Notice to BCCAT members who are also Non-Practicing Members
of the Law Society
If you maintain non-practicing membership in the Law Society of British Columbia, you should be aware of up-coming changes, effective January 1, 2009, for persons wanting to convert their Law Society status from non-practicing to practicing. The following link will take you to the most recent “Notice to the Profession” containing information on the topic: http://alt.lawsociety.bc.ca/broadcast/ntp.cfm?msg_id=179&capvalue=kmflr

If you have questions or concerns, contact:
Lesley Small, Manager of Credentials and Licensing
Law Society of British Columbia
604-443-5778
memberinfo@lsbc.org

Dunsmuir v. New Brunswick, 2008 SCC 9
http://csc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/2008/2008scc9/2008scc9.html

Supplemental Submissions on: “The Standard of Review Applicable to Tribunal Decisions in British Columbia – The Implications of Dunsmuir v. New Brunswick ; A Discussion Paper"

BCCAT releases new Adjudicators' Manual – September 2008
BCCAT has produced a comprehensive manual for adjudicators. This manual will also be useful for organizations which advise parties appearing before tribunals. Topics include: conducting hearings and providing decisions, including conduct of adjudicators, the hearing process, admitting evidence, questioning witnesses, collaborating with other tribunal members and striving for consistent and quality decisions. BCCAT's Board of Directors thanks the Law Foundation of BC for funding this publication and recognizes the excellent work of Gwen Taylor who authored the manual. The manual costs $20.00 (including shipping and handling) plus GST or $21.00 including GST. Order by clicking here

2008 Annual Conference
The 2008 Annual Conference, held in the beautiful surroundings of Dunsmuir Lodge on Vancouver Island, was a great success. The event was a sell-out, and for that we sincerely thank the members of the administrative law community, their respective boards and tribunals, and the Administrative Justice Office in the Ministry of the Attorney General. Your support and encouragement allows us to continue to pursue and promote the administrative justice system, and the interests of the men and women who comprise it here in British Columbia, and across Canada.

The conference program was cutting edge, with a coordinated theme centering on a number of the practical consequences of the recent SCC Dunsmuir decision (see the link on our Recent News page). While we have yet to experience the full range of effects arising from that decision, we are confident that the presentations given at the conference will help equip board and tribunal members with the necessary tools to comply with the standards delineated by the Court in Dunsmuir.

I wish to publicly recognize the tremendous contribution made by Cheryl Vickers, and to thank her and the members of the conference organizing committee for the great job they did in producing the event.

Many months ago when the board of directors was looking for someone to organize the conference planning committee, Cheryl came forward and agreed to give it a shot. She shouldered and guided the entire organizing and planning operations from day one. It was she who kept in touch with everyone, organized assisgnments, reminded us of deadlines, called the meetings, kept and circulated the minutes, physically transported much of the materials to the conference location, and stayed on top of absolutely everything along the way.

The other committee members (Walter Pylypchuk, Sharon Kearney, Simmi Sandhu, Anne-Marie Lafleur) and the conference registrar (Michelle Hannigan) devoted many hours to a wide variety of tasks to ensure the success of the event. It was a remarkable team effort.

To say thank you hardly seems sufficient recognition for an effort of this magnitude, but it is expressed sincerely and with true gratitude.

Well done Cheryl. Well done committee members. What a great job!

Iain Macdonald, President
British Columbia Council of
Administrative Tribunals

2008 Annual Conference

BCCAT is pleased to provide a copy of Angus Gunn's presentation from the 2008 Annual Conference. Please click here.