WHEREAS all local governments, with the exception of the City of Vancouver, face considerable liability risk and are being financially penalized as a result of legislation which does not provide immunity for building permit and inspection processes; AND WHEREAS it is unacceptable that all local governments in British Columbia are not afforded the same liability protection through provincial legislation: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities recommend to the provincial government that the Local Government Act be amended to abolish the system of joint and several liability and replace it with proportionate liability, under which defendants are responsible only to the degree to which they contributed to the loss and that the Province reduce the limitation period from 30 years to 10 years.
MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY RURAL DEVELOPMENT Local governments have expressed concern over the years that the way liability costs are apportioned especially in relation to liability for building regulation is not always fair to local governments. Government has responded at various points over the years to local government requests for legislated protection for liability, including specific targeted legislative changes in the late 1980s i.e. local government cannot be held liable for failure to enforce a building bylaw; local governments can require building permit applicants to provide building plans certified by a professional engineer or architect. Beyond those targeted changes, further immunity for local governments would essentially have the effect of solving local governments liability concerns at the expense of the person with the defective house. The section in the Vancouver Charter was added in 1987, before amendments to that Act were subject to the review and approval process for Government Bills. If a local government is found to be liable in a building regulation case, they are not usually alone i.e. others such as architects, engineers and builders may also be found liable. That is when the principle of joint and several liability becomes relevant it goes to how damages are divided and extent to which each party owes the plaintiff. Joint and several liability is a long-standing and fundamental principle of negligence law that applies to everyone, not just local governments. The key is to prevent defective buildings in the first place such that if a problem develops, the risk is better balanced among the various players in the system. Over the years, therefore successive governments have focused on trying to rebalance the building system, i.e. preventing defects by establishing the Home Owner Protection Office and mandatory new home warranties 1998, and ensuring better risk allocation. Through a number of recent initiatives, weve helped ensure that homeowners and local governments are better protected, in a fair and balanced way: - 2007, amendments to the Homeowner Protection Act established stricter provisions for owner-builders and expanded the scope of protection that vendors and builders must provide to new homeowners; - 2008, Bill 10 Housing Statutes Amendment Act 2008 was passed enabling local governments to require that building plans and other paperwork needed for building permits be signed off by building specialist professionals. Neither the liability claims nor the building regulations that were in place when the Barrett Commission report was penned in 1998 are the same as today. According to the Municipal Insurance Association, claims for its local governments over the last five years have been stable and costs per claim have actually dropped significantly. The Province recognizes that specific liability concerns may still arise. The Attorney Generals Ministry continues monitoring civil liability to ensure it is fair and efficient and to seek change when that is needed to improve the system in a balanced way.