her 

detriment and is therefore estopped 

from now asserting a joint tenancy. 

The Ontario court in Hansen held 

that such detrimental reliance was not 

necessary and the test could be 

satisfied simply by virtue of each party 

being aware of the other’s intentions 

and by both parties treating their 

interests in the property as no longer 

being held jointly. 

In fact Winkler CJO in Hansen 

in effect opined that Southin J. 

in Hansen misinterpreted Williams 

v. Hensman. Winkler CJO comments 

read, in part, as follows. 

...in describing the course of dealing 

test, the reasons of the Vice 

Chancellor in Williams v. Hensman 

do not refer to the doctrine 

of estoppel, nor do his reasons 

invoke the concept of detrimental 

reliance. It is possible that 

Southin J. A. may have viewed 

the course of dealing test of the 

species of estoppel because both 

legal principles are designed 

to prevent unfairness or injustice 

as between the parties. However, 

the elements of each doctrine are 

different as are the requirements 


of proof…. The rationale for severing 

the joint tenancy relates to the 

inappropriateness of the right 

of survivorship in circumstances 

where co-owners have mutually 

treated their interests in the 

property being held in common. 

The rationale is not contingent on 

the fact that one party relied on the 

representation to his/her detriment 

(paragraphs 47–50). 

Given that decisions of Ontario 

Court of Appeal are traditionally 

regarded as very persuasive, our courts 

may in future adopt the reasoning 

of Hansen. 

Conclusion 

In an individual case, it will be crucial 

to examine the history of dealings 

between joint owners to determine 

whether or not past dealings have 

resulted in a severance of a joint 

tenancy. It is not uncommon 

for parties to separate and later 

reconcile and it may well be that 

a historic course of dealing effectively 

severed a joint tenancy of valuable 

Why invest the time to get to know our clients? 

Because we care to fully understand what you’re up 

against and where you want to go. We gain insight and real 

understanding so we can help you achieve your ambitions. 

property. For example, a combination 

of the following acts could conceivably 

result in the severance of a joint 

tenancy. 

1. Expressing an intention 

to negotiate a division of property, 

including the subject property, 

especially in equal shares 

2. An owner vacating the premises 

3. Insisting on one owner buying out 

the other’s interest as a condition 

of continued occupation 

4. Expressing an intention 

to have the property appraised 

for purposes of settlement 

negotiations 

5. Closing joint bank accounts and 

opening separate accounts 

6. Preparing a new Will disposing 

of the property, to the exclusion 

of the other owner 

In conclusion, the Hansen case 

underlines a vital area to be examined 

by estate litigators in dealing with 

jointly owned property after death. It 

can be extremely important to scratch 

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the surface to ensure there has not 

been a severance of the ownership 

interest effected by the owners’ 

historic course of conduct. s 

Trevor Todd restricts his practice 

to estate litigation and has practised 

law for 38 years. He is a past President 

of the Trial Lawyers Association of BC, 

a past chair of the Wills and Trusts 

(Vancouver) Subsection, and a past 

president of the New Westminster Bar 

association. He frequently lectures 

to CLE, TLABC, the BC Notaries, and 

various law, business, or general 

public sessions on estate law issues. 

Disinherited.com is 17 years old. 

It has hundreds of blogs and articles 

and currently over 5600 visitors per 

month on average. 

Judith Milliken, QC, hails from 

Saskatchewan and has practised law 

for 36 years . . . initially commercial law, 

criminal prosecutions for over 20 years, 

and since 2007, estate litigation. 

As former senior Crown Counsel, 

she is a highly experienced litigator. 


HISTORY Of BRITISH COLUMBIa 

The Sockeye Special 

THE SToRy oF THE STEVESToN TRAm 

AND EARLy LULU ISLAND 

The Vancouver to Steveston 

interurban has been the 

subject of stories and 

memories for many people 

from the Lower mainland. 

In researching Richmond history, 

the tram was often part of historical 

moments on the Island. 

When the BC Electric Railway 

(BCER) took over the CPR’s passenger 

service in 1905, the majority of the 

riders on the early morning and later 

afternoon runs were workers at the fish 

canneries in Steveston. The canneries 

were world renowned for canning the 

premium Sockeye salmon; the tram 

service became known as The Sockeye 

Special. 

The BCER tram from Vancouver 

to Steveston was an integral part 

of the development of early Lulu 

Island, taking thousands of passengers 

Minoru Racetrack 1910 

[City of Richmond Archives Photograph 

#2001.9.20] 

from Vancouver, New Westminster, and 

Steveston to the Minoru Racetrack. 

