THE ADVOCATE 411
VOL. 80 PART 3 MAY 2022
The Study Paper on Public Hearings aims to share information on the law
of public hearings by examining the origins of the public-hearing requirement
in the Local Government Act and of the use of public hearings in landuse
regulation, how this legislation has been interpreted and developed in
the case law, the goals and purposes of this legislation, and what supporters
and critics have said about the current law.
We are grateful for the support of the Law Foundation of British Columbia
for this project. We are also pleased that we have been able to collaborate
with the Strengthening Canadian Democracy Initiative at the Simon Fraser
University Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue in undertaking this project.
POLICIES TO SUPPORT VULNERABLE VICTIMS AND WITNESSES
In February 2022, the Canadian Centre for Elder Law (“CCEL”) commenced
a project to address issues related to victims of crime and witnesses who
have capability issues. This project addresses a recommendation found in
the 2009 CCEL report Provincial Strategy Document: Vulnerable Adults and
Capability in British Columbia, which called for criminal justice system
workers to develop internal procedures for working with vulnerable adults
who may have capability issues. This project will involve conducting legal
and policy work on existing frameworks in British Columbia, examine best
practices in other jurisdictions and conduct key informant interviews. The
CCEL will release a study paper in 2023 that will include a model policy
intended to support Crown counsel and encourage cross-sector collaboration
and coordination with a view to enhancing support for vulnerable
adults. CCEL is currently seeking key informants for this project, including
Crown and defense counsel. Staff lawyer Alison Wilkinson is our project
lead. She can be contacted at <awilkinson@bcli.org>. This project is supported
by the BC Council to Reduce Elder Abuse.
We encourage you to visit <bcli.org> to access these projects and to
receive regular news and updates from BCLI.
link
/www.bcli.org