Are you wondering if the BC Courts are open?

List of courts in BC

Supreme Court of British Columbia
Provincial Court of British Columbia
British Columbia Court of Appeal
Federal Court of Canada – British Columbia
Tax Court of Canada – British Columbia
British Columbia Small Claims Court
BC Human Rights Tribunal
British Columbia Employment Standards Tribunal
British Columbia Labour Relations Board
BC Securities Commission

Where are the provincial courts in BC?

Abbotsford
Campbell River
Chilliwack
Cranbrook
Dawson Creek
Fort St. John
Kamloops
Kelowna
Nanaimo
Nelson
New Westminster
North Vancouver
Penticton
Port Coquitlam
Port Hardy
Prince George
Prince Rupert
Quesnel
Richmond
Salmon Arm
Smithers
Surrey
Terrace
Vancouver
Vernon
Victoria
Williams Lake

If you want to know if the BC courts are open, you need to call that particular courthouse.

Serious legal issues are urgent

Most people think their serious legal issues are urgent. This caused a lot of confusion.

Members of the public decided to put off their legal issues. During the best of times, people don’t like to deal with things like family law or lawsuits. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, no one wants to deal with their issues.

The goal of this article is to convince you otherwise.

Keep in mind that the provincial court and the Supreme Court operate differently. If you need a lawyer or legal coach, fill out the form on the side of this page.

BC Supreme Court Is Open

Right now for the first time, you can do hearings over video conference or by written submission. Also, a lot of case conferences are done via telephone conferences. In the past few weeks, the courts have allowed hearings by written submissions.

This is why right now is a great time to hire a lawyer to help you with your legal needs. If a lawyer can do a hearing in writing, it will save you a lot of money.

Why? Because normally lawyers in British Columbia need to sit in court for days to be heard. If a lawyer charges you $2000 a day in court, it might cost you $4000. When a lawyer submits their position and application in writing, that will save you thousands of dollars.

Even if the hearing is done by video conference, the lawyer has a specific time that they will “appear” in front of the judge.

If you want to speak to a lawyer in BC, fill out the form on the side of this page. We have lawyers that can help with family law, business law, bankruptcy, and employment law.

Now you don’t need to worry if the BC Courts are still running. You can now deal with your legal problems again. Are the BC Courts open? Make sure to call them ahead of time if you are unsure if it’s snowing.

British Columbia Provincial Courts

In our opinion, the provincial courts have not done as good a job as the BC Supreme Court or BC Appeal Court. Many of the provincial courts have been refusing to allow lawyers to file their documents.

The BC Supreme Court has always allowed the filing of documents during the COVID-19 pandemic. For some reason, the appeal court was the first to post videos of their hearings. It seems the appeal court has been the most innovative.

If you have a matter that could be heard in the BC Supreme Court, right now is a great time. Even if your matter is for the provincial court, it will take the lawyer a few weeks to get ready. We will let you know if it is a good time to start your legal cost. You can book a free consultation by filling out the form on the side of this page.

Are BC Courts Still Running?

The provincial courts must ensure that the general public still has access to justice. This means that the public has access to the court, even if only done over the Internet. One of our team tried to file a reply to a small claims action in the Victoria registry, and it was returned.

The court staff said they are not accepting small claims replies at this time. This is confusing and causes clients to stress.

If you are not ready to move forward with your legal case, you can still contact us.

In conclusion, are the BC courts open? Yes.

Author: Alistair Vigier is the CEO of ClearWay Law

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