The racetrack was the site of six 

aeronautical firsts that took place from 

1910 to 1919. 

Brighouse Racetrack opened 

in 1909 and was originally named 

Minoru Racetrack after King Edward’s 

horse, a 1909 Epson Derby winner. 

Minoru (the horse) was named after 

the newborn son of Edward’s gardener. 

…the tram service 

became known as 

The Sockeye Special. 

The track, often described 

as having the finest racing surface 

in North America, was on the 

land owned by Sam Brighouse— 

one of the Three Greenhorns. 

It was infinitely easier to build there 

than on Vancouver’s forested east 

end. The track was built in 90 days 

for approximately $75,000. An 

estimated 7000 fans turned out 

for opening day, August 21, 1909, 

the first major racing event in the 

Lower Mainland. 

The track’s surface created 

a natural bounce, believed to be the 

result of underlying peat and a perfect 

mix of clay and alluvial soil. That 

may be the reason for the numerous 

Canadian horse-racing records. 

Ron Hyde 

1909 Epson Derby Winner Minoru 

[City of Richmond Archives] 

Most of the fans rode the BCER 

trams from Vancouver and Marpole, but 

others arrived in horse-drawn carriages, 

by horseback, or by walking for miles 

along the flat, dusty roads. Originally, 

the bookmaking system was in effect, 

but bookies were soon abolished and 

in 1910, parimutual machines—“iron 

men”—were installed. 

Parimutual betting had been 

outlawed in many parts of the United 

States and for a long time, there 

was no racing in the United States 

in the territory between Mexico and 

British Columbia. Some of the bestknown 

horsemen on the continent 

came to Vancouver and Richmond. 

In 1914, an unprecedented 90-day 


Charles Hamilton lands his plane at Minoru Racetrack on March 25, 1910, 

for the first airplane visit west of Winnipeg. [Ron Hyde Collection] 

meet was held at Minoru. That 

contravened the law and the Attorney 

General fined the track $50. 

Minoru Racetrack’s first 11 years 

of operation recorded several historic 

events witnessed by thousands who 

travelled by The Sockeye Special. 

March 25, 1910, saw the first airplane 

visit and first flight west of Winnipeg 

by Charles K. Hamilton who flew his 

Curtiss pusher biplane to Minoru Park. 

The next day he flew to New 

Westminster and back. He later 

challenged a horse to a 1-mile 

race and, much to Hamilton’s 

embarrassment, the horse won 

by 10 seconds, probably due to the 

3 

⁄8 of a mile lead given to the horse. 

April 28, 1911: William Templeton flew 

a homemade biplane at Minoru. It 

was the first plane both built in and 

flown over Metropolitan Vancouver. 

Templeton later became the first 

Manager of the Vancouver International 

Airport. 

April 24, 1912: Billy M. Stark made 

a solo exhibition flight over Minoru. 

A second flight was scheduled and 

the BCER, anticipating large numbers 

of spectators, added nine extra cars 

to the Lulu Island Route. 

Although the biplane was not 

designed to carry passengers, James 

Hewitt of The Province newspaper 

was the first airplane passenger 

in British Columbia 

William Stark in his plane with James Hewitt strapped to the wing in 1912 

[City of Vancouver Archives, Trans N38] 

Recollections of Lulu Island 

When I was a young boy, during 

WWII, my mother worked at one 

of the fish canneries in Steveston. The 

women cannery workers wore white 

overalls and hair bandanas for their 

shift and —after a day of handling fish— 

the trip home was particularly pungent. 

According to my mother, the nickname 

Sockeye Special had more to do with 

the aroma on the tram than the quality 

of the salmon they were canning. 

Mom’s working life at the 

cannery was short-lived. The 

commute from North Vancouver 

was 2 hours each way. It was too 

long a day —and too little pay—for 

a mother with 3 young children. 

I also remember the tram from 

my trips to the racetrack with my uncle 

Bill—that would have been in 1946– 

‘47. We’d get the tram at the corner 

of Carrall and Hastings in Vancouver. 

It was an exciting ride, especially the 

interurban, because it went for such 

a long way (about 14.5 miles). 

I spent my time at the track 

picking up discarded tickets, looking 

for winners, and I found the odd 

one, too! Fatherless 

since my dad was 

killed in the War, 

I loved those times 

with my uncle. 

