Can a regulator carrying out a public law function, such as a regulatory body, be considered a private law entity?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from K.S. v British Columbia (Ministry of Children and Family Development), 2021 BCSC 1818 (CanLII):

Historically, the courts have been reluctant to impose private law duties on public regulators carrying out public law functions. For example, in Wu v. Vancouver (City), 2019 BCCA 23, leave to appeal ref’d [2019] S.C.C.A. No. 90, Justice Harris, after considering a number of principles from the leading authorities, concluded:

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