234 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 80 PART 2 MARCH 2022
NEW ARBITRATION ACT
It was also the first full year of operations since British Columbia’s new
Arbitration Act came into force, and the first year of VanIAC’s role as the
“designated appointing authority” under s. 14(2) of the Act. We have now
been called upon numerous times to appoint an arbitrator under this provision,
which applies when parties cannot agree on who should be appointed
to resolve a dispute.
Last year was also our first year operating with an updated set of procedural
rules for domestic arbitration matters, including expedited procedures
for cases involving $250,000 or less. This option has proven quite
popular among members of the arbitration community.
Our roster of approved arbitrators from all over the world now exceeds
135, with expertise in many different areas, including construction, lease,
energy and ICBC motor vehicle claims.
INTERNET DISPUTES
Launched in 2019, the Canadian International Internet Dispute Resolution
Centre (“CIIDRC”) (<www.ciidrc.org>), a wholly owned division of
VanIAC, continues to receive an increasing number of cases. CIIDRC serves
global internet users by providing trusted and efficient resolution of
domain name disputes under the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution
Policy established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers (“ICANN”) and the CIRA Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.
We are only the second dispute resolution service provider authorized
by ICANN in the Western Hemisphere, and the only one in Canada.
BUSY BOARD
Led by our chair Joe McArthur (partner at Blakes), VanIAC is guided by a
dedicated board of directors who contribute their time through a number of
committees overseeing all aspects of our operations and policies. We are
grateful for the addition of a number of new directors in the past 12 months,
including Ludmila B. Herbst, Q.C. (partner at Farris), Sarah McEachern
(partner at BLG) and Jayde Wood (with Gowling WLG). Steven Point, OBC,
also assisted us in 2021 and has issued the open invitation set out on the
next page of this article.
AN “OPEN LETTER” TO ALL B.C. FIRST NATIONS
Set out below is an open letter from former board member Steven Point,
OBC, to all B.C. First Nations, regarding VanIAC’s services.
/www.ciidrc.org
/www.ciidrc.org
/www.ciidrc.org