Hugh Cooper 

Spouse of The Scrivener’s 

graphic artist Marilyn MacDonald 


Pilot Stark took the plane up 

to 600 feet and flew almost 6 miles 

while Hewitt sat on a board strapped 

next to the engine as he hung on 

to the rigging of the plane. 

May 24, 1912: The first parachute 

jump in Canada was made into 

Minoru Park by Charles Saunders. 

July 31, 1913: American Aviatrix Alys 

McKey Bryant became the first woman 

in Canada to make a solo flight. She 

was a member of the Early Birds and 

began taking flying lessons in the 

Summer of 1912. 

American Aviatrix Alys McKey Bryant 

[Smithstonian Institution Negative 

#A9965E] 

August 1919: Vancouver’s Ernest 

C. Hoy took off from Minoru Park 

for the first flight to cross the Rocky 

Mountains. The trip took 16 hours and 

42 minutes and contained the first 

airmail delivery across the Rockies. 

With the outbreak of the First 

World War, Minoru closed after the 

1914 season. It did not re-open until 

1920 when it became Brighouse 

Racetrack that attracted fans from 

all parts of North America; every once 

in a while, movie stars of the day were 

in attendance. 

That is but one of the many 

fascinating stories about The Sockeye 

Special. The tram played a major part 

in the life and entertainment of Lulu 

Island residents. In my book, you 

will enjoy stories of weekend trips 

to Vancouver theatres and operas, 

the many events at the Steveston 

Opera House and some of the famous 

people who played there, and the 

secrets of the white sands at Garry 

Point Park. 

The book, The Sockeye Special, 

sells for $15 (tax included) plus $5 

Join the fight. Leave a legacy. 

for mailing in Canada. 

The book is available 

through PayPal on 

www.sockeyespecial. 

com and in selected 

bookstores 

in Greater Vancouver. 

Information or 

enquiries: 

sockeyespecial@gmail.com s 

Ron Hyde is Newsletter Editor 

and membership Chair for the British 

Columbia Historical Federation. 

membership@bchistory.ca 

Telephone: 604 277-2627 

www.sockeyespecial.com 

Note: We have partnered with 

many nonprofit groups for book 

signings at their events and 

to share the proceeds. At the Gulf 

of Georgia Cannery and the Richmond 

Museum Society, we presented the 

57 Richmond public and independent 

school libraries with a copy of The 

Sockeye Special so that Richmond 

students could learn a little bit more 

about Richmond’s exciting history. 

Gifts to the Canadian Cancer Society fund research and prevention initiatives and 

help families like the Kents create life-changing memories at Camp Goodtimes. 

Did you know that a legacy gift to the Canadian Cancer Society can fight cancer and protect your 

estate from tax? The Estate Tax Eliminator Clause can reduce your final taxes to zero. 

You can help fund the best cancer research, prevention and support programs. For your copy of 

the Estate Tax Eliminator Clause and a Personal Estate and Will Planning Guide, please contact 

Toni Andreola at tandreola@bc.cancer.ca or call 1 800 663 - 2524. 

cancer.ca 


A Nickel 

for your Thoughts? 

We knew it was coming. 

The media told us 

to roll up our pennies 

and turn them in at the bank. 

Still, I was caught by surprise 

recently at a large grocery store. When 

I got to the till, the cashier said she 

was told to refuse pennies and gave us 

the choice to round off to the closest 

even denomination. 

I wrote to my Facebook friends to let 

them know history was in the making 

that day. I reported we would have 

to say goodbye to our pennies. I asked 

everyone for a favourite coin phrase, 

rhyme, and childhood saying that 

included the penny. 

As a young girl in Chicago, I loved 

it when my dad took our family out 

at Christmastime to see the window 

displays at Marshall Fields. We girls 

would sing “Christmas is coming, the 

goose is getting fat, please to put 

a penny in the old man’s hat” as we 

dropped our pennies into the hats 

of the men on the streets. We sang with 

all our hearts, right to them, and shook 

their hands as we happily passed by. 

I remember long Summers at the 

Jersey Shore, playing at the penny 

arcade—the same one destroyed 

by the hurricane forces of “Sandy” last 

November. 

On my first trip to Vegas in the 

‘70s at the penny slots, I carried 

away cupfuls of pennies, which I put 

into a glass penny bank shaped like 

a pig. I understood the piggybank 

design when we moved to Bermuda. 

The penny there is called a hog 

penny—a hog is engraved on the 

coin. The British introduced hogs 

to the Island when their sailing ships, 

transporting slaves from the West 

Indies, crashed on the coral reefs 

of what was later named Bermuda after 

a Spanish captain called Bermude. 

