2017 Bi-Monthly Update Series: March/April

New on Clicklaw, The broader context

To keep you informed, here are some highlights of changes and updates made to Clicklaw in March and April:

Jan-Feb | Mar-Apr | May-Jun | Jul-Aug | Sep-Oct | Nov-Dec

Cerebral Palsy Association of British Columbia

  • Navigator for Youth Transitioning to Adult Services
    Youth with disabilities in BC face challenges when transitioning from childhood to adult services. This program helps youth aged 14 to 25, their parents and members of their Transition Support Teams, connect with the services they need, such as disability benefits, health services, or school supports.

Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS)

Disability Alliance BC

The following help sheets are now available in 5 languages: Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Persian, Punjabi, Spanish.

Legal Services Society

Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre and Registry

People’s Law School

Each of the following publications now has a fresh new look, new content, and more practical guidance. Both are available in multiple media formats: wikibook, EPUB (for reading on a tablet or e-reader), PDF (print version), and printed booklet (order via Crown Publications).

  • Essentials of Consumer Law
    Explains consumer rights for common purchases and contracts. Now includes a new section on making a contract.
  • Scams to Avoid
    Covers 15 of the most common scams. Now includes new sections on romance scams, charity scams, and expanded coverage of online and computer scams.

Provincial Court of British Columbia

  • Guidelines for Using a Support Person in Provincial Court
    Many self-represented litigants find that having a trusted friend or family member with them to provide emotional support, take notes, and organize documents can be a big help. The BC Provincial Court recognizes this, and has adopted guidelines to make it easier to bring a support person to court.

Common Question – Provincial Court Resources for Everyone: Small Claims Court

On June 1, 2017, the limit for small claims will increase to $35,000 from $25,000. This page has been updated to include this information and a link to the New Small Claims Procedures from the Provincial Court of BC. Note: The Provincial Court Resources pages will be updated for May 2017.

Canadian Centre for Elder Law (CCEL)

  • Older Women’s Dialogue Project
    This project looks at law and social policy issues that affect older woman and explores what can be done to address barriers to their quality of life.
  • Older Women’s Legal Education Project
    A collaboration with West Coast LEAF, this project tries to enhance the capacity of seniors-serving professionals to support older women fleeing violence occurring in the family and to inform older women of their rights in situations of abuse.

Stay informed:

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May 2017 Events (Online, Burnaby, Kelowna, Quesnel, Vancouver, West Vancouver)

Events, The broader context

Bookmark this post! It will be updated as more events are announced. You can also get frequent updates via our Twitter. Have a suggestion? Email us.

  • May 2-18 (12:30pm-1:30pm): Courthouse Libraries BC presents various online webinars open to advocates and community workers:

    Webinars in partnership with CLAS, TRAC, Disability Alliance BC, and PovNet.

May 2: A webinar designed for Law-Foundation funded advocates which could also be useful to lawyers and other advocates working with organizations that provide legal advocacy services. This one hour webinar will go over issues that tenants of manufactured home parks may encounter, including evictions under the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act. Amita Vulimiri, a lawyer with Community Legal Assistance Society, and Zuzana Modrovic, a lawyer with Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre, will teach the webinar.

May 9: A webinar designed for Law-Foundation funded advocates which could also be useful to lawyers and other advocates working with organizations that provide legal advocacy services. This one hour webinar will present basic information about judicial review for advocates representing low income individuals at administrative tribunals, including the Residential Tenancy Branch. We will also go over the types of files that the Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS) can take on, and provide advice on making referrals to CLAS. Amita Vulimiri, a lawyer with CLAS, and Samrah Mian, CLAS’s Intake Coordinator, will teach the webinar.

May 10: Established in April 2013, the Social Security Tribunal (SST) hears appeals of several federal benefit programs including the Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, and Old Age Security. The SST inherited a significant backlog of appeals. During that time the Tribunal suspended some of their pre-hearing procedures. In December 2015 the backlog was resolved and the Tribunal has subsequently begun to address appeals in accordance with the governing regulations. In this hour long webinar jointly offered by Courthouse Libraries BC and Disability Alliance BC, Peter Beaudin and Ashley Silcock will review SST policies and procedures as they pertain to Canada Pension Plan Disability appeals.

May 18: This webinar is aimed at advocates representing or otherwise assisting individuals in administrative law proceedings that engage the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In this one hour webinar offered jointly by POVNet and Courthouse Libraries BC, Raji Mangat and Monique Pongracic-Speier will guide you through when and where Charter values apply to administrative decision-makers in British Columbia, including whether Charter values may apply to decision-makers who have had their Charter jurisdiction ousted by statute. The webinar will also provide practical strategies for advocating or assisting self-represented litigants with administrative proceedings engaging Charter rights.

  • May 2-23 (Various Dates): People’s Law School presents numerous events on the following topics in Burnaby and West Vancouver:
    • Family Law
    • Personal and Estate Planning
    • Wills and Estates

Register here.

Wednesday, May 3 (11:30-12:30pm) Online Webinar: Live Demo of the Personal Planning Registry. Register Online.

Wednesday, May 10 (11:30-12:30pm) Online Webinar: Planning for Health and Personal Care. Register Online.

The BC Society Act, which provides the rules for governance and incorporation of non-profits, officially proclaimed important changes on November 28, 2016. There will be a two year transition period by which time all societies in BC will have to make the switch to the new Act. This workshop will provide the information on the bylaw and policy changes necessary for your organization to effectively make the transition when the new Act is proclaimed.

Stay informed:

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