Provincial Court Announces Scheduling Reform Project

The Provincial Court has announced a project to overhaul how court time is scheduled. The aptly named Provincial Court Scheduling Project has just release the first issue of a newsletter (PDF) intended to keep court users and other stakeholders up to date on the status of the project and address common questions and concerns. According to the newsletter,"The Provincial Court Scheduling Project will restructure court scheduling. The new model will provide more timely access to justice by reducing waiting times to trial and returning case management...

Read More

Family Law Act Online Resources

Now the dust has begun to settle, I thought it would be helpful to put together a collection of links related to the new legislation. Here it is, and I will be updating it as the Queen's Printer is able to generate updated material. Bookmark this post by clicking on the title.Legislation and RegulationsFamily Law ActFamily Law Act RegulationFamily Law Act Division of Pensions RegulationRules of Court and Practice MaterialsRules of CourtProvincial Court Family RulesSupreme Court Family RulesPractice DirectionsProvincial Court Practice DirectionsSupreme...

Read More

Guest Column: Attorney General on the New Family Law Act

by the Honourable Shirley Bond,Minister of Justice and Attorney GeneralFor the first time in more than three decades, British Columbia has brought in landmark legislation introducing new, modernized family law. If you’re a frequent visitor to this blog, you are probably aware of the broad scope of changes that take effect under the new Family Law Act today. Over the past six years, JP Boyd has provided an abundance of information on the subject and...

Read More

Regulation Amended: Family Law Act Regulation adjusted for guardianship applications

In my post "Amendments Amended: Rules of Court adjusted for guardianship applications," I mentioned that the Provincial Court Family Rules and the Supreme Court Family Rules had been amended to accommodate the unpleasant requirements of s. 51(2) of the Family Law Act for persons applying for appointment as the guardian of a child. My colleague Kathleen Packard has supplied the link I was missing to the amendments that were also made to the Family Law Act Regulation.Here's a summary of the amendments:Order in Council 66-2013 amends the Provincial...

Read More

Family Law Act Comes into Force in One Week

It's almost here, the date the new Family Law Act comes into force. I thought I would take the opportunity to review the complicated transitional provisions that will guide us gently from the Family Relations Act regime that has governed family law matters in British Columbia for more than thirty years into this brave new world.This is a comprehensive summary of the transitional provisions applicable to proceedings in the Provincial Family Court:This is a comprehensive summary of the transitional provisions applicable to...

Read More

Guide for Victims of Family Violence Published by UBC Centre for Feminist Legal Studies

The Centre for Feminist Legal Studies at the UBC Faculty of Law has just published a helpful new paper, The BC Family Law Act: A Plain Language Guide for Women Who Have Experienced Abuse (PDF). According to the paper's introductory comments, the paper deals with family violence as it is addressed by the Family Law Act and"...was written for women who are leaving or thinking about leaving a relationship with an abusive man and need information on family law problems. However, the information in this  guide applies to a marriage-like relationship...

Read More