Clicklaw Monthly Roundup: May 2021

We share with you a monthly roundup of changes to Clicklaw’s collection. Here is a summary of updates done in May 2021.

Solve Problems

BC Ministry of Attorney General

  • Family Justice Counsellors in British Columbia (New)
    A 10-minute video. Family justice counsellors work in Family Justice Centres located in communities across the province to provide services to British Columbians going through separation or divorce.
  • Introducing the New BC Provincial Court Family Rules (New)
    This 7-minute video introduces the new court rules and forms for family law cases in BC Provincial Court. Includes province wide changes, objectives of new rules, registry specific changes, and transition.

Canadian Centre for Elder Law (CCEL)

Canadian Judicial Council 

Each of the handbooks below is a general reference for self-represented civil litigants appearing in Canadian courts. A list of Canadian & BC resources is also included.

  • Civil Law Handbook (New)
    Includes SRL’s rights & responsibilities, legal research, building your case, legal writing, starting a court case, court processes, appeals, and more.
  • Criminal Law Handbook (New)
    Includes SRL’s rights & responsibilities, first steps in your criminal case, bail, building your defence, legal research, court processes, jury, sentencing, and more.
  • Family Law Handbook (New)
    Includes SRL’s rights & responsibilities, family law basics, resolving disputes out of court, legal research & writing, court processes, family violence, and more.

Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS) – BC Human Rights Clinic

  • Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 (New)
    The three-video series provide information about the BC Human Rights Code and how it protects Indigenous Peoples in three areas of life (jobs, tenancy, and access to services). It explains about human rights complaints and how BC Human Rights Tribunal works.

Legal Aid BC

  • Family Law in BC (Updated)
    The website has been greatly revised to reflect the new Provincial Court Family Rules that came into effect on May 17, 2021. It has a new interactive tool for identifying your court registry. Read more details on the Factum.

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC (OIPC)

Office of the Seniors Advocate BC

Pacific Legal Education and Outreach Society (PLEO)

  • Societies Act FAQs (Updated)
    For British Columbian non-profit organizations. This wikibook helps individuals understand how to incorporate, manage, and dissolve non-profits in BC.

People’s Law School

Many new and updated resources in PLS’s Clicklaw listings, including: 

  • Accidents and injuries
    Practical information on your rights when you’re injured in an accident. Topics include slip and falls, injuries from a defective product, and figuring out how much in the way of damages you might be entitled to.
  • Health care
    Practical information about you rights to health care and what you can do if you experience discrimination when receiving health care services.
  • Renting & co-ops
    Practical information on your rights when renting or living in a co-op. Topics include a playbook for tenants, co-op disputes and evictions, and your rights when living in a mobile home.
  • Dial-A-Law pages on family law, such as Guardianship, Parenting Arrangements, and Contact, are up to date with the latest information, including the changes to the Divorce Act that came into effect in March and the new Provincial Court Family Rules that took effect in May.

Provincial Court of BC

  • What can I expect at a Family Management Conference? (New)
    This article explains the Family Management Conference at the Provincial Court of BC. Includes definitions, steps for preparing yourself, what will happen at the conference, what happens if you need a trial, getting a copy of an Order, and links to more details.

The National Self-Represented Litigants Project

  • The Evidence Primer: How to Present Your Evidence at Trial (New)
    This Primer is an introduction to the law of evidence for self-represented litigants. It provides a basic overview of the provincial rules of evidence for civil cases, incl. family cases, with a focus on practical knowledge and tips. It is not a comprehensive examination of all the issues.

Reform & Research 

Canadian Centre for Elder Law (CCEL)

  • A Practical Guide to Elder Abuse and Neglect Law in Canada (Project in Progress)
    The Practical Guide aims to: Introduce the concept of elder abuse, provide a summary of key laws relevant to elder abuse and neglect, identify obligations to respond to abuse, neglect and risk, identify key agencies to contact if you are concerned that an older adult is being abused or neglected

HelpMap

BC First Nations Justice Council

  • Indigenous Justice Centres (Newly added)
    The Centres provide culturally appropriate information, advice, support and representation directly to Indigenous people at the community level. While focused primarily on criminal law and child protection issues, they also offer additional services based on community and cultural needs. There are three locations: Merritt, Prince George, and Prince Rupert

Common Questions 

Stay informed:

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Webinar coming soon! Q&A on the new Provincial Court Family Rules.

Webinar: Provincial Court Family Rules

Q&A on the New Provincial Court Family Rules

Thursday June 24, 2021 12:30 – 2pm (PT)

Register online here.

BC Ministry of Attorney General

Join us for a 1.5-hour webinar exploring questions and concerns you and your clients may have around the implementation of the new BC Provincial Court Family Rules (PCFR). The Rules took effect on May 17, 2021, with significant changes made to processes and forms. This is an introductory-level and practical focused webinar aimed at intermediaries (advocates, librarians, and community workers) and general practitioner lawyers.

Courthouse Libraries BC logo

Our panel will include representatives from the Ministry of Attorney General as well as a private bar lawyer.

Panel:

  • Erin Smith is a Senior Policy Analyst with the Family Policy Legislation and Transformation Division of the Ministry of Attorney General.  Erin’s experience in court operations and policy informed her contributions to the PCFR, including policy, legislation, forms, Victoria and Surrey Early Resolution as well as the province-wide PCFR implementation.
  • Kari Erickson, Manager, Court Administration, Court Services Branch, Ministry of Attorney General.  Kari’s experience is in court operations having worked in several different courthouses on Vancouver Island as well as in Vancouver.   Kari was the CSB Lead for the implementation of Early Resolution and Case Management model in Surrey and Victoria and has assisted Senior Policy Analyst, Shelley Gin,  with the implementation of the Provincial Court Family Rules.
  • Oriole Courcy is a Senior Program and Policy Analyst with Family Justice Services Division (FJSD) of the Ministry of Attorney General.  Oriole supports operations and policy for Family Justice Centres and Justice Access Centres throughout BC. Oriole is the FJSD lead for implementation of Early Resolution and Case Management in Victoria and Surrey, as well as the broader Provincial Court Family Rules.
  • Susan Loney is a family lawyer (called to the bar in 1993) in Victoria with a particular emphasis on Provincial Court matters both in family law and child protection, and supporting clients through mediations. She is Co-Lead Family Duty Counsel in Victoria for Legal Aid BC and participated in the Victoria prototype of the Early Resolution Process, working closely with all stakeholders during the early stages since May 2019.

Based on their experience and expertise, the panel will answer questions about the new rules, processes and forms as well as about services available through Family Justice and Justice Access Centres. As this webinar will be responsive to the questions and concerns you have about the new PCFR, we ask that registrants participate in our ThoughtExchange in advance.

Upon registration, you will be provided with a link to participate in the ThoughtExchange, where you can enter questions anonymously and see what questions other registrants have posed. While the ThoughtExchange is anonymous, questions posed there will be visible to other registrants. Please avoid including any personally identifying information about clients.

Participants in this webinar may claim up to 1.5hrs of CPD with LSBC.

Stay informed:

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