Most days you’ll find me seated behind my desk at our downtown Vancouver family law office or standing in front of a judge at the Vancouver Law Courts, helping clients navigate through complex legal issues such as parenting arrangements, property division, and spousal support.
Occasionally, I get to wear a different hat, when I volunteer with West Coast LEAF (West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund). West Coast LEAF is an organization dedicated to ending discrimination against women using equality rights litigation, law reform, and public legal education.
This is where I come in: West Coast LEAF runs public legal education workshops called “Transforming Our Future”, which are designed for activists, advocates, and community service providers to learn about human rights law, equality rights, and how to develop legal strategies to address the impact of systemic discrimination. I am one of the trained facilitators of this fantastic workshop.
Know What Court You Need for Family Law in BC
We start the workshop by providing an overview of the Canadian legal system, and how the court system in BC works, which is useful information for everyone to know! I’m often asked:
What makes a court Provincial or Supreme?
And,
What’s the difference between the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Supreme Court of Canada?
Believe it or not, our court system was established by our Constitution in 1867. At that point, the only courts that existed in Canada were trial courts, called ‘Supreme’ courts in most provinces. In Alberta, you have the Court of Queen’s Bench; in Ontario, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. But in most provinces, you have a Supreme Court, such as the British Columbia Supreme Court. A “Supreme Court” has no limits on its power – by virtue of being a constitutional court, it has “inherent jurisdiction”. Inherent jurisdiction is a broad doctrine which allows the court to control its own processes and procedures.
Other courts, like the BC Small Claims Court, Traffic Court, the BC Court of Appeal, and even the Supreme Court of Canada were created later by statute. A court that is created by a statute is limited in what kind of cases it can hear, and what orders it can make.
What does this mean in a family law context?
Not all courts are created equal, so it’s important to know which court can best serve your needs before you start a legal action:
The Supreme Court can grant divorces, divide property between spouses, order the sale of property, and address child custody, guardianship and parenting arrangements; spousal support; and child support. In addition, only the Supreme Court can grant costs at the end of a trial to the winning party.
If you are married, or need to divide assets, you must use the Supreme Court, as the Provincial Court is more limited in scope.
The Provincial Court can only address: child custody, guardianship and parenting arrangements; spousal support; and child support.
Ready to start your family law action? Still confused about which step to take? Call MacLean Law to discuss your choices – mediation, arbitration or litigation.
If you need to go to court – we are here to guide you in the right direction to resolve your legal issues.
