British Columbia
Borden Ladner Gervais, LLP
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Introduction
The Province of British Columbia is Canada’s western-most Province bordering on the
Pacific Ocean. The capital city is Victoria, while the City of Vancouver is the business
center and largest city in the Province.
Constitutional power in Canada rests with Parliamentary Governmentmodeled on the
English system but with parliamentary power divided between the Federal and Provincial
Governments. Federal laws are made in the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa, Canada, and
Provincial laws for British Columbia are made in the British Columbia Legislative
Assembly. The courts established by the Federal and British Columbia law are:
• The Provincial Court, which has three divisions: Criminal, Family, and Small Claims;
• The Supreme Court, which has general jurisdiction over all actions arising in British
Columbia and hears some appeals from Provincial Court decisions; and
• The Court of Appeal, which hears appeals from the Supreme Court. Appeals from the
Court ofAppealmay be taken to the SupremeCourt ofCanada inOttawa onlywith leave.
Federal Courts of Canada are discussed elsewhere.Within its own constitutional jurisdiction,
the British Columbia Legislative Assembly makes the laws. Municipal and Civil
Governments in British Columbia derive their authority solely from the Legislative
Assembly.
Requirements for a Foreign Enterprise to Do Business
Any business operating in British Columbia comes under the jurisdiction of all levels of
government—Federal, Provincial,Regional, andMunicipal—depending upon the nature
and location of the particular activities. Federally, the InvestmentCanadaAct promotes and
incidentally controls foreign investment in Canada. It requires review of acquisitions of
control of existing Canadian businesses with assets of Cdn $5 million or more with two
exceptions, namely,where theCanadian business is acquired indirectly through the acquisition
of a foreign corporation with a Canadian subsidiary, the acquisition is only reviewable
if the Canadian business represents more than 50 per cent of the whole amount or amounts
to Cdn $50 million or more; and, where the Canadian business relates to Canada’s cultural
heritage or national identity or is involved in certain other sectors, then a review can be
required even if the assets are belowCdn $5million. In the case of certain other investments
in Canada by non-Canadians, a notice must be given informing Investment Canada of the
investment, but no review is required or possible. Note that higher limits apply to investors
Borden Ladner Gervais, LLP Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
