BC Business
Metropolis at Metrotown, where Sears will sell one of its stores
You don’t own me Sears Canada is selling three of its properties to Concord Pacific Group for $140 million but is not planning to move out. Sears will continue operating its stores in Burnaby’s Metropolis at Metrotown, Chilliwack’s Cottonwood Mall and Calgary’s North Hill Shopping Centre under long-term leases. “The agreement with Concord is a great way for Sears Canada to create value from its network without adversely impacting operations,” said Sears Canada president and CEO Ron Boire in a press release. “This transaction will strengthen our financial position as we continue to implement initiatives designed to make Sears successful.”
Strata sphere Got a smallish legal problem? Do not head directly to court. B.C. Attorney General Suzanne Anton has announced proposed amendments requiring strata and small claims disputes up to $10,000 to be pursued through the Civil Resolution Tribunal, Canada’s first online tribunal. Although there is already a voluntary tribunal, too few people are using it. Anyone who disagrees with a tribunal decision will still be free to pursue the matter in court.
Dammed if you do In an exclusive interview with DeSmog Canada, the chair of the Joint Review Panel appointed to review the Site C dam said the B.C. government should not have green-lit the project without a review by the B.C. Utilities Commission and should have delayed the decision a few years. Harry Swain, a former deputy minister of Industry Canada and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, described the province’s failure to investigate alternatives to the dam as a “dereliction of duty.” He says questions still needing to be answered include the real cost and availability of alternatives, how B.C. should use its Columbia River rights, how British Columbians will react to increased electricity prices and how the province’s LNG industry will develop.