Canadian Lawyer

UPFRONT 6 www.canadianlawyermag.com NEWS BRIEFS $60,000 fine for Whistler resident who deliberately fed bears to highlight deterrence Record fine overrules $10,500 joint submission in a precedent-setting case A B.C. judge fined a part-time Whistler resi- dent $60,000 for attracting and feeding bears on her property, a considerable amount higher than the $10,500 fine jointly recommended by the Crown and defence counsel. Zuzana Stevikova pleaded guilty to two counts under the Wildlife Act, expressing remorse for actions that led to a mother bear and her two cubs being shot dead by a conservation officer. However, Provincial Court judge Lyndsay Smith wrote in a late September decision that she remained "unpersuaded that the sentences proposed [by Crown and defence] adequately reflected the gravity of the offences, the offender's culpability, and the principles rele- vant to the offences, particularly deterrence." The fines are thought to be the highest in B.C. for such offences under the Wildlife Act, WEST UPDATE B.C. gender pronoun debate voted down by law society members at AGM Members at the 2021 annual general meeting of the Law Society of British Columbia in October voted down a motion to open debate on a practice directive of the B.C. courts on how gender pronouns (he, she, they) should be used during court proceedings. The topic of gender pronouns in the courts has been contentious in B.C. in recent months. It asks those participating in proceedings to state their name, title, and pronouns for the proceeding and for lawyers to provide this information for their clients. Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta rules 'no mask, no entry' policies valid The Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta dismissed two discrimination complaints arising out of corporate policies that required customers, without exception, to wear a mask for access into retail premises. Michael Gottheil, chief of the Commission and Tribunals, ruled "human rights law, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, requires a balancing of rights." However, policies requiring customers to wear masks are reasonably necessary where they are supported by public health policies and regulations or epidemiological information, or both. The two cases involve customers trying to enter People's Jewellers and Costco without masks, claiming they had medical issues. They also refused alternative methods of shopping. Alberta Court of Queen's Bench confirms 'public disclosure of private fact' tort An Alberta court has awarded $460,000 to a woman who was physically, emotionally, sexually and verbally abused by her partner. $155,000 of the total was for damages she suffered by him publishing explicit pictures of her on the internet. The ruling of Madam Justice Avril Inglis of Alberta's Court of Queen's Bench in ES v Shillington also creates a new "public disclosure of private facts" tort in Alberta. This tort is apart from a new Alberta statute that deals with "revenge porn" postings on the internet that does not apply retroactively. "We are presented in this case with facts that cry out for a remedy," Justice Inglis wrote. B.C. lawyer suspended for misconduct over employee's $7.5M theft Hong Guo, a well-known B.C. lawyer and former mayoral candidate for the City of Richmond, has been given a one-year suspension for not properly supervising her bookkeeper, alleged to have stolen $7.5 million in trust funds in 2016. A Law Society of British Columbia tribunal found she committed misconduct for failing to comply with trust accounting rules and leaving blank signed trust cheques with her bookkeeper, which facilitated the theft. The regulator was seeking disbarment. However, the tribunal said Guo's steps to mitigate the damage warranted a punishment less than total expulsion from the legal profession. Snaw-Naw-As ruling leaves door open for feds to decide on E&N rail line The Snaw-Naw-As First Nation on Vancouver Island lost an appeal to regain a portion of railway land, but a recent ruling leaves a window for the E&N Railway land to revert to the Indigenous group. The Court of Appeal for British Columbia has given the federal government 18 months to decide if it will finance rebuilding the line. Canada granted a right of way to E&N Railway in 1912. The rail line, which used to run between Victoria and Courtenay, has fallen into disuse and was gifted to a local group. The First Nation wants to regain the land as it blocks development on their reserve.

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