Terms of Use

The Legal Terms of Use

Carefully read the following Terms and Conditions of Use ("Terms of Use") before using this website ("Site").

By using this Site, you agree to follow and be bound by these Terms of Use, which govern your use of the Site. Nothing contained in these Terms of Use is intended to modify or amend any other written agreement, if any, that may currently be in effect between you and the City of Vancouver("the City") with regard to matters other than your use of the Site. The City may periodically modify these Terms of Use, and any such modifications will be effective immediately upon posting. If the City does make modifications, visitors will be notified on the Site. However, we suggest that you periodically check these Terms of Use for modifications. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, do not use this Site.

This Site is owned and operated by the City of Vancouver, and the City may modify, suspend, discontinue, or restrict the use and availability of any portion of this Site at any time, without notice or liability to you. Your use of this Site may be monitored by the City and used for internal City purposes (subject to our Privacy policy) without liability to you, as provided for by law.

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Disclaimer

The material posted on the City of Vancouver’s website is not an official statement of City policy, practice, services or procedure, and should not be construed as such. It is intended only to provide immediate and convenient access to information and so while efforts are made to provide accuracy and currency, the City cannot and does not guarantee that the information posted is always accurate or current. The City does not warrant or make any representations as to the quality, content, accuracy or completeness of the information, text, maps, graphics, links and other items contained on its web pages.

The City makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the fitness of the information for any purpose or to results obtained by individuals using the information, and is not responsible for any action taken in reliance on the information obtained by you or used by you from the Site.

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Bylaws, Council minutes, and corporate policies

The City’s bylaws, Council meeting records, and policies on the Site are electronic copies made for uploading to the Site and so are not official versions. The official format may be different and may also have plans, pictures, other graphics, or text that may be missing or altered.

These electronic copies are the copyright of the City of Vancouver and cannot be distributed or used for commercial purposes. The electronic copies may be reproduced or distributed for non-commercial purposes only if you include with them these Terms of Use or a copyright notice and the URL for these Terms of Use.

Due to copyright protections, the entire Vancouver Building Bylaw is not available electronically on our website. However, you can view some Council-mandated building bylaw policies and a list of "Unique to Vancouver" building requirements on the Site.

To get official versions of these electronic copies, email ccclerk@vancouver.ca.

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Limited license and restrictions on use

Except where and then only to the extent expressly permitted, the City grants you a limited, revocable, nonexclusive, non-transferable licence to view, store, bookmark, download, and print the pages within this Site solely for your personal, informational, and non-commercial use, or as separately expressly authorized by the City in writing. You are responsible for obtaining and maintaining all equipment, services, and other materials that you need to access this Site. The City reserves all rights not expressly granted in these Terms of Use.

Except as otherwise stated in these Terms of Use or as expressly authorized by the City in writing, you may not (or enable others to):

• Modify, copy, screen capture, distribute, forward, transmit, post, display, perform, reproduce, publish, broadcast, license, create derivative works from, transfer, sell, or exploit any reports, data, information, content, software, RSS and podcast feeds, products, services, or other materials on, generated by or obtained from this Site, whether through links or otherwise (collectively, "Materials");
• Redeliver any page, text, image, or Materials on this Site using "framing" or other technology;
• Engage in any conduct that could damage, disable, or overburden (i) this Site, (ii) any Materials or services provided through this Site, or (iii) any systems, networks, servers, or accounts related to this Site, including without limitation, using devices or software that provide repeated automated access to this Site, other than those made generally available by the City;
• Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any Materials, services, systems, networks, servers, or accounts related to this Site or attempt to gain unauthorized access to Materials, services, systems, networks, servers, or accounts connected or associated with this Site through hacking, password or data mining, or any other means of circumventing any access-limiting, user authentication or security device of any Materials, services, systems, networks, servers, or accounts related to this Site;
• Modify, copy, obscure, remove, or display the City's name, logo, trademarks, text, notices, or images without City of Vancouver's express written permission. To obtain such permission, email media@vancouver.ca.
• Include the term "City of Vancouver," or any City of Vancouver trademark or name of the Mayor, any City Councillor or Park Board commissioner, or staff member, or any variation of the foregoing, as a meta-tag, hidden textual element, or any other indicator that creates an impression of affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement by City of Vancouver.

