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• provide early and appropriate responses; and
• contribute to more effective and efficient use of court.
A survey of parties’ experiences with the model overall reflects these
findings, as the vast majority believed that needs assessment and CDR are
helpful and should be required for people facing family law issues.
The launch of the prototype in Victoria enabled the Provincial Court and
the Ministry to make adjustments and learn from experience with the
model. Many of the learnings from Victoria were incorporated into the
Early Resolution and Case Management Model that was launched in Surrey
Provincial Court in December 2020, as well as the new Provincial Court Family
Rules, which came into force in May 2021. These changes in the B.C. family
justice sector are beginning to address the shortcomings and negative
impacts of the traditional approach to family justice and better support families
across the province.
Alongside these changes, the province is continuing to improve access to
justice and support for families. In January, we introduced additional
changes to the Provincial Court Family Rules to make parenting education
courses a requirement in all 89 Provincial Court registries, supporting parents
to keep the focus on what is best for their child.
In addition, the rule changes allow the Chief Judge to continue to have
the flexibility to allow families to attend court appearances by telephone,
video or other electronic means, maintaining better access to the courts and
easing the impact of travel, time off work and child care on families.
The Ministry of Attorney General and the Provincial Court continue to
work together to develop less adversarial, more collaborative resolutions,
keeping children’s best interests front and centre and helping families experiencing
separation and divorce to reduce conflict. I look forward to reporting
more on the outcomes of this work in the months and years to come.
Thank you to all who supported and were critical to advancing this
important work, including a number of judges from the Provincial Court,
staff from the Ministry of Attorney General and the lawyers, professionals,
community organizations and families who participated in the design and
evaluation of the prototype.