[Note the State of Emergency declared on November 17, 2021 ended on January 18, 2022]
With the flooding that began on November 14, we appear to have set a record for the number of emergencies in B.C. in a single year. On November 17, the provincial government declared a provincial state of emergency to mitigate impacts on transportation networks and movement of essential goods and supplies, and to support the province-wide response and recovery from the widespread damage caused by severe flooding and landslides in British Columbia. Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, made the declaration, based on the recommendation from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and Emergency Management BC.
The state of emergency was initially in effect for 14 days (November 17-29, 2021). It has now been extended four times. The Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General announced that the provincial state of emergency is being extended until the end of the day on January 18, 2022. See the news release.
The state of emergency applies to the whole province. As such, Strata Property Regulation 17.23 is triggered. This regulation helps strata corporations by allowing extra time to hold general meetings when a provincial or local state of emergency is declared for disruptive incidents, such as a pandemic, floods, or forest fires.
Strata corporations have an additional two months to hold an annual general meeting or special general meeting if the strata is located in an area where a local or provincial state of emergency is in effect at any time during the month before the statutory deadline for holding the meeting.
For example, if a strata corporation must hold a special general meeting by January 31, 2021 to comply with the Strata Property Act, and a state of emergency is in effect at any time during December, 2021 the date when the strata must hold the meeting is extended to March 31, 2022. (Section 25.3 of the Interpretation Act helps clarify when the two-month extension ends.)
The BC Government Strata Housing website contains information about operating a strata during a state of emergency. See “Extra time to hold general meetings in a state of emergency”.
Since the initial atmospheric river from Nov. 14-16, a series of storms worsened existing flooding and created new flooding and landslides in southwestern B.C. As of November 29, there were 3,606 properties on evacuation orders and 7,402 properties on evacuation alert.
For information on evacuation orders and alerts, visit Emergency Info BC: https://www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca/
For the latest information on roads and travel, visit: www.drivebc.ca