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Links to external sites

Links to external websites posted on the City’s website contain information created, published, maintained, or otherwise posted by institutions or organizations independent of the City. The City does not endorse, approve, certify, or control external websites and does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, efficiency, timeliness or correctness of the information located at the sites. Reference to any specific commercial product, process or service by trade name,trademark, service mark, manufacturer or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation or favouring by the City.

Email

Communications made through this Site's email and messaging system is for convenience only and shall not be deemed to constitute legal notice to the City or any of its affiliates or their respective councillors, commissioners, officials, officers, agents, agencies, employees or representatives with respect to any existing or potential claim or cause of action or for any other purpose.

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Linking to this Site

You may not link to this Site unless you comply with these linking conditions ("Linking Conditions"). The City now grants you a limited, revocable, nonexclusive right to create a hyperlink to this Site ("Link"), provided you comply at all times with the following conditions:

• The Link must resolve to a valid City page at this Site or to a page to which the City links as an extension of a task on a page, such as a third-party site that provides a service to the City, such as displaying maps, aggregating social media content, or displaying schedules.
• The text of the Link must read either "City of Vancouver," "Vancouver," "Vancouver,BC," "City of Vancouver,Canada" or "vancouver.ca." You may not use any City of Vancouver logo or graphic, or any other City of Vancouver trademark, as part of the Link without the City’s express written permission; and
• The Link and surrounding context on the linking site must not: (a) falsely represent or misrepresent any relationship between the linking site and the City, including suggestions of affiliation, endorsement, or sponsorship; (b) portray the City or its affiliates, or their products or services, in a false, misleading, derogatory, or otherwise offensive manner; or (c) deliver the Materials in a framed environment or alter the layout, content, look, or feel of the Site.

If you have created a Link that conforms to these Linking Conditions, then you also may include one or more Links to any internal or subsidiary page of this Site that is located one or several levels down from the homepages (known as "deep links"), provided, however, that all such deep links must be in close physical proximity to the Link that conforms to the Linking Conditions. You may not maintain numerous or pervasive Links to this Site.

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RSS, video, and podcast feeds

The City now grants you a limited, revocable, nonexclusive right to view, store, bookmark, access, download, display, create hyperlinks to and use the Really Simple Syndication, video, and podcast feeds (collectively, the "Feeds") offered by the City solely for your personal, informational, and non-commercial use or as otherwise authorized by the City in writing, provided you comply at all times with the following conditions:

• Except as otherwise stated in these Terms of Use, you may not modify, copy, redistribute, transmit, post, display, perform, reproduce, publish, broadcast, license, create derivative works from, transfer, sell, or exploit in any manner whatsoever the Feeds or the reports, data, information, content, software, files, products, services, or other materials supplied by the City in connection with them;
• You may create a hyperlink to the Feeds, provided that (a) the hyperlink is functional and resolves directly to the applicable Site page, unaltered and unframed in any way; and (b) you provide attribution to the this Site in connection with your use of the Feeds. If you provide this attribution in text, the hyperlink must read either "City of Vancouver.com" or "vancouver.ca." If you provide this attribution with a graphic, you must use the graphic the City has incorporated into the Feeds, without alteration. Your right to use the above-referenced City graphic is limited to providing attribution to the City in connection with the Feeds. You may not use any City logo or graphic, or any other City official mark or trademark, for any other purpose without the City's express written permission;
• Any hyperlink to the Feeds and the surrounding context on your site must not: (a) falsely represent or misrepresent any relationship between the City and you or your site, products or services or any third party or their site, products and services, including suggestions of affiliation, endorsement or sponsorship; (b) portray the City or its affiliates, or their products or services, in a false, misleading, derogatory or otherwise offensive manner; or (c) display the content of the Feeds in a manner that does not permit successful linking to, redirection to or delivery of the applicable Site page; and
• You may not incorporate advertising into or targeted towards the content of the Feeds or insert any intermediate page, splash page or other content or materials between any hyperlink to the Feeds and the applicable Site page.