“…see a penny, pick it up, 

and all the day, 

you’ll have good luck.” 

The huge response 

on Facebook 

surprised me. 

Friends had many 

memories and 

comments. I’m sad 

the sayings could 

be lost forever, such 

as “see a penny, pick 

it up, and all the day, 

you’ll have good luck.” 

There will be no more “penny 

for your thoughts.” Penny skateboards 

are gone. Penny candy is a thing of the 

past. Things could get penny dreadful. 

We had penny racers, we wore penny 

Susan Freeborn 

©iStockphoto.com/peterspiro 

loafers, played on penny boards, had 

penny nails. What of the penny press? 

We can no longer spend a penny and 

save a dime. We were brought up 

to know the value of a penny. 

The British Isles have influenced 

many penny phrases, along with songs 

passed from generation to generation. 

The Beatles gave us Penny Lane. Brits 

would excuse themselves to “go pay 

a penny,” which meant to go to the 

Lu—the washroom attendant would 

collect a penny at the door. 

We used to pinch pennies. We had 

to be penny wise. A penny saved was 

a penny earned. If we didn’t watch it, 

we could become penniless. Playing 

cards, we made penny antes. Some 

games, meals, or movies were well 

worth every penny. 

The Irish have played 

many a tune on the 

“penny whistle” to pick 

up their spirits and 

tunes like O Danny Boy 

to remember their lost 

loved ones. Those lilting 

songs will ring through 

the ages and never be 

forgotten. They will live on 

through the games of their 

children’s children. s 

Scrivener reader Susan Freeborn 

is an aquatics instructor and hair stylist 

in North Vancouver. 


aSSOCIaTION Of BC LaND SURVEYORS 

Chuck Salmon 

Fantastic Agm for 2013 

Board of Management 

Back row from left: Mike Thomson, Surveyor General; Ron Johns; Dave Harris; 

Nigel Hemingway, Past President; Brian Brown; Chuck Salmon, 

Secretary; Chad Rintoul, CAO; Brownyn Denton 

Sitting: Steve Buzikievich, Vice President; Ian Lloyd, President; 

Michael Burian, Government Appointee 

Newly Commissioned Land Surveyors 

Back from left: Brent Mayenburg, BCLS 910; Jeff Thompson, BCLS 922; 

Lucas Cairns, BCLS 916; Scott Todd, BCLS 913 

Middle row: Alex Heath, BCLS 921; Spencer Hagen, BCLS 915; 

Adam Arduini, BCLS 920; Tim Peterson, BCLS 911; 

Mark Flinta, BCLS 914; Evgeny Petushkov, BCLS 919 

Sitting: Roland Bircher, BCLS 912; Peter Wittstock, BCLS 917; 

Ross Mandeville, BCLS 918 

The 108 th Annual general meeting 

of the Association of BC Land 

Surveyors was held march 7 

and 8 at the Whistler Conference Centre 

and Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa. 

A great location for an AGM, Whistler 

provides an excellent layout; the people 

managing the facility were extremely 

hospitable. The event enjoyed an attendance 

of 165 land surveyors, spouses, delegates 

from land surveying associations across Canada, 

and special guests—400 people in all. 

The business sessions and continuing 

professional development were very well 

attended. 

Special guests at the President’s Dinner 

and Dance on Friday night from The Society 

of Notaries Public of BC included President 

John Eastwood and his wife Bryanne and 

CEO and Secretary Wayne Braid and his 

wife Laurie Salvador; from the Applied 

Science Technologists and Technicians, Vice 

President Dave Rutherford; and representing 

the Integrated Cadastral Information Society, 

President Ferenc and Penny Pataki. 

Special guest Larry Blaschuk, Registrar 

New Westminster and Kamloops Land Title 

Offices, attended the Awards Luncheon 

held Thursday afternoon. Certificates 

of Appreciation were awarded to Wayne 

Fromm, Examiner of Title, Kamloops Land 

Title Office; Maureen Johnston, Deputy 

Registrar, Victoria Land Title Office; and 

Jay Sherwood, author, for their support 

of the land surveying profession. 


The Scrivener

A Certificate 

of Recognition was 

awarded to incoming 

President 

Ian Lloyd 

for his 

work with Ian Lloyd 

the Board 

of Examiners. 

G. K. Burnett Awards were 

Brian Brown presented to Brian Brown 

for his work as Sergeant 

at Arms and Don Watson 

for his work with the 

retired land surveyors 

group. 

