Strata Operations During BC Wildfire State of Emergency

/by

August 18, 2023: With 380 wildfires burning in BC, a provincial state of emergency was declared on August 18, 2023, under the authority of the Emergency Program Act. In a media release, Premier David Eby and Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, stated that we are facing the worst wildfire season ever in British Columbia. All British Columbians are asked to be alert, listen to local officials, and follow evacuation orders.

On August 19, CBC reported that 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate homes located in Kelowna, West Kelowna, Kamloops, Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton, and Vernon. Tens of thousands more are on evacuation alert and travel restrictions are in place.

Update September 14, 2023: The provincial state of emergency ended on September 14, 2023. In a BC government media release, Minister Ma said, “While the provincial state of emergency is no longer required, the wildfire season is not over. Many communities still have local states of emergency in place…In particular, conditions continue to be very challenging in northern B.C., with 125 active fires.” Visit Emergency Info BC for information, evacuation orders, and alerts.

State of Emergency in Strata Property Regulation

While air quality and the safety of lives and property are foremost in the minds of strata owners, you will no doubt have questions about how to continue operating your strata corporation during a state of emergency. What happens if the date of your annual general meeting (AGM) is approaching? Under normal circumstances, section 40(2) of the Strata Property Act requires that “An annual general meeting must be held no later than 2 months after the strata corporation’s fiscal year end.” Has an owner submitted a petition (written demand) to call a special general meeting (SGM)? Section 43(3) says that “the strata corporation must hold the special general meeting within 4 weeks after the demand is given to the strata corporation”.

The state of emergency from August 18 to September 14, 2023 applied to the whole province. As such,  Strata Property Regulation 17.23 was triggered for all strata corporations in BC. 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 events, such as a pandemic, floods, or forest fires.

Additional Time to Hold General Meetings

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 an annual or special general meeting by September 30, 2023 to comply with the Strata Property Act, and a state of emergency is in effect at any time during August, 2023 the date when the strata must hold the meeting is extended by two months to November 30, 2023. (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.