Any uses of the Feeds not granted are strictly prohibited. The City retains ownership of and all other rights in and to the Feeds, and any reports, data, information, content, software, files, products, services, links, trademarks, logos, or other materials used in connection with them. The City reserves the right, in its sole discretion, with or without cause, and without liability, to suspend, discontinue or modify any or all of its Feeds at any time and to immediately require you to cease accessing, displaying, or otherwise using any or all of the Feeds or the content of the Feeds. The City will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of or in connection with the Feeds.

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User-generated content and license grant

You agree that you are solely responsible for all information, data, content, text, photographs, graphics, images, videos, messages, comments, quotations, files, documents, and any other materials that you submit, upload, post, email, transmit, or otherwise make available via the Site ("Content"). By submitting, uploading, posting, e-mailing, or transmitting ("post") content to the Site, you represent and warrant that either you own all right, title, and interest in and to the Content or have express permission from the owner to copy and use such content for all purposes related to the Site. The City does not control and is not responsible for the content uploaded via the Site, and the City neither guarantees the accuracy, quality, or appropriateness of nor endorses any Content submitted to the Site.

You agree not to use the Site to:

• Post any content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, menacing, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, pornographic, obscene, offensive, blasphemous, libellous, unlawful, invasive of another's privacy or publicity rights, hateful, or racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable to the local community as determined by the City in its sole discretion;
• Post any content that personally attacks or is derogatory toward the City as an entity, City employees, any City products or services, or any City Materials;
• Harm minors or other vulnerable populations groups in any way, including, but not limited to, posting content that violates pornography or child pornography laws, sexual exploitation laws, or laws prohibiting the depiction of minors engaged in sexual conduct;
• Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
• Forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any Content transmitted through the Site;
• Post any content that you do not have a right to make available under any law or contractual or fiduciary relationships or obligations;
• Post any content that infringes, violates, or misappropriates any patent, official mark,trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other intellectual property or proprietary right or any moral right of any party;
• Except where reasonably required for the purposes of that section of the Site, post any personal information or specific account details about yourself or any person or entity;
• Post any advertising, promotional materials, junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or any other form of solicitation;
• Post any material that contains viruses or any other computer code, files, or programs designed to interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; or
• Intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national, or international laws, rules, regulations, decrees, acts, orders, directives, legislation, bills, or statutes.

You grant the City and its affiliates, and their respective councillors, commissioners, officials, officers, employees, agents, licensors, and vendors a perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable, nonexclusive, fully-paid up, royalty-free, sub-licensable, and transferable right and licence to use, store, modify, adapt, translate, publish, display, broadcast, perform, disclose, distribute, sell, reproduce, and create derivative works from any Content, in whole or in part, in any medium or technology throughout the world, including any inventions, concepts, techniques, know-how, ideas, or expressions of ideas arising out of or based on the Content, for any purpose in City of Vancouver's sole discretion, without the requirement of any permission from or compensation or notice, and without liability, to you or any third party. The City will exclusively own all right, title, and interest in and to any derivative works or inventions created by or on behalf of the City that incorporate or otherwise make use of any Content, without the requirement of any permission from or compensation or notice, and without liability, to you or any third party.

The Content that you post on the Site will be subject to the Privacy Policy, as set out by the City. The City will not be liable in any way for any Content or for the use or disclosure of any Content. You acknowledge that the City and/or its agents may or may not (but are not obligated to) monitor Content, but that the City will have the right in its sole discretion to monitor, post, move, refuse, or remove any Content, in whole or in part, for any reason whatsoever, without notice and without liability.

If you have any questions or comments about your Content or other customer service issues, tell us online.