Don Watson 

O’Brian 

Blackall 

Ralph Turner 

Dave Morton 

Doug Roy 

Hans 

Troelsen 

The G. M. Thomson 

Award was presented 

to O’Brian Blackall for his 

exceptionally outstanding 

work in promoting the 

land surveying profession. 

Lifetime Achievement 

Awards were presented 

to Ralph Turner and 

Dave Morton for their 

long-time commitment 

to land surveying in BC; 

Doug Roy and Hans 

Troelsen were elected 

by the membership as 

Life Members. 

President Nigel 

Hemingway made the 

presentations to the 

13 land surveyors 

commissioned since our 

2012 AGM. 

Elections to the Board 

of Management resulted 

in the Board for 2013. 

Returning are Nigel 

Hemingway as Past 

President; Ian Lloyd 

as President; Steve 

Buzikievich as Vice 

President; Brian Brown 

and Bronwyn Denton as 

members at large; Michael 

Burian, Government 

Appointee; Mike Thomson, 

Surveyor General; 

and Chuck Salmon as 

Secretary. Elected for 

their first time: David 

Harris and Ron Johns as 

members at large. s 

A camp for children with serious and 

chronic illnesses and disabilities 

Every child should be able to experience the 

fun and excitement of summer camp. Zajac 

Ranch for Children provides an experience of 

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With your support we can continue to deliver 

exceptional camp experiences and truly 

unforgettable memories in a safe and caring 

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Each year the British 

Columbia Society for 

the Prevention of Cruelty 

to Animals helps more 

than 29,000 abused, sick, 

homeless, injured, lost and 

neglected animals across the 

province. 

Your support enables the BC 

SPCA to be there for them, 

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Please help by making a 

donation or leaving a gift 

to the animals in your Will. 

Please visit us at online at 

spca.bc.ca or contact: 

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Senior Manager, Gift Planning 

ybenoit@spca.bc.ca 

778.327.6821 

1.800.665.1868 (toll-free) 


TRaVEL 

Colombia is Safe, 

But Don’t Pack Laundry Soap 

An experienced traveller, 

I will be chuckling 

for years about exiting 

Colombia via the Bogotá airport 

after 2 wonderful weeks. 

For context, you must appreciate 

that the entire airport is basically 

a dog-sniffing kennel. 

For context, you must 

appreciate that the 

entire airport is basically 

a dog-sniffing kennel. 

As I was about to board, 

I was informed that the National 

Police had removed my suitcase from 

the plane and wished to inspect it. 

The airline employee mentioned that 

was done on a total “lottery” basis. 

She perhaps meant random, but when 

I entered the bowels of the airport and 

met the attending police, I knew there 

was nothing random about it. 

Trevor Todd 

After I identified my luggage, it 

was carefully scrutinized. The search 

ended abruptly when the suspicious 

white powder they likely saw in the 

x-rays turned out to be laundry soap. 

We gave each other the all-knowing 

smile and my luggage was returned 

to me a few days later. 

It is now possible to fly direct 

from Vancouver to Panama City. From 

there, it’s only a 45-minute flight 

to Cartagena, Colombia. Panama itself 

is worth checking out; it’s the thirdmost-popular 

retirement centre in the 

world for North Americans. 

Cartagena reminded me 

of Havana without the “benefits” 

of 55 years of communism. The 

beautiful walled city is an international 

heritage site frequented by the cruise 

ships. It has charm, history, and hot 

Rio-like beaches. 

From the moment I arrived 

in Colombia until I left, I felt 

completely safe, welcome, and 

comfortable. In Cartagena, I noticed 


Llama for children’s ride in Bogotá Eccentrically dressed man later seen 

as a Bogotá street-performing “Dandy” 

the discreet presence of police almost 

everywhere, while in other cities such 

as Bogotá, the police and the army 

were ever-present in what could only be 

described as a “show of force.” 

I have seen such state displays 

of power in many tyrannical countries 

but in Colombia, genuine warmth 

was displayed between the populace and 

the security forces. It was apparent that 

after all the decades of violence they had undergone—with 

50 years of guerrilla warfare against FARC to the cocaine 

cartels’ horrific violence until recent years—everyone 

was genuinely pleased to have security and peace. 

The “bad guys” seem to have moved on to Mexico and 

other destinations, while the FARC guerrillas appear to be 

heading toward a truce. In any event, the FARC troubles are 

far away from anywhere a tourist is likely to go. 

