The New Brunswick Court of Appeal has upheld a decision declaring unlawful the Law Society of New Brunswick’s rule granting lawyers the exclusive right to submit land transfer documents electronically at no fee, while others had to file over the counter and pay fees. First Canadian Title challenged the validity of the provision. The Court held that the rule conflicted with the Land Titles Act and also that it was adopted for the improper purpose of addressing lawyers’ concerns about competition from title insurers.
This post makes the “Too funny” category for the featured video’s surprise ending. If you start the video, please see it through to the end.
By way of Brendan King’s Twitter stream.
As a licensed Asian, I found this particular misunderstanding quite amusing and so did the other Asians in my office, but discriminatory practices are no laughing matter and fair treatment for all human beings is a cornerstone of a civilized society.
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code was written to protect people from discriminatory practices. The following are “prohibited grounds” for discrimination under the Code;
(i) religion;
(ii) creed;
(iii) marital status;
(iv) family status;
(v) sex;
(vi) sexual orientation;
(vii) disability;
(viii) age;
(ix) colour;
(x) ancestry;
(xi) nationality;
(xii) place of origin;
(xiii) race or perceived race; and
(xiv) receipt of public assistance.
Section 10 and section 11 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code deal specifically with discriminatory practices in the sale or leasing of real estate.
Discrimination in the purchase of property prohibited
10(1) No person shall, on the basis of a prohibited ground:
(a) deny to any person or class of persons the opportunity to purchase any commercial unit or any place of dwelling that is advertised or in any way represented as being available for sale;
(b) deny to any person or class of persons the opportunity to purchase or otherwise acquire land or an interest in land; or
(c) discriminate against any person or class of persons with respect to any term of the purchase or other acquisition of any commercial unit or any place of dwelling, land or any interest in land.
(2) Repealed. 2007, c.39, s.4.
(3) Nothing in subsection (1) prohibits the sale, the offering for sale or the advertising for sale of a place of dwelling for occupancy by persons over 55 years of age exclusively.
Discrimination in occupancy of commercial unit or housing accommodation is prohibited
11(1) No person, directly or indirectly, alone or with another, or by the interposition of another shall, on the basis of a prohibited ground:
(a) deny to any person or class of persons occupancy of any commercial unit or any housing accommodation; or
(b) discriminate against any person or class of persons with respect to any term of occupancy of any commercial unit or any housing accommodation.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to discrimination on the basis of the sex of a person with respect to housing accommodation, where the occupancy of all the housing accommodation in a building, except that of the owner or the owner’s family, is restricted to individuals who are of the same sex.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to discrimination on the basis of the sex or sexual orientation of a person with respect to the renting or leasing of any dwelling unit in any housing accommodation that is composed of not more than two dwelling units, where the owner of the housing accommodation or the owner’s family resides in one of the two dwelling units.
(4) Nothing in subsection (1) prohibits the renting or leasing, the offering for rent or lease or the advertising for rent or lease, of any housing accommodation for occupancy by persons over 55 years of age exclusively.
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code is here.
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.
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Alberta Venture has put together an accessible database of Alberta communities slanted for the business folks considering, “location, location, location.”
As reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO.
A great resource for real estate investors performing their due-diligence, the info is laid out well, and in a glance you can wrap your head around the key information.
The #1 recommended community to locate your business is the Edmonton International Region – being the area around the airport (Leduc & Nisku are the hubs). The rest of the top ten includes Edmonton, Strathcona County, Camrose, Airdrie, Calgary, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Red Deer and Strathmore.
One item to note, is that the pricing for serviced industrial land is consistently on the low side. For example, serviced industrial land in Strathcona County for $300,000 per acre? $500,000 would be a safer “average”.
Real estate investors take note: this type of information shows trends for yesterday & today, but does not forecast tomorrow. A decision by city council, or the unexpected fall of a commodity price can quickly change the tides for a community. If you are not an informed citizen of the community you are investing in, there is no substitute for an unbiased, on-the-ground local expert to give you an inside scoop, and assist in taking a calculated risk to capture the biggest upside tomorrow.
Well done, Alberta Venture, a useful tool which I think many will utilize.