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Personal account information

Certain parts of this Site or third-party sites that provide a service to the City may be protected by passwords or require a login. Further, for authentication purposes, certain features on this Site may require you to answer a designated security question. You agree to provide the City with current, complete, and accurate information about you as prompted by the applicable registration process and agree to regularly update this information to maintain its completeness and accuracy. You agree to use this Site to access only those accounts on which you are authorized to act, and you agree to use your own user names, logins, passwords, and security questions and answers when accessing accounts on which you are authorized to act. You agree not to obtain or attempt to obtain unauthorized access to such parts of, or features on, this Site, or to any other protected Materials or information, through any means not intentionally made available to you by the City.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any account information, user names, logins, passwords, and security questions and answers that you use to access any page or feature on this Site, and for logging off of your account and any protected areas of the Site. Further, you are fully responsible for all activities occurring under your accounts, user names, logins, passwords, and security questions and answers that result from your negligence, carelessness, misconduct, or failure to use or maintain appropriate security measures. If you become aware of any suspicious or unauthorized conduct concerning your accounts, user names, logins, passwords, or security questions and answers, you agree to contact the City. The City will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this paragraph.

Services provided to you through this Site may involve the electronic transmission, including via any email address you provide to us, of information that you may consider to be personal financial information or promotional and informational materials, and you consent to such transmission and assume all risks associated with this method of transmission.

Read the Privacy Policy

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Data, information, and content

Except where expressly and then only to the extent otherwise stated, the materials on this Site are for information, education, and non-commercial purposes only. Although the City may provide data, information, and content relating to the operations of the City, you should not construe any such information or other content available through this Site as legal or tax advice. You alone will bear the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any Materials on this Site before making any decisions based on such Materials. In exchange for using such Materials, you agree not to hold the City or its third-party information providers liable for any possible claim for damages arising from any decision you make based on the Materials made available to you through this Site. By providing access to other websites, neither the City nor any of its affiliates is recommending the purchase or sale of the stock issued by any company, nor are they endorsing services provided by any website's sponsoring organization.

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Open Data

The City of Vancouver publishes open data under the terms of the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

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VanMap

VanMap, which is available at maps.vancouver.ca, is a suite of datasets, maps, and applications that enable users to visualize and share geospatial data about Vancouver. The data that is available within VanMap represents a snapshot of information from the time it was uploaded into VanMap. Consequently, it may not be accurate at the time the user views it.

When you access and use VanMap, and use any of the data you derive from VanMap, you agree to these Terms of Use and are licenced to use VanMap pursuant to the terms and conditions stated in the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. This VanMap section of the Terms of Use is applicable to the access and use of VanMap and to no other datasets available on vancouver.ca. However, all of the other sections of these Terms of Use, including the sections entitled “Disclaimers” and “Liability and Indemnity”, are applicable to the access and use of VanMap. To the extent that there is a conflict between these Terms of Use and the Open Government Licence – Vancouver, the terms and conditions of the Open Government Licence – Vancouver will prevail.

All rights, titles, and interest, including copyright, proprietary notices, patents, and other intellectual property rights, in VanMap remain vested in the City of Vancouver at all times and should be credited to the City of Vancouver where necessary.

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Information submitted to speak to Council

You may make a request through this Site to speak to Council. Information provided in relation to your request becomes part of the public record and your name is included in the minutes of the meeting.

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Zoning and development process information

The City makes every effort to ensure that the zoning, development, and building information given out via your use of this Site is accurate and complete. However, such information cannot be guaranteed to be complete, even when combined with in person meetings, in the absence of a full and complete technical evaluation of an application, and a full determination by City staff of compliance or non-compliance with zoning and development bylaws or the Vancouver Building Bylaw. Pre-application information can only be a treated by you as a speculative opinion of the probable outcome of each application. All applicants must conduct their own research, and are solely responsible to submit applications that comply with all applicable bylaws, regardless of any pre-application consultations communications, or meetings with City staff and all applicants are responsible to comply with such bylaw requirements regardless of the basis on which any permit has been issued.

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Trademarks

All official marks, trademarks, service marks, and logos appearing on this Site are the exclusive property of their respective owners.

All City graphics, logos, page headers, and service names are official marks, emblems, or trademarks  of the City. The City's official marks, emblems and trademarks may not be used in connection with any product or service that is not the City's, in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among members of the public, or in any manner that disparages or discredits the City. Nothing contained on this Site should be construed as granting any licence or right in or to any of the City’s official marks, emblems or trademarks.