I visited four cities, namely coastal and tropical 

Cartagena; hillside and temperate Medellin; “breathtakingly” 

high Bogotá, the capital; and Villa de Leyva. The latter is 

a 500-year-old cobblestoned provincial town approximately 

3-and-half hours by road from Bogotá. It was certainly the 

highlight of the trip for me. 

It is a very well-educated, 

cultured, and polite 

country of 46 million that 

desperately wants to prove 

to the world that it is not 

what it was… 

All in all, I would recommend 

Colombia for tourism but must point 

out there was little English and I had 

nada Español. Sign language often 

leads to hilarity and fond memories 

when recalling the awkwardness of the 

moment. 

It is a very well-educated, cultured, 

and polite country of 46 million that 

desperately wants to prove to the 

world that it is not what it was, or what its neighbour 

Venezuela has increasingly become. s 

A wedding in Villa de Leyva Cobblestone streets of beautiful 500-year-old Villa de Leyva 


TECHNOLOGY 

The Latest and Best 

for Spring 2013 

You’re Two-Faced! 

Whether or not you are a fan 

of microsoft’s latest operating system 

Windows 8 (I am slowly warming up 

to it), it is here and it’s centre-stage 

on many a hardware package. 

Lucky for us, that hardware is 

pretty cool. For example, HP Canada’s 

new Envy X2 laptop is a convertible 

system that turns into a full-function 

tablet PC with one single click. 

For your viewing pleasure, there 

is an 11.6" 1366 x 768 resolution 

display that features five-finger 

capacitive touch functionality. The 

screen is larger than the iPad (4th 

gen) 9.7" screen, but smaller than 

most laptops (13” plus). That said, 

it’s a pleasant balance between size 

and weight with the tablet weighing 

in at 1.51 lbs. (690 grams) 

and the base adding 1.60 lbs. 

(730 grams). Does this base 

make me look fat? 

One thing not on the skinny 

here is style. The Envy X2 sports 

a brushed aluminum lid/ 

tablet back, as 

well as a brushed 

aluminum docking 

hinge and palm rest. The 

clamshell shape is aesthetically 

pleasing and feels comfortable when 

you carry the unit. 

The tight-spaced short-travel keys 

do take some getting used to, but with 

a touch-screen close at hand (see 

what I did above), it may not matter. 

When disconnected from its 

dock, the Envy X2 uses the standard 

Windows 8 virtual keyboard, which 

stretches across the bottom of the 

screen in Windows 8 mode but can 

be dragged around in desktop mode. 

Though the Envy x2 does not support 

an active stylus, Windows 8 does have 

a handwriting recognition box you can 

use in lieu of a keyboard. 

Attached to the base, the Envy X2 

offers two USB 2.0 ports, one fullsize 

HDMI connector, and a standard 

SD card slot. The tablet itself adds 

a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a microSD 

card slot, and a proprietary docking 

port that either connects to the dock or 

directly to the charging cable. It is to be 

noted there is no Ethernet port or USB 

3.0 port. Other ways to communicate 

with the outside 

world: 802.11n Wi-Fi, 

Bluetooth 4.0, and front- 

and rear-facing cameras 

(front 2 MP, rear 8 MP). 

Under the hood, the 

unit runs a 1.8-GHz Intel 

Atom Z2760 CPU, 2 GB 

of RAM, and a 64 GB SSD 

(solid state drive). While 

this processor is slower than 

Intel’s own i5 or even i3, 

performance hardly suffers. The X2 

will handle all your word processing, 

spreadsheet, and graph needs—with 

decent video capabilities thrown in for 

good measure. 

** HP Envy X2, www.hp.ca 

$849.99 

Akash Sablok 

A Smaller Face 

So you’re starting to get comfy with the 

whole Windows 8-tile theme, you see 

a mobile phone with the same tile theme, 

and you think to yourself what a wonderful 

world! okay, maybe you’re not doing 

cartwheels but the Nokia Lumia 920 is an 

exciting mobile device that just happens 

to run Windows Phone 8. 

The o/s (operating system) is not 

the full version of Windows 8—it’s 

been modified to fit the small form 

factor and work efficiently on a 4.5" 

768 x 1280 screen. 

And work it does. The 920 is 

a powerhouse. The Snapdragon S4 

runs the system fast and gives you 

10.8 hours of talk time (on 3G), 460 

hours of standby time (over 19 days), 

and 74 hours of sweet music in your 

ears. Photobugs will like the 8.7 

megapixel camera. Shaky photobugs 

will like the Nokia PureView system 

that stabilizes the camera inside the 

phone by housing it in a cage with 

a gyroscope. 

