Law Dictionary

A waiver of notice is an agreement by a person entitled to notice of a meeting to proceed without the full notice required. Under British Columbia's BCBCA and a company's articles, shareholders and directors may waive notice of a meeting, and attending usually counts as a waiver unless the person attends only to object that it was improperly called.

A waiver of the right to sue is an agreement, often called a release or liability waiver, in which a person gives up the right to bring certain claims against another party. Waivers are common in settlements, recreational activities and some commercial contracts. They are enforceable in BC if clearly worded and brought to the signer's attention, but courts read them narrowly.

A waiver of subrogation is a contract term in which the parties agree that, after an insurer pays a loss, the insurer will not sue the other party to recover what it paid. It is common in British Columbia commercial leases and construction contracts, where insurance is meant to absorb the loss, and the policy must permit the waiver.

A warranty is a contractual promise about the quality, condition or facts of what is being sold. In British Columbia, the Sale of Goods Act implies conditions of merchantable quality and fitness for purpose into sales of goods. Businesses can exclude them in commercial contracts, but not in retail sales to consumers.

Waste is damage to, neglect of, or unauthorized alteration of land or buildings by someone in possession, such as a tenant or life tenant, that reduces the value of the owner's interest. In a British Columbia commercial lease, the tenant's duty not to commit waste is usually supplemented by express repair, alteration and surrender covenants.

Water rights in British Columbia are licences or approvals to divert and use surface water or groundwater, issued by the province under the Water Sustainability Act. Water belongs to the Crown, licences rank by priority date, and they are usually tied to the land, so buyers of rural or industrial property should confirm the licences pass with it.

Web scraping is the automated collection of data from websites using software. It is not illegal in itself in British Columbia, but scraping personal information without consent can breach PIPA or PIPEDA, copying original content can infringe copyright, and scraping against a website's terms of use can be a breach of contract.

A whistleblower is a person, usually an employee, who reports suspected wrongdoing by an organization to management, a regulator or police. In British Columbia, the Public Interest Disclosure Act protects public sector employees, while private sector protection comes from specific laws, such as the Criminal Code ban on retaliating against employees who report offences.

White-collar crime is an informal label for non violent, financially motivated offences committed in a business or professional setting, such as fraud, embezzlement, insider trading, bribery and money laundering. The Criminal Code does not define it; the specific offences, such as fraud, are set out separately.

Wildfire liability is legal responsibility for losses caused by a wildfire. In British Columbia, the Wildfire Act lets the province recover fire control costs from people who cause or contribute to a fire and impose penalties for contraventions, and people harmed may sue in negligence or nuisance. Industrial operators carry specific fire prevention duties.

Wilful misconduct is deliberate wrongdoing, or reckless disregard of a known risk, by someone who knows the act is wrong or harmful. In British Columbia commercial contracts it most often appears as an exception to limitation of liability, exclusion and indemnity clauses, so a party cannot rely on those protections for its own intentional misconduct.

Wind energy is electricity generated by wind turbines. In BC, wind projects are developed mainly by independent power producers that sell electricity to BC Hydro under electricity purchase agreements. Wind energy is an industry rather than a legal term, but projects raise legal issues of land tenure, permits, environmental assessment and electrical safety.

Withholding tax is federal tax that a payer must deduct from a payment and send to the Canada Revenue Agency. It mainly applies to dividends, rents, royalties and certain interest paid to non-residents, to fees for services a non-resident performs in Canada, and to purchases of taxable Canadian property from non-resident sellers.

A witness is a person who gives evidence in a legal proceeding, usually by testifying under oath or solemn affirmation or by swearing an affidavit. In British Columbia civil cases, a witness can be compelled to attend trial by subpoena, and expert witnesses give opinions through written reports that meet the Supreme Court Civil Rules.

A workforce reduction is reducing the number of employees, through layoffs or terminations, usually for economic or restructuring reasons. In BC, a business reduction is not just cause, so employees affected are entitled to statutory notice or compensation and usually common law reasonable notice, unless an enforceable contract limits notice.

Workplace harassment includes bullying and harassment of workers, whether or not it is linked to a protected characteristic, as well as harassment based on protected grounds such as sex, race or disability. It does not include reasonable management action, such as performance discussions and discipline carried out appropriately.

Workplace safety refers to the legal duties to protect workers from injury and illness at work, including hazard assessment, training, supervision, safe equipment and incident reporting. In BC, almost all employers must register with WorkSafeBC, follow the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, and report serious incidents.

Wrongful dismissal occurs when an employer ends employment without just cause and without giving the employee reasonable notice or pay in lieu. In British Columbia, a dismissed employee is entitled to the Employment Standards Act minimums and, unless a valid contract limits it, common law reasonable notice, which is often much longer.

Wrongful termination, called wrongful dismissal in Canadian law, is ending an employee's employment without just cause and without giving reasonable notice or pay in lieu. In BC, employers may terminate without cause, but must provide proper notice under the contract, the Employment Standards Act minimums, and usually common law reasonable notice.

Yield is the income return on an investment, usually expressed as an annual percentage of its cost or current value, such as rental income from a property or interest on a bond. It is a finance and business term rather than a legal one. Yield is commonly used to compare investments and to price property and debt.

The yield curve is a graph showing interest rates on bonds of the same credit quality across different maturities, from short term to long term. It is a finance and economics term rather than a legal one. An inverted curve, where short term rates exceed long term rates, is often seen as a signal of economic slowdown.

Yield management, also called revenue management or dynamic pricing, is the practice of changing prices based on demand, timing and available inventory, as hotels and airlines do. It is a business term rather than a legal one. Varying prices between customers is generally lawful in Canada, but how prices are advertised is regulated.

Zoning is the municipal regulation of how land may be used and developed. In British Columbia, local governments adopt zoning bylaws under the Local Government Act, and Vancouver under the Vancouver Charter, setting permitted uses, density, height, setbacks and parking. Buyers and commercial tenants must confirm their intended use is permitted before committing.