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International use

Because of the global nature of the Internet, you agree to comply with all local rules with respect to your account and your online conduct, including all laws, rules, codes, and regulations of any jurisdiction to which you are subject and from which you access this Site, including without limitation, all laws, rules, codes, regulations, decrees, acts, orders, directives, legislation, bills, and statutes pertaining to tax, contracts, intellectual property, securities, e-commerce, banking, technology, computers, fraud, and privacy. In addition, you agree to comply with all applicable laws, rules, codes, and regulations regarding the transmission of technical data exported from Canada.

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Third-party content

Data and other materials appearing on this Site that are provided by third parties are believed by the City to be obtained from reliable sources, but the City cannot guarantee and is not responsible for their accuracy, timeliness, completeness, or suitability for use. The City is not responsible for, and does not prepare, edit, or endorse, the content, advertising, products, or other content on or available from any website owned or operated by a third party that is linked to this Site via hyperlink. The fact that the City has provided a link to a third party's website does not constitute an implicit or explicit endorsement, authorization, sponsorship, or affiliation by the City with respect to such website, its owners, providers, or services. You will use any such third-party content at your own risk and you agree that the City is not liable for any loss or damage that you may suffer by using third-party websites or their content.

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Timeliness of content

All content on this Site is presented only as of the date published or indicated, and may be superseded by subsequent events or for other reasons. In addition, you are responsible for setting the cache settings on your browser to ensure you are receiving the most recent data.

Termination

The rights granted to you here terminate immediately on any violation by you of these Terms of Use. The City, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to temporarily or permanently terminate your access to and use of this Site at any time and for any reason whatsoever, without notice or liability. The City will not be liable to you or any third party for any termination of your access to or use of this Site.

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Disclaimers

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:

YOUR USE OF THIS SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, CITY OF VANCOUVER AND ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNCILLORS, COMMISSIONERS, OFFICIALS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, LICENSORS, AND ANY THIRD-PARTY INFORMATION PROVIDERS AND VENDORS (COLLECTIVELY, THE “CITY GROUP”) EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ALL WARRANTIES REGARDING SECURITY, CURRENCY, CORRECTNESS, QUALITY, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, RELIABILITY, PERFORMANCE, TIMELINESS, OR CONTINUED AVAILABILITY, WITH RESPECT TO (I) THE SITE; (II) ANY MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THE SITE; (III) USE OF THE SITE, MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES; AND (IV) THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE SITE, MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES.

FURTHER, THE CITY GROUP EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO ANY DELAYS OR ERRORS IN THE TRANSMISSION OR DELIVERY OF ANY MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS SITE.

EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY LAW, THE CITY GROUP HAS NO RESPONSIBILITY TO MAINTAIN THE MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES OFFERED ON THE SITE OR TO SUPPLY CORRECTIONS, UPDATES, OR RELEASES FOR THE SAME.

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Liability and indemnity

ANY MATERIALS DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THIS SITE ARE DONE AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR OTHER EQUIPMENT, OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM SUCH DOWNLOAD.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE CITY GROUP BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, INCOME, GOODWILL, USE, DATA, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, OR DAMAGES CAUSED BY THEFT, UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, SYSTEMS FAILURE, OR COMMUNICATIONS LINE FAILURE, OR THE COST OF PROCURING SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, CAUSED BY THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, MATERIALS OR ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES PROVIDED ON THIS SITE, OR ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THIS SITE, EVEN IF THE CITY GROUP HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY THE CITY GROUP FROM AND AGAINST ALL LOSSES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR IMPROPER ACCESS TO OR USE OF THIS SITE, OR ANY VIOLATION BY YOU OF THESE TERMS OF USE.

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Integration and severability

If any provision of these Terms of Use is deemed unlawful, void, or unenforceable, then that provision will be deemed severable from these Terms of Use and will not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions. These Terms of Use represent the entire agreement between you and the City of Vancouver relating to this Site.

Applicable law and venue

The laws of British Columbia, Canada, without regard to principles of conflict of laws, govern these Terms of Use and any dispute that might arise between you and the City. If you take legal action relating to these Terms of Use, you irrevocably agree to only take such action within British Columbia and only to a court of competent jurisdiction within British Columbia and in no other jurisdiction or venue, and you now irrevocably consent and submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of British Columbia for this purpose.

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