The 

camera also 

captures full 

HD video 

(1920 x 1080), 


meaning you can leave your camcorder 

at home most of the time. Zooming is 

done by pinching the screen and if you 

feel the need to share immediately, 

you can share directly from the 

captured image to Facebook, Twitter, 

Skydrive, MMS, or email. 

Speaking of Skydrive—Microsoft’s 

cloud-storage offering—you can save 

attachments or photos and documents 

that you create on the phone direct 

to Skydrive, then access them from 

any PC, anywhere. 

http://www.nokia.com/ca-en/products/ 

phone/lumia920/ 

Price: Plan Dependent 

Look Ma, No Computer! 

When they say “there’s an App for 

that!” they can now include scanners— 

specifically the new Fujitsu ScanSnap 

iX500 Scanner. 

The iX500 is the latest version 

of the (dare I say) sexy and hottest 

line-up of scanners around. Ask 

anyone who uses one; they will tell you 

the ScanSnap series of machines are 

workhorses. 

Yes, they are pricey—starting 

at $500 plus, but you get good 

value for your money. For example, 

the iX500 utilizes a double-sided, 

25-page-per-minute, full-colour 

image sensor, comes bundled with 

a full version of Adobe Acrobat X for 

Windows, and can now scan directly 

to a smartphone. 

Feed the scanner any way you 

want. Documents placed upside down, 

backward, slightly skewed, or even 

blank. It doesn’t matter; the iX500 will 

straighten it all 

up. The latest 

version now 

includes 

an onboard 

processor so it can process images 

faster and send them to your computer 

or smartphone faster. 

The free downloadable App for 

iOS (iPad, iPhone, etc.) and Android 

devices allows you to scan images 

directly to your mobile device. This 

is perfect for IDs or a contract 

that you need right away and your 

computer is off or not available. 

Once you have your image(s), 

the included software will recognize 

the text within the scan. Using your 

computer’s search feature, you can 

find any word or line in a scanned 

document—very helpful for finding 

that document you scanned 2 years, 

3 days, and 4 hours ago. 

www.fujitsu.ca 

mSRP $549 

Road Tech 

you’ve probably guessed I love 

technology and I also love cars—so 

when the two get together, it’s, well, 

harmony. 

The 2013 Acura ILX Tech, based 

on the Number 1-selling vehicle 

in Canada, the Honda Civic, is the 

smallest vehicle in the Acura line-up. 

Previous Civic-based Acuras 

could have been mistaken for their 

Honda cousins, but not the ILX. 

Acura has given it a distinctive—and 

stylish—design. 

The ILX is larger, on the inside 

and out, than previous small-size 

Acuras. You can seat four adults 

comfortably or put in one more and 

hear him complain during the drive. 

If you choose the 2.0L inline- 

4 cylinder, under your right foot are 

150 horses. You can shift manually or 

let the electronics take care of it for you. 

I prefer the automatic—it’s smoother 

than I thought it would be, getting 

high-pitched only under full red-line 

acceleration. Get the auto and you get 

to play with steering-mounted paddleshifters. 

Can someone say Xbox 360? 

Upgrade to the Dynamic version’s 

2.4L DOHC i-VTEC 4-cylinder and you 

get 201 hp @ 7000 rpm. You also get 

one choice of transmission—the sixspeed 

manual. 

If you want to leave Planet Earth 

a little cleaner for your children, there is 

a hybrid model also on the options list. 

The 111 hp half-electric–half-gasoline 

engine does a decent job of moving you 

around and is a self-contained system 

that does not need to be plugged in. 

The Hybrid will also leave your wallet 

a little cleaner, adding approximately 

$7000 to the base price of the ILX. 

The ILX Technology version I drove 

had one of the best navigation units 

around. Entering a destination on the 

8" screen was quick and easy and the 

turn-by-turn directions were accurate. 

Of course, according to my wife, 

I know all the directions anyway. 

You can set the front seats any 

way you like with the 8-way poweradjustments. 

Once you find a position 

you like, you can crank the highend 

10-speaker stereo system. Plug 

in a USB stick or use a Bluetoothenabled 

phone/mp3 player and your 

playlist can be endless. 

Other vehicles in this category 

include the B250 from Mercedes- 

Benz, the Lexus CT, and the Lexus IS. 

www.acura.ca 

Base: $29,735 

Premium: $31,935 

Tech: $34,235 

Hybrid: $36,935 s 

Vancouver Notary Akash Sablok, 

AJAC (Automobile Journalists 

Association of Canada), practises with 

his father Tarlok Sablok. Akash writes 

regular technology and automotive 

columns for several publications 

across Canada and appears as a guest 

technology reviewer on TV programs, 

including CityTV’s Breakfast Television 

(BT Vancouver); omni Television (BC); 

TELUS TV – myTelus: Vancouver 

Edition; and Shaw TV’s The Rush with 

Fiona Forbes and a regular presenter 

on CTV’s Morning Live Show. 

akash@sablok.com 


HONOURS & EVENTS 

Lois May Sheffield Lambert 

June 13, 1910, 

to September 10, 2011 

Lois passed away 

peacefully at 101. 

She attended 

school in Cardston 

and moved to 

Nelson, BC, for 

business college, 

where she married Buck. At that 

time, it was against the law for 

a woman to go out to work if her 

husband was gainfully employed, 

so Lois quit her job. In 1940 

son Bill was born. In 1963 Lois 

became the first female Notary 

Public in the Nelson District. 

In 1970 she became the only 

woman on the BC Notaries’ Board 

of Directors. 

See Lois’s story online 

in the Winter 2009 Scrivener: 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? 

www.notaries.bc.ca/scrivener: 

Archives by Year 

Maia was born November 29 in 

Tacoma. This gorgeous Brittany Spaniel 

is the daughter of two champions and 

a real hunting dog. Maia accompanies 

BC Notary Andrea Agnoloni to his office 

from time to time. She is excellent with 

client relationships! 

PEoPLE 

Sally Jane Patricia O’Sullivan-Lee 

January 26, 1951, 

to December 22, 2012 

Sally O’Sullivan 

was the first female 

President (1996 

to 1998) of The 

Society of Notaries 

Public of BC. She 

served on the 

Board for a number of years and 

was Chair of the Notary Foundation 

in 1999 and 2000. She was 

commissioned as a BC Notary from 

1985 to 2003. For Sally, the most 

satisfying aspect of being 

a BC Notary was the people. 

Her Abbotsford practice focused 

on seniors’ needs. She and her 

husband Brian Lee loved to travel. 

Most important to her were her 

faith and her family. 

“My children have always been my 

best accomplishment. To say I am 

a besotted grandmother would be 

an understatement!” 

Where in the World Has The Scrivener Been? 

Trevor Todd (right) in Villa de Leyva, Colombia 

Be in the Magazine! 

Send your news and 

a photo to The Scrivener. 


On top of a Master’s degree in Applied 

Legal Studies from SFU and the 

additional in-depth education training 

it takes to become a BC Notary, plus 

work and family life, Beverly Carter 

recently found time to marry a guy 

named Bruce! 

The Scrivener and Kari Boyle, Executive 

Director of the Mediate BC Society, 

outside the new Superior Court 

of Justice building in Merida, a large 

and lovely city in the northwest Yucatan, 

Mexico. The locals were very upset that 

it didn’t fit at all with Merida’s historic 

Spanish colonial architecture. We 

thought it was amazing . . . it would suit 

Vancouver perfectly! 


Look Closer… 

What do you see people, what do you see? 

Is it just an old woman when you look at me? 

Do you see that in my life, I gave with an open hand and heart? 

That I raised children, that I nursed, that I mattered and I taught? 

That I smiled, that I danced, that I cared and I laughed? 

Do you know I remember the heartaches and miss the joys of the past? 

Now my body often fails me and my mind can be weak, 

The ravages of time have me sometimes cranky, sometimes meek. 

But my wish is to tell you, to have you realize 

That all that I was, I am, I still matter – see it in my eyes 

See that what’s now important has only come to be 

That you look closer, look close and… 

See Me. 

The Eldercare Foundation enhances the care, 

comfort, dignity and independence of hundreds 

of elderly residents living in care facilities and 

generally supports elderly persons living on 

Vancouver Island by funding community programs 

and education for seniors and their caregivers. 

Outdated equipment needs to be replaced, 

community programs that allow people to stay in 

their homes longer need to be funded and care 

facilities need to feel more like home. It will require 

just over one million dollars to fill these urgent 

needs alone. 

Funds to provide valuable education and research 

to improve the way the elderly are cared for are also 

urgently needed. 

Please consider donating today. Your legacy will help 

us enhance quality of life for our valued elders for 

generations to come. 

1454 Hillside Ave., Victoria, BC V8T 2B7 

250-370-5664 • www.gvef.org

INSIDE: British Columbia